Challenges for Prayer;
Training of leaders remains a major challenge. Poverty, instability, violence, poor communication and lack of both financial wherewithal and management hinder training of pastors and evangelists.
(Do click onto this link – https://www.operationworld.org/apr02#prayer to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 2nd April 2021)
Central African Republic:
Challenges for Prayer:
The physical human needs of CAR are immense. The seemingly endless series of coups and counter-coups devastated the economy and infrastructure.
(Do click onto this link – https://www.operationworld.org/apr01#prayer to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 1st April 2021)
Georgia:
Challenges for Prayer:
Positive social, economic, and political changes continue since 1991. Less corruption and more democratic reform point towards a more peaceful future. Openness to spirituality and Christianity in particular increased greatly! But inter-ethnic conflicts of the past generation displaced nearly 250,000 people. The August War of 2008, when Russian troops briefly occupied much of the country, reversed some of the good economic progress.
(Do click onto these links – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-29/#georgia to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 29th May 2019)
Germany:
Challenges for Prayer:
The decline of Christianity in Germany continues into the 21st century. West Germany was 97% Christian in 1960, but Germany is now less than 60% Christian, and that percentage decreases every year. Church attendance for all denominations is low, and many churches have shut down.
Germany’s wealth, influence, and location in the EU and Europe could be of great value for the Kingdom of God. This would require strong, courageous leadership based on Christian values, but the spiritual health of Germany is currently in decay. Destructive criticism of the Bible in the 19th century weakened the Church, and opened the way for pagan Nazi rule in the 20th century. New Age, the occult, Satanism, and new forms of the old pagan religions all gain followers, but none grow as quickly as the group claiming “no religion”.
Millions of immigrants, guest workers, students, and refugees came to Germany since 1989. Many arrive illegally, and some have connections to international criminal networks. Some are vibrant Christians, but most do not know the gospel. Germany’s generous openness (and need for a larger workforce) were most pronounced by the large numbers of migrants who arrived as a result of the migrant crisis of 2015 and thereafter. German society and government struggle to react well to this massive inflow of people, and some have reacted with violence or bitterness towards immigrants, especially in the east. Yet it is an amazing mission opportunity
(Do click onto these links –
https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-30/#germany, https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-31/#germany & https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/06-01/#germany to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 30th/31st May & 1st June 2016)
Ghana:
Challenges for Prayer;
Young people remain the key in the efforts to bring revival to Ghana. Over 40% of the population is under age 15, but specific efforts to reach them are insufficient, despite their spiritual openness. This is particularly the case outside the major cities. In the villages, Islam and African traditional religions tend to hold sway.
Ghana enjoys a rich Christian tradition! Many newer churches emerged, and many traditional denominations have a vibrant spiritual life. When churches multiply quickly, doctrines can become confused. Ghana has the blessing of many training institutions.
(Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/06-02/#ghana & https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/06-03/#ghana to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 2nd & 3rd June 2013)
Gambia:
Challenges for Prayer;
Thank God for the mostly friendly relationships between Muslims and Christians in Gambia. Christians have more religious freedom here than in most Muslim countries. But most Christian work has been in the Greater Banjul area (coast). Few reach out to the Muslim majority, especially those who live upriver in the less-developed inland area. Pastors who serve inland struggle to maintain financial support;
(Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-28/#gambia-the to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 28th May 2013)
Gabon:
Challenges for Prayer:
Despite Gabon being wealthy in resources, many Gabonese continue to dwell in poverty. This is largely due to decades of neglecting the nation's infrastructure and to prevalent corruption that prevents the country's wealth from trickling down to all. Women and children are vulnerable to poverty through lack of education and social mores; exploitation and trafficking of children are particularly evil situation
Spiritist beliefs and practices lie beneath the surfaces of Catholicism, other Christian groups, and Islam. Many Gabonese still use charms, hallucinogenic drugs, and ancestral spirits, and go to medicine men. Some leaders of the government, the police, and the army participate in nighttime rituals that use witchcraft and black magic. Christians who do not participate can be refused academic or professional opportunities. Do pray for followers of Jesus to remain faithful to Him alone, and for such faith to spread the Gospel even further.
(Do click onto these links – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-27/#gabon to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 27th May 2013)
French Polynesia:
Challenges for Prayer;
Tahiti is a paradise lost. Formerly a strongly Christian nation that sent missionaries all over the Pacific, Tahiti is now being debased by increasing vice and immorality as well as serious challenges to traditional values and ways of life. There is spiritual openness, but it seems to be shouted down by materialism. No longer do Tahitian missionaries leave for other lands as they once did.
Those with a vital personal faith are now rare. As a result, there is a reversion to the bondage of pagan occultism and a multiplication of syncretistic and foreign sects, especially two forms of Mormonism. Do pray for a spiritual revolution to take place among the many nominal Catholic and Protestant Christians.
(Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-26/#french-polynesia to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 26th May 2013)
France:
France stands at a political and economic crossroads. The economy needs radical reforms to prosper in the globalized world. The population has aged to the point that the current retirement age and pension system cannot support it. The large immigrant community continues to grow and challenges the traditional understanding of French identity. The majority feels content as individuals, but they do not have much confidence in the future of the Republic, with so many points of tension in their society. Young people especially feel the crisis, and often long for meaning and purpose. These factors, especially the economic frustrations of the working and middle classes, brought about the rise of the Yellow Vest movement. Do pray for both economic justice in France and for Christians to be able to offer French people a hope beyond mere economic respite.
The accelerating decline of religious faith since the 18th Century has seen France's Catholic and mainline Protestant legacies plummet in recent years, even as atheism has grown. Hostility toward organized religion as well as the privatization of spirituality means that regular attendance in any church is below 8%. Some surveys show that over 30% of French people are non-religious. Most French have a profound ignorance of, or indifference to, the gospel, many having never meaningfully encountered it. Yet, the relativism of postmodernity has generated acute emptiness and existential angst; as many have noted, this in turn has created a spiritual hunger that has grown rapidly in recent years. Do pray that such hunger might overcome the suspicion toward religion. Do pray that Christians would be prepared to patiently and relationally share Jesus with those who seek.
(Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-24/ & https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-25/ to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 24th & 25th May 2013)
Finland:
Finland has a largely secular society, even though Christians number 84% of the population. 90% look with favour on the Church’s social work, but only 8% consistently attend any kind of religious service. The last revival came in the 1960s. Strong belief in the power of human reason, and rejection of supernatural things, now dominates the society. An ultra-modern country like Finland probably needs both reformation in the existing Church and also new expressions of faith. Do pray for a spiritual breakthrough that will cause people to seek the Lord.
(Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-23/#finland to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 23rd May 2013)
Fiji:
British
colonial greed left Fiji ethnically divided. The British imported Indians as
indentured labourers from 1870 onward. Fijians lived as a minority in their own
country at times. Indians worked hard to build new lives in Fiji, but they
cannot own land. They face resentment and racial prejudice. Poor treatment by
the British and Fijians, both considered Christian, discredited the gospel for
most Indians. Do pray for a spirit of repentance and reconciliation, and a
society known for freedom and equality.
Do click onto this link – https://operationworld.org/prayer-calendar/05-22/#fiji to read for further news by Operation World Prayer News, 22nd May 2013)
