2009 Week Ten

1. Please pray for the families among us who are celebrating new babies, and adjusting to the challenges of new parenthood: J & C, and their baby girl a month ago; W & M, and their baby girl a week ago.

2. Please pray for the March adult Sunday School classes:
- March 1 - There will one class on "What is happening in missions right now and where is it going?" taught by the Canadian Director of Send International Canada.
- March 8, 15, 22, 29 - This will be a four-class series on "God and Morality" taught by a brother of our own who is a graduate student at the Institute of Christian Studies. Please pray for good discussion about things important for us to understand, and for the Spirit to equip us to better live and witness in our time.

3. Please pray for the Youth Ministry:
- "Leadership 101" for Gilead Fellowship (secondary school students) wraps up next weekend. Ask the Lord to lead the students who have gone through this youth leadership training program forward in growth and service. Pray for a new batch of students who will go through a new season of "Leadership 101" with our youth pastor and youth workers.
- Pray for the youth mentorship program which is being worked out by our pastoral intern in youth ministry. This program seeks to connect individual youth with an adult mentor who will care for each of them. Right now there are more mentors signed up than students to be mentored. Ask the Lord to move the hearts of our youth people make good use of this way of connecting to the church, and to have someone befriend and pray for them.- Please keep praying for our teens Sunday School as an effective means to build critical, biblical thinking into the lives of our young people.

4. Please pray for our city which seems to be experiencing quite a spate of violent crimes lately - shooting on the subway, young person in the drivers seat of an SUV, etc. Ask for God's mercy on this city which is filled with people he loves. Pray for appropriate and wise actions by law enforcement and by policy-makers who can help. Pray for Christians to act as salt and light in a world us to preserve and illumine a world gone in need of Christ.

5. Please continue to pray for some among us who are facing challenging situations and people in the workplace. Some are dealing with unreasonable demands. Others are not being heard. Some are trying to make a difference by meeting with and talking to key workplace people who have influence. Pray for God's mercy and sustenance, and for improvement in circumstances. Pray for these brothers' and sisters' testimonies and their ability to help co-workers. Pray for change in the hearts and actions of those who are responsible for what happens in the workplace.

6. Please pray for the "Growing Leaders" ESC leadership training program:
- The second training session has just been completed. Ask the Lord to move all participants to grow in the understanding that leadership is an outworking of God's grace in our lives. In other words, leadership is first and foremost discipleship, that is, our identity comes from being called by Jesus to learn from him and follow him.
- Ask the Spirit for guidance and wisdom as the one-on-one (or small group) mentor-mentee meetings take place over the coming month, at which we will assess where each person is in his/her relationship to God, and start practicing a spiritual discipline for training in godliness.

7. Please pray for the church building project:
- The bank we are dealing with has agreed to loan us 80% of the construction cost, but has stipulated that the church must raise most of the outstanding balance before construction begins. This means we have a very short period of time (if construction is to start before this year is out) to raise about $2.5 million to add to the $2 million we have already raised. On the one hand, this looks difficult and daunting, and we really need to pray and depend on God to guide us in what to do. On the other hand, God has already brought us halfway there, and he can certainly accomplish the rest. Pray for sensitivity to the Spirit's leading, faithfulness to respond, and steadfast trust in the Lord.
- A fund-raising banquet will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2009. The theme is, "Touched by God's Grace, I Offer My All." Please pray for the planning of this event and the members of the fund-raising committee as they work on this.

8. Please pray for brothers and sisters among us who are suffering. Lift up those you know who are sick or suffering before the Lord. Ask for healing and comfort, and practical things such as help from others. Ask the Lord to move any of us to respond and be those helping hands.
- Pray for A who is one month from the due date of her first child, but is in a lot of pain, likely from a torn muscle about which she can do nothing. This week, she has a cold on top of this, making it very difficult to sleep long or well.
- Pray for our Senior Pastor who has been afflicted lately by low blood pressure, irregular heart rate, chest discomfort, and tiredness. He is undergoing tests to determine the issues, and has been advised by the doctor to rest and eat well.
- Pray for the family among us who lost their mother/grandmother is past week. May they experience the Lord's comfort, and may non-believing family members embrace their loved one's faith in Christ.