As we begin 2023, Todd Unzicker, our Executive Director/Treasurer of the NC Baptist State Convention is challenging us to a yearlong commitment to focused prayer for unreached people and our mission efforts to reach all people.
Here is an article from the Biblical Recorder:
Throughout 2023, North Carolina Baptists have repeated opportunities to pray specifically for unreached people groups across the state, N.C. Baptist missionaries and church planters.
“The Father is bringing the nations to North Carolina, and N.C. Baptists have the responsibility to reach our international neighbors with the gospel,” said Chuck Register, director of the state convention’s Mission Catalysts group. “The first step is to pray, asking the Father to open doors for gospel conversations and to soften the hearts of those who hear the message of Christ.”
The yearlong “Praying for the Nations” initiative is two-fold. From Jan. 16 to Feb. 14, the first 30 days will focus on praying for 30 unreached people groups in North Carolina. Unreached people groups share the same ethnicity and language and claim a home country that is less than 2% evangelical Christian. These groups include Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Japanese and more.
Then, from Feb. 15 to Dec. 31, the remainder of the year will focus on praying for N.C. Baptist missionaries and church planters. A prayer guide for the year categorizes missionaries and church planters according to the regions in which they serve, including North Carolina, United States and Canada, the Americas, Europe, North Africa/Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia Pacific Rim.
“Prayer is our primary strategy, and we believe the local church is God’s ‘plan A’ for taking the gospel to the unreached. Praying for the Nations gives N.C. Baptists opportunities throughout all of 2023 to live this out,” said Todd Unzicker, N.C. Baptist executive director-treasurer.
“This is about members of local churches praying for the nations that God has brought right into our communities, and for the people we’ve sent out to plant churches and to serve across the state, the country and around the globe.”
N.C. Baptists can sign up for weekly emails that will include additional links and resources. The prayer guide will include descriptions of each people group, missionary and their family, as well as specific prayer points to guide people through a year of prayer. It is designed for participants to follow at their own pace as they focus their hearts on the nations.
Individuals and churches can also download resources, including digital prayer cards and slides, for Sunday worship services.
To commit to praying for the nations in 2023, sign up at PrayNC.org, or text “PrayNC” to (919) 925-6525. Download the N.C. Baptist mobile app and follow @ncbaptist on social media to keep up with weekly prayer prompts and more information.
The link for a wealth of resources and helps to use personally and for your church are available at the link below.
For the Great Commission,
Dennis Thurman, AMS
https://ncbaptist.org/praying-for-the-nations/