Visa praises and needs, program planning details

Dear praying friends,

News from the GProCongress frontline: “Just heard that 30 pastors just received visas in Kenya, with more to come. Twenty-two pastors from Benin received visas in Senegal, even though they were to go to Nigeria! Wonderful miracles are happening, praise God together.” However, we’re also hearing from pastoral trainers in countries where visas are being denied.

Your prayers are vital, please keep on. Many pastoral trainers long to attend the GProCongress yet face visa, financial, health, transportation and other challenges. Pray that the Lord will provide and protect in such a way that their faith will be strengthened and His name lifted up among any non-believing family members, friends, acquaintances—even in their nation. Additional needs in the area of Congress recruitment include participation from countries not yet represented and strong delegations from strategic countries, including a good response to an initiative in honor of the late Rev. Enoch Sirikul.

Dr. Richard and the Congress program team plan to meet next week. Ask God to give them wisdom and creativity in planning, and attention to detail, encouragement and patience in plan implementation. Dr. Richard requests special prayer for three main program elements—the opening and closing events and the mid-Congress Communion service. Also lift up the panel discussion addressing how to connect and enhance the worlds of formal and non-formal pastoral training. The Lord willing, Dr. Richard is to participate in this panel.

Thank you for praying.

The vision is sizable; the task is formidable, but this world is REACHABLE

Dear friends,

Please join us in praying for the Global Proclamation Commission, a 10-year human capital campaign to connect, unite and strengthen 100,000 pastors from 200 countries by the year 2020.

The GProCommission was launched in 2010 and seeks to address the needs of undertrained and isolated pastors, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These pastors, more potent because of their participation in the Global Proclamation Commission, can create healthier churches with the aim of better carrying our the Lord’s Great Commission.

The GProCommission is being executed through three types of training events: The annual Dallas Global Proclamation Academy, multiple national Global Proclamation Academies each year and, Lord willing, the 2016 Global Pastoral Trainers Congress in Manila, Philippines.

Please join us in praising God for the opportunities RREACH has had to hold Dallas GPAs and National GPAs in the last several years:

Also, praise God for the way He is using RREACH and our pastoral training model (both training pastors AND connecting them to one another).

Actually, to say the least, I’ve not seen a program that is so compressed—short days, but very impactful.

For those of us who are young pastors in ministry—we are confronted with a lot issues. Some of those issues have to do with being validated by older ministers. And to a large extent, orientation into ministry has to do with—you teach certain kinds of things; the gospel. But, coming to GPA, first of all, there is this stripping from old ideas that are not really relevant for kingdom work.

And then this remodeling after a pattern that is, to a large extent, proven to be very, very effective. Especially expository sermon presentation. To a large extent—to friendships made anew, to teaching that has come our way – very strategic teaching come our way. I am a better preacher to the little audience that God has made in my hands to nurture in the faith.

And please pray along with us for the following needs as we march toward 2016 (the Congress) and then 2020 (the completion of the campaign):

• That pastors who attended national GPAs in 2011, 2012 and so far in 2013 would remain connected and united and would be multiplying their training toward the vision of the Global Proclamation Commission.

• For teachable, humble hearts of pastors preparing to attend the following GPAs:
  • GPA South Africa – Mid-October
  • GPA Zambia- Mid-October
  • GPA Mexico- Mid-November
  • GPA Ghana- Late-November

• For the planning and preparation for the following National GPAs scheduled for 2014:
  • Dominican Republic
  • Benin
  • Trinidad
  • Myanmar
  • Rwanda
  • Burundi
  • Togo

• That God would open doors for National GPAs in the 13 additional countries considering hosting one in 2014.

For His glory,

Edie Ross

prayer coordinator