Prayer Focus 2017 - August
Tuesday (1st) – Chile:
Please pray that the Lord will help us find the necessary funds for our Viña del Mar and Talca teams to have bookvan ministries to enhance their distribution to more areas around their city. We also seek the Lord’s guidance in increasing our distribution and online presence through our website and other social media networks. It is our hope to open another bookshop this year in Santiago, which is the capital of our country. Join us in praying for the right location, people and funds to make this dream a reality.
Wednesday (2nd) – Colombia:
This year, the Lord gave us the theme, ‘Renew your commitment’, to strengthen us personally, within our families and also as a ministry. Please remember us and our fellow teams in prayer.
Thursday (3rd) – Colombia:
Please also pray for our Social Foundation as we plan to focus this year on working more with special needs’ children and the elderly, who are often neglected by society.
Friday (4th) – Colombia:
With any new opportunities to grow, we always start by taking into account the Mission and Vision statements of CLC. For this reason, it is our hope to open more shops, particularly in cities, such as Choco, that have been hit by violence, and abandoned by the state. Please pray for God’s help and wisdom with these decisions.
The Weekend (5th/6th) - Ecuador:
We ask that God will help us to stabilise and strengthen the level of sales we have in each area of our ministry and also to improve the way we manage and maintain our website and social networks. Please pray that each day God will open our eyes so that we can see His power and work in our lives and ministry.
Monday (7th) – Mexico:
Please pray that God will continue to develop, strengthen and grow our team to be one that is wise, united and has a real heart for reaching areas in our country where there is little to no access to Christian literature. May God give us the creativity and sales needed to further His Kingdom!
Tuesday (8th) – Panama:
Please pray that God will continue to help us pay our suppliers. We thank God for the new addition to our team of a spiritually mature brother who has a lot of experience in sales and firmly believes that he was called to CLC by God.
Wednesday (9th) - Uruguay:
Please pray as we seek new staff and continually develop new partnerships, points of distribution and move forward as a ministry. We need people who truly have a heart for this ministry and feel God’s call to join CLC.
Thursday (10th) - Uruguay:
It is our hope this year that we can increase our distribution and sales by 5%, despite the continual changes to our economy. Please pray for us.
Friday (11th) – Venezuela:
We thank God that during this difficult year we have seen our customers identify with our ministry, offering to support us in prayer. Their thankfulness to God (that we remain open) and their encouragement keeps us pressing on. What a joy to witness the fruit of our labour making a definite impact in communities.
The Weekend (12th/13th) – Venezuela:
In order for us to pay our suppliers and remain open and a centre of hope for our communities, we ask for prayer that would enable us to have better access to other currencies. At the moment, we are only allowed to purchase a certain amount of international funds a few times each year.
Monday (14th) - Belarus:
We give thanks for the growth in sales through our website. This has become an essential part of our ministry as it helps to supplement the overhead costs of having a bookshop ministry. We have noticed a drop in customers visiting our shop and would ask for your prayers in finding new, innovative ways to draw people back in.
Tuesday (15th) – Belarus:
Please continue to pray for our publishing projects and partnership with CLC Russia. We are seeking the Lord’s wisdom and help in choosing new titles, advertising our books and, finally, balancing all the work involved in publishing, shopkeeping and event bookstalls with our family life.
Wednesday (16th) – Central Asia (CA1):
Our sales are quite a bit lower than we anticipated and we have not been able to rent out the back apartment regularly. This makes cash flow a serious issue. Pray that we will soon find a better rental situation for our flat. Pray also that the Lord will bring new customers and help us better connect with local pastors and churches.
Thursday (17th) - Bulgaria:
Our prayer is for God’s wisdom and guidance, especially in our relationships with our suppliers. Let us be led by His love and not try to solve our problems by our human efforts. We praise God for the publication of Crazy Love in 2016 and also ask for prayer concerning two upcoming projects: You and Me Forever (The Chan’s) and Not a Fan (Kyle Idleman). Thank you!
Friday (18th) – Central Asia (CA2):
We pray for wisdom to follow God’s leading and will so that we might be more active in making Christian books available in the local language. We also hope our local team will soon be able to run the store without assistance from CLC USA teammates.
The Weekend (19th/20th) – Central Asia (CA2):
We thank God for incredible opportunities like this: A group of people were looking for the Koran, but after discussing the holy books and prophets with them, they ended up buying a Bible. Praise God!
Monday (21st) - Cyprus:
Please continue to pray for us as the economic situation is still influencing so many lives and our sales. We pray that our emails will remind customers about what is new or back in stock and that our website will continue to reach people who wouldn’t normally visit the shop.
Tuesday (22nd) - France:
We are currently modernising our website and ask for prayer that we will implement changes that will attract more people. We also seek the Lord’s guidance as we continue to develop our publishing and wholesale department. We look after the distribution and logistics for a number of Christian publishers in France.
Wednesday (23rd) – France:
The decision has been made to sell our bookshop in Martinique. We believe this is the best way forward for our ministry, so please pray that the Lord will bring us a buyer willing to pay a good price. This, along with God’s wisdom, is vital in helping us find the best location for our ministry’s future.
Thursday (24th) - Germany:
Praise God that our team’s health and unity has remained strong despite the economic challenges we are facing. Please pray that this will remain so and that we will continue to be open to finding new and innovative ways of changing our situation for the better.
Friday (25th) – Hungary:
We thank God as well for helping us to sell a house owned by the mission and that some of our debts were cancelled. What a blessing! Please continue to pray that we would further develop our publishing endeavour and marketing strategies to further stabilise our ministry financially.
The Weekend (26th/27th) – Hungary:
Annamaria Karpati became the Director for our team in 2016 so please continue to pray for her and the challenges she faces each day in her new role.
Monday (28th) – Italy:
We give thanks to God that Samuele Di Ruocco (photo) is now the new Director of CLC Italy. He is the first ‘Italian’ Director for the team, and we praise God for the growth of this team throughout the years. It has been a blessing for many CLCers to watch them grow and mature as a team. Their leadership committee, including the Director, is now all Italian. Please pray for Samuele as he adapts to his new role and responsibilities and for his team as they learn to trust Samuele to lead them in following God’s will.
Tuesday (29th) – Italy:
Please pay for the work involved in our new publishing projects and that each new title will be a blessing to many.
Wednesday (30th) – The Netherlands:
We ask the Lord to help CLC Netherlands to further mobilise the Church towards evangelism as well as become move involved in it ourselves. Please pray that we can have bookstall in markets and events that will allow us to share with people the love of God and encourage them in their walk with the Lord, no matter what situation they are facing.
Thursday (31st) – The Netherlands:
In the Land of the Blue Burqas by Kate McCord is a biography that is making a big impact in our country. Kate shares about her time working in Afghanistan and her love for those that were suffering. The book is very well written and takes away a lot of prejudice towards people from a Muslim background. Please pray that this book will continue to soften many hearts, enabling them to reach out to the lost and hurting.