Prayer Focus, May 2018
Tuesday (1st) – Benin:
As 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of CLC Benin’s ministry, please join with us in thanking God for what He has brought us through. Pray that we trust Him for all that is to come! Also, please pray for the special ways in which our team is planning to commemorate the anniversary so that God is glorified, customers are blessed and CLC is made better and more widely known. Over the years, CLC Benin has repeatedly asked for prayer that the LORD will provide the opportunity for the team to purchase its own property. Again, we request intercession for this. We would love for this team to have its own place, centrally located, as a means of securing the future of the ministry. Please pray for God’s provision.
Wednesday (2nd) – United States:
Pray for CLC USA bookstores during this busy time as we promote Christian resources as options for those purchasing gifts for upcoming special occasions. Many give gifts to unbelieving family members, so please pray with us that God’s Spirit will open the eyes of the blind.
Thursday (3rd) – Antigua:
As mentioned yesterday, a number of special occasions occur during this quarter. We ask that you will pray for the safe and timely arrival of necessary stock, especially for CLC Antigua. Please pray that these items will lead to greater sales in the shop so that the team can pay its invoices on time and continually reinvest these funds into CLC’s ministry and the people it serves.
Friday (4th) – Colombia:
We ask that you pray to the Lord for CLC Editorial (Spanish CLC Publications). The team is making some adjustments and changes that are not easy, but they are necessary so that the ministry can continue to sustain itself abroad. We believe that the Word of God should reach every corner of the earth where Spanish is spoken. Although these are drastic and crucial changes, please pray with us that the Lord will support, strengthen and guide the team in each step. We also ask for your prayers for the presidential elections that will be held this year in Colombia. Please pray, too, for the current situation in Venezuela since the high number of immigrants coming to Colombia has been putting a real strain on the economy and government.
The Weekend (5th/6th) – Kenya:
Praise the Lord for the partnership we are developing with Robert Carr of Metro Philly Church Planting Partnership (USA). We are keen to see how things will develop this year. Please pray for the Lord’s wisdom, direction and unity. There will also be a large conference for pastors in Nairobi during June at The Deliverance Church. Please pray that CLC Kenya will be able to find new ways to partner and be a blessing to the (over) three thousand pastors who will be gathering for annual prayers.
May 7th - 13th, Week 19: Encouraging Stories
Monday (7th) – Portugal:
After National Director Carlos Cunha recently attended his seventh Global Leadership Summit in Ponte de Sôr (Alentejo), he shared, “It was a great opportunity because we had about fifty attendees from local churches and around twenty non-believers too. Several of these non-believers work for the local government. It is the second year in a row that they have attended, bought leadership books and, in some cases, Bibles. It is so encouraging to see their desire to apply some of the leadership principles that they have learned at the conference into the local government. This annual event is not only making a great impact on our community, but it allows us the chance to put the seed of the Gospel into these people’s lives too! What a great blessing to be part of this project!”
Tuesday (8th) – United Kingdom:
“We are grateful for the way our customers have responded to our Bible Projects, including the Mozambique Economy Bibles and the Thai easy-to-read Bibles. People are happy to identify with what we are doing. In fact, a customer recently sent £200 in cash through the post!”
Neil Wardrope, CLC Ministry Director
Wednesday (9th) – Papua New Guinea:
“Last Christmas Eve, my children decided to cook containers of food and give them to the street people that live on Okari Street. These are people we see often but rarely interact with. What a blessing it was to see God use my children that night to bring some Christmas cheer in their lives. This one act has brought us closer to these unfortunate souls who now refer to us as ‘the Bookshop People.’ It was an eye-opening experience that reminded me that we have a big responsibility to look out for those around us in order to build a bridge for the Gospel. Please pray for us as we build these relationships and for the resources to do these food packs again soon.” Vere Babona, National Director
Thursday (10th) – Colombia:
CLC Editorial (Spanish CLC Publications) has just published nine books for children that have been very well received by adults and are a delight to children. These books have been prepared with very attractive images and simple texts, adapted for each age. We rejoice with the Colombian team because children can hold in their hands the Bible presented in didactic and entertaining ways that amuse them and teach them to love the Word of God.
Friday (11th) – Central Asia (CA2):
“Praise God that we finally have received official registration as a Christian Bookstore! On top of that, we have even managed to get permission from the Religion Committee to import and sell nearly twenty new titles in Russian and in the local language. This is in addition to the ones already being sold elsewhere in the country.” The Director
The Weekend (12th/13th) – Colombia:
“The OM ship Logos Hope visited our country recently, staying in the Bay of Santa Marta during December, in the Port of Barranquilla during January and in the Port of Cartagena in February. David Pabon (Colombia National Director) and I were blessed to visit the ship and to set up a book table on the ship. The team from the CLC Barranquilla bookstore attended the book table and also put up a banner highlighting CLC’s ministry. This ship takes the Gospel to the nations of the earth. It is the largest floating bookstore in the world and sells books at very affordable prices to sustain itself. It has become a unique tourist attraction. It attracts believers and non-believers and impacts them through their work. CLC sold a large number of books, more than 2000 from different publishers—including ours—at very favourable prices to support this evangelistic work. We donated books from our own publishing house to the ship as a way to encourage missions and to contribute to their spread of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ in the world. Praise be to the Lord!” Blanca Garzón, CLC Editorial
May 14th - 20th, Week 20: Working Together
Monday (14th) – CLC Russia & CLC Korea:
In the last couple of years, CLC Russia has been able to publish titles in a joint effort with a number of other CLC countries in Europe. Praise God that the team has just completed—for the very first time—a joint publication with CLC Korea. May the Lord continue to open doors that will allow CLC teams to support each other’s publishing efforts.
Tuesday (15th) – CLC & Pastors in Florence:
“Praise God for the growth of fellowship within the CLC team in Florence. Doors are opening for evangelism from the bookshop due to its prominent tourist location. Recently, the team invited thirteen local pastors to join them for a meal. May the Lord provide more opportunities like this, enabling CLC to build stronger relationships within the local Christian community.”
Ruud ‘Rudy’ Kuijer, CLC Global Mobiliser / Evangelism Development
Wednesday (16th) – CLC PNG, Government & Churches:
There is an opportunity for CLC PNG to partner with the Department of Community Development and Religion to provide counselling services and resources to victims of family and gender-based violence. Pray that this will become a reality as we negotiate and liaise with different church leaders to strengthen our ministry.
Thursday (17th) – CLC Editorial (Colombia) & Publishers:
God is opening amazing doors for CLC Editorial (Spanish CLC Publications). Many favourable alliances have been made with Scandinavia and Copenhagen Publishers to produce beautiful children’s books at very low prices. The team has also partnered with a Biblical organisation to print Bibles for Colombia, as well as with other authors and publishers who will be a great blessing for our ministry. Praise the Lord!
Friday (18th) – CLC Bolivia & Events:
Pray for CLC Bolivia as it prepares to participate in the 2018 International Book Fair in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. More than 50,000 people normally attend. Please pray for good sales. Please pray that through those that the team encounters at the event, God will open new doors for the placement of Christian literature in churches, universities, markets, events and fairs.
The Weekend (19th/20th) – CLC UK & the Vineyard Church:
We thank the Lord for the growing relationship with the Vineyard Churches in the UK. They are actively planting and growing churches in this country and beyond. CLC UK has recently established a relationship that enables the team to supply them with a website, book tables at their events and necessary ongoing resources from the CLC Warehouse in Chester.
Please also pray for our Annual Conference that begins this weekend (May 20 – 22) as CLC UK seeks the Lord for the way forward. There are multiple challenges to the ministry, and the team wants to be both relevant and sustainable. May this also be a time for reflection and personal renewal. Following the conference, the UK trustees will meet on May 22nd and 23rd. Pray for them in their responsibilities. CLC UK is blessed to have an excellent group of trustees with experience in various areas.
May 21st - 27th, Week 21: CLC Publications
Monday (21st) – United Kingdom:
Praise God as CLC UK recently participated with Scandinavia Publishing to produce three children’s books. It has been many years since the UK team has been involved in publishing locally, and we pray that this is only the beginning. Please also continue to pray for the development and implementation of various digital technologies in these months, including websites, eBooks and Print-on-Demand (POD). The demands of the market—anywhere, anyhow, any time—are a challenge for us, but they also come with opportunities that we wish to grasp.
Tuesday (22nd) – Portugal:
Last November, CLC Portugal’s publishing department translated and published two popular titles into Portuguese. Already 87 copies of the first title, The Christian’s Pocket Guide to Loving the Old Testament (Christian Focus), have been sold, and 84 copies of The Starter Bible (Thomas Nelson). “We cannot thank the Lord enough for the opportunities to publish such strong Christian titles into our native language,” shares Carlos Cunha, National Director. *Photo
Wednesday (23rd) – Colombia:
“We thank the Lord for the book we are working on, The Genealogies of Genesis, written by the Rev. Abraham Park, a Korean writer and pastor. He has written five wonderful books. We hope to publish them and develop seminars on each book for different countries. Pray that God will allow these books to reach the hands of thousands of pastors and leaders who need to understand the providence of God in the history of redemption.” Blanca Garzón, CLC Editorial
Thursday (24th) – France:
CLC France has recently published two new titles by an American Rabbi in an effort to help Christians better understand the Jewish culture and customs. These ‘what every Christian should know’ style of books explore understanding Jesus as a Jewish man and understanding the Passover. It is hoped that through these publications, Christians will be able to reach more Jewish people by building better relationships with those in this community.
Friday (25th) – Kenya:
CLC Kenya just released its very first children’s publication. The book, Conceive Achieve for Teens, has already sold a good number of copies. Pray with us that this book will be a blessing that helps teenagers in Kenya to conceive ideas and dreams (in accordance to God’s will) and then gives them the tools and motivation to work hard to achieve them.
The Weekend (26th/27th) – Russia:
Last January, CLC Russia celebrated the safe arrival of the Key Verse Bible (in Russian) for children. This joint production between CLC and Scandinavia Publishing House has been long awaited. Upon seeing the new arrival, one of the bookshop assistants said, “This is the best book we’ve done (so far)!”
May 28th - June 3rd, Week 22: News, Prayers and Praise
Monday (28th) – Italy:
CLC Italy is excited that Gerardo Scalante (CLC International Director) and his wife, Silvia, will be attending its annual conference being held just outside Catania, Sicily, June 10 – 14. Please pray for their safe arrival and a blessed time for all. May the staff find refreshment and be challenged to move forward together in accordance with God’s will.
Tuesday (29th) – Italy:
CLC Italy currently has eight bookshops in Italy’s biggest cities and a large warehouse on the outskirts of Catania. There is a ninth shop in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. With the increase in Internet sales, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep all of these shops open. Pray that the shops and warehouse can grow and be centres of witness.
Wednesday (30th) – Central Asia (CA2):
Pray that the Lord would help this CLC team to develop deeper relationships with local churches and their leaders. Pray too that this will lead to new opportunities for outreach and enable them to better support one another. Recently, CLC CA2 has been able to put some of its books into a ‘church bookshop.’ Praise God for these opportunities, which are key to financially supporting CLC’s ministry in this country.
Thursday (31st) – United States:
Please continue to pray for the regular shipments coming from around the world for CLC’s Multi-Language Media department. It is not unusual for boxes to be lost or damaged, so please pray that our Bibles and books will arrive on time and in good condition.