Pray for Croatia and Church Planting

This past weekend The Lausanne Movement conducted a three-day Church Planting Workshop here in Croatia. For more information on what they are about, check them out: https://www.lausanne.org This was the third such meeting in the past year. The purpose of the Lausanne Movement is to help national evangelicals to see the need to promote the Gospel through planting new churches. The first meeting was for the purpose of finding out who were interested in church planting. The second was to explore what works and what does not work. This third meeting was for the purpose of putting a plan together for going forward. At the IST Group, we are participating in this endeavor for several reasons, one being our Lika Project.

The encouraging thing is, that pastors and ministry leaders from four to five denominations have been joined together for this endeavor. I remember George Otis, Jr.’s research of modern day revivals or moves of God. He concluded, that there were two things common to all revivals: 1) desperate prayer, and 2) unity between pastors and churches.

When we first came to Croatia and the Balkans, division in the body of Christ was so very evident. Division remains a challenge, however we can see measurable progress not only resulting in these meetings but as well, through IST Group. This workshop is a crowning example of the Holy Spirit softening hearts.

In the UR Zagreb, we pray often for unity, and it is so encouraging for us to see things happening in Croatia, like the Lausanne Movement coming here to work with us and the pastors responding so willingly.

God is responding not only to our intercession, but I assure you, your prayers are being heard! God is on the move here in Croatia and throughout the Balkans.

Prayer Points:
1)    We rejoice in the small beginnings. Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to stir the Christians to join forces. May they get a revelation of the synergy that such unity creates.
2)    Pray for this Lausanne group as they move forward. May God give them wisdom to communicate to the national leadership that programs and methods are only good if we allow for God to be in charge.
3)    Pray that serious church planting will go forward in Croatia. Many world Christian leaders are understanding that the prayer/worship movement, global missions and the church planting movements all need to work together in order to accomplish the Great Commission.
4)    Our goal at the IST Group, is to utilize all three in the task assigned to us here in the Balkans. Pray that we have wisdom above all, in order to move forward in His strategies and not ours.
5)    IST Group has a clear mandate form the Lord to establish a work in an unreached area of Croatia, Lika. There is much excitement on the team, and we are preparing for our second monthly team-building meeting for the Lika Project. Pray that God would continue to unite our hearts into His plan for the region. Pray for wisdom as we move forward with the many plans.
6)    Let’s also take a minute and pray for the world. It is projected that the New Testament will be translated into all the languages of the world by 2020. Let us fervently pray for this accomplishment.

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