NOVEMBER 2019

The Great Bend is a cluster of 14 countries across West and Central Africa covering 3 million square miles and containing 434 million people. This region has one of the highest concentrations of lostness in Sub-Saharan Africa as 4500 people die each day with little to no access to the gospel. Many areas have been devastated by poverty, war, terrorism, disease and famine. For the majority of people, they have either been held captive by false religions or they have believed a false gospel that is rapidly spreading through their churches. The obstacles to the gospel are great but so are the opportunities

as vast numbers of unreached peoples and places are in close proximity to an incredible number of reached peoples and places. As pastors in Great Bend are trained to rightly handle the word of God and churches are equipped to share their faith, pray for believers to be mobilized to take the gospel to the unreached out-side their gate and across their borders. Through the power of God and a move-ment of His Spirit, pray that the peoples of Great Bend will be a light to the nations as they carry the name of Jesus to places it has never been and to people who have never heard.

Nations Reaching Nations

Sub-Saharan Africa

PRAYERPOINTS

STRONGHOLDS OF FALSE RELIGIONS HAVE HELD THE PEOPLE OF GREAT BEND CAPTIVE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. GOD IS USING NATIONAL BELIEVERS TO REACH INTO NEAR CULTURE COMMUNITIES TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS AND BREAK DOWN BARRIERS. GOD IS PATIENT AND HE IS DRAWING THE PEOPLES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TO HIMSELF.

A PRAYING PEOPLE IMPACTING A LOST WORLD

A small group of believers meet for church in a rural village in western Niger

teams to incorporate mercy ministries into their gospel strategies. Pray that as they preach and heal, people would receive physical help and eternal hope.

5 SWEDES OF SWEDEN. Pray for the seeds that have been sown

through biweekly broad gospel seed sowing in Stockholm by members of the Fridhemskyrkan church. Pray that as the group continues to go out, they will be able to engage more people with the gospel.

6 CENTRAL ASIAN PEOPLES. Pray for Central Asian young people who

access the internet in today’s digital world. Ask that they will search for truth and find it online. Pray that gospel outreach efforts using social media will have a broad reach.

7 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Pray for churches in the two major cities in

Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, to be a light in their city and a missions-sending body amidst increasing terrorist threats.

8 NORTHERN THAI/KHON MUANG OF THAILAND (cone MOO-ung).

The folk Buddhist culture of the Northern Thai embraces the present and avoids contemplating the future, the consequences of actions, and death. Ask the Lord to give them the faith to believe in Jesus who can free them from karma, sin, and death.

9 DEAF PEOPLES. Recently, four international partners completed

training at the Deaf Theological Training Center in Tennessee. Pray for these recent “grads,” as they have all returned to their home countries to begin training among their own people.

10 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Conflict between the French and English-

speaking parts of Cameroon has escalated to the breaking point. Pray that Christians in these areas would model peacemaking and be quick to forgive.

11 TIHAMA YEMENI ARABS OF YEMEN (tih-HAH-mah). “Baba!

Baba! [Father! Father!]” A Tihama Yemeni Arab boy cries out. “Shhh!” his older sister comforts him. “I am here. What do you need?” she asks. Please pray for Tihama Yemeni Arab children who have lost their parents to war and are living in refugee camps.

12 MOUNTAIN YI OF EAST ASIA (ee). One mature Mountain Yi

believer shared with nonbelievers in his village area despite their opposition. God softened hearts, then three believed, were baptized, and added to the church that they had formerly stood against! Please pray for courage and boldness.

13 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Many people fleeing violence have

ended up in refugee camps in Obo, Central African Republic. Pray for efforts in this camp to bring spiritual and physical relief to displaced peoples.

14 GLOBAL CROSSROADS, AMERICAN PEOPLES. The

Global Crossroads Team first met Luke* at a weekly English class. He has become a friend and dear brother in Christ. Pray that the Spirit will give Luke clarity and compassion as he witnesses to his wife. Pray she will respond in faith.

And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.” For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:14-16 ESV)

1 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Pray for God to use orality strategies so

that peoples without the written Word of God might hear and respond to the gospel in their heart language.

2 DISPLACED INDIGENOUS OF BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (boh-guh-TAH).

The Bogota Team has recently come in contact with a group of Katio and Chami people who live in a shelter in the city. Please pray as they meet and story the Bible chronologically.

3 SOUTH ASIANS IN AFRICA. Pray for third-culture kids (TCKs) from

families living in Africa but focusing on work among South Asian peoples. Several of these TCKs will be starting formal schooling this fall in Kenya. Ask that they will adjust and thrive.

4 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. As the numbers of internally displaced

peoples rises exponentially, pray for

Teams use mercy ministries to bring the Gospel to unreached peoples.

15 PEOPLES OF MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA (MAHD-yuh

pruh-DESH). Moe* and a believer have been reading the Bible together. Moe finished the Gospel of John and enjoyed it so much that he wanted to keep reading! Please pray that Moe will continue to desire to read the Word and that he will surrender self to follow Jesus.

16 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Pray for Congolese Christians to

become tellers of God’s story. Pray that they will tell His Story often and tell it well. Pray for many to have eyes to see, ears to hear and faith to believe.

17 RUMELIAN TURKS OF THE BALKANS (ru-ME-lee-an). As a

minority, Steven* is receiving opposition from believers from the majority group for having a leadership position in ministry. Please pray for these walls of prejudice to be torn down and for believers to seek to work together for the kingdom of God.

18 EAST ASIAN PEOPLES. A new Chinese church in Vienna, Austria,

currently meets in various locations: The worship service is held in a restaurant; the youth group meets in a hair salon. Please ask the Lord to provide a suitable rental facility.

19 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Christians working in the oil

industry of Equatorial Guinea have a unique opportunity to share their faith with their co-workers. Pray for more Christians to leverage their vocations for the Kingdom.

20 LAST FRONTIER. Several new believers from a resistant people

group need to re-arrange their busy schedules so they will have time to study the Bible and learn how to live the Christian life. Pray that they will give their new spiritual lives priority.

21 ITALIANS OF ITALY. Praise the Lord that six young people in

Rome, Italy, have followed the Lord in believer’s baptism! Pray that their friends will see the change in their lives and be unable to rest until they, too, respond positively to the Holy Spirit’s call.

22 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. The Fang people of Gabon are

traditionally jungle fighters. It is reported that many have embraced Christianity. Pray they will bring God’s Word to unreached peoples in their country.

23 DEAF PEOPLES OF CENTRAL ASIA. Gretchen Snow* writes,

"Pray for Deaf Central Asians to see the truth not because of me or my team, but through the work of the Father. Pray that the story translation will be available in this country soon so the Deaf will be able to understand the truth.”

24 MALONG OF THE PHILIPPINES (mah-LONG). Many Malong

people dwell where clean water cannot be found, and that leads to disease and death. The invitation to bring clean water to Malong people means the opportunity to share about living water. Pray for on-going invitations.

25 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Pray for believers in Ghana to have a

missionary heart to the growing Muslim population in their cities. Pray that they would cross cultural and religious barriers to share the gospel.

26 NORTHERN AFRICAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN

UNENGAGED PEOPLES. Once a sleepy village, Doha, Qatar, has become a city of ultramodern skyscrapers, many-lane highways, and malls with designer shops. Materialism has gripped the hearts of most Qataris. Pray that they will desire the peace that only Jesus gives.

27 EAST ASIAN PEOPLES. Ask the Lord to strengthen small-

town churches in East Asia with sound teaching, gospel resources, and encouragement for believers living there. Many remote areas lack resources, yet we know that God can provide each need.

28 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Pray for churches to be started in

Korhogo, Cote d’Ivoire. Because of its location, the gospel could easily spread to other villages allowing the unreached peoples of the North to hear the gospel.

29 MAPPILA MUSLIMS OF INDIA (MOP-lah). Please lift up Brother

Adam* and his family. He is a Muslim-background believer and leads a small church in the state of Kerala. Pray that he will grow in intimacy with the Lord and commit more and more to making him known.

30 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. The micropeoples (<100,000)

of Togo remain some of the least reached peoples of Togo. Pray for these people groups to hear and believe the Gospel: Bago, Soruba, Mossi, Bissa and Mamprusi.

People travel by boat to reach nearby villages along the Niger River.

Simon* grew up in a Christian home, went to church each Sunday, had Christian friends and married a Christian woman. When he started his family, he gave each child a Christian name. Simon, a Yoruba man from Nigeria, learned there were millions of people in neighboring countries who did not have these privi-leges because they had never heard of Jesus. Feeling a burden to take the name of Christ where it had not been named before, he moved his family to a village in Niger. He started a business in the market so that he could share the love of Christ to as many people as possible. After a few years of living in Niger, Simon had to move back to Nigeria. Little does Simon know that he planted seeds that were later watered by IMB mis-sionaries who moved to that village and planted the first church among an unreached people group. Pray for more believers like Simon to leave the comforts of their Christian communities and go to unreached peoples and places that are just beyond their borders. (*names changed)

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Carrying His Name

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imb.org

S U B - S A H A R A N A F R I C A H A S A G R O W I N G C H R I S T I A N P O P U L AT I O N , B U T I T ’ S S T I L L H O M E T O N E A R LY 1 , 6 0 0 U N R E A C H E D P E O P L E G R O U P S I N S P R AW L I N G C I T I E S , B A R R E N D E S E R T S , R A I N F O R E S T S , A N D T R O P I C A L I S L A N D S . W I L L Y O U H E L P U S R E A C H T H E M ?

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SOUTHAFRICA

LESOTHOSWAZILAND

MOZAMBIQUE

MADAGASCAR

ZIMBABWEBOTSWANA

ZAMBIAMALAWINAMIBIA

ANGOLA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

CONGOTANZANIA

KENYA

UGANDA

RWANDABURUNDIEQUATORIAL

GUINEA

GABON REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

CAMEROON

NIGERIA

BENINTOGO

GHANACÔTE D'IVOIRE

LIBERIASIERRA LEONE

NIGER

CHAD

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

MALI

GUINEA

BURKINAFASO

GUINEA-BISSAU

SENEGAL

GAMBIA

CAPE VERDE

MAURITIUS

SEYCHELLES

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

2,583 PEOPLE GROUPS

1,587UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

448UNENGAGED UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

MAJOR RELIGIONS

21% M U S L I M

36% C H R I S T I A N

40% A N I M I S T

62%OF THEPOPULATIONIS UNDERTHE AGE OF

25AFRICA WILL BE 60% URBAN BY 2050.It’s currently 36% urban.

MILLIONPEOPLE789

imb.org

S U B - S A H A R A N A F R I C A H A S A G R O W I N G C H R I S T I A N P O P U L AT I O N , B U T I T ’ S S T I L L H O M E T O N E A R LY 1 , 6 0 0 U N R E A C H E D P E O P L E G R O U P S I N S P R AW L I N G C I T I E S , B A R R E N D E S E R T S , R A I N F O R E S T S , A N D T R O P I C A L I S L A N D S . W I L L Y O U H E L P U S R E A C H T H E M ?

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SOUTHAFRICA

LESOTHOSWAZILAND

MOZAMBIQUE

MADAGASCAR

ZIMBABWEBOTSWANA

ZAMBIAMALAWINAMIBIA

ANGOLA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

CONGOTANZANIA

KENYA

UGANDA

RWANDABURUNDIEQUATORIAL

GUINEA

GABON REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

CAMEROON

NIGERIA

BENINTOGO

GHANACÔTE D'IVOIRE

LIBERIASIERRA LEONE

NIGER

CHAD

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

MALI

GUINEA

BURKINAFASO

GUINEA-BISSAU

SENEGAL

GAMBIA

CAPE VERDE

MAURITIUS

SEYCHELLES

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

2,583 PEOPLE GROUPS

1,587UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

448UNENGAGED UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

MAJOR RELIGIONS

21% M U S L I M

3 6% C H R I S T I A N

40% A N I M I S T

62%OF THEPOPULATIONIS UNDERTHE AGE OF

25AFRICA WILL BE 60% URBAN BY 2050.It’s currently 36% urban.

MILLIONPEOPLE789

imb.org

S U B - S A H A R A N A F R I C A H A S A G R O W I N G C H R I S T I A N P O P U L AT I O N , B U T I T ’ S S T I L L H O M E T O N E A R LY 1 , 6 0 0 U N R E A C H E D P E O P L E G R O U P S I N S P R AW L I N G C I T I E S , B A R R E N D E S E R T S , R A I N F O R E S T S , A N D T R O P I C A L I S L A N D S . W I L L Y O U H E L P U S R E A C H T H E M ?

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SOUTHAFRICA

LESOTHOSWAZILAND

MOZAMBIQUE

MADAGASCAR

ZIMBABWEBOTSWANA

ZAMBIAMALAWINAMIBIA

ANGOLA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

CONGOTANZANIA

KENYA

UGANDA

RWANDABURUNDIEQUATORIAL

GUINEA

GABON REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

CAMEROON

NIGERIA

BENINTOGO

GHANACÔTE D'IVOIRE

LIBERIASIERRA LEONE

NIGER

CHAD

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

MALI

GUINEA

BURKINAFASO

GUINEA-BISSAU

SENEGAL

GAMBIA

CAPE VERDE

MAURITIUS

SEYCHELLES

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

2,583 PEOPLE GROUPS

1,587UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

448UNENGAGED UNREACHED

PEOPLE GROUPS

MAJOR RELIGIONS

21% M U S L I M

36% C H R I S T I A N

4 0 % A N I M I S T

62%OF THEPOPULATIONIS UNDERTHE AGE OF

25AFRICA WILL BE 60% URBAN BY 2050.It’s currently 36% urban.

MILLIONPEOPLE789

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA