Monday, March 24, 2014

Leadership Transition: Part 2

Team Member: Albert

 

è Leader - Juan (Latino man, believer, has been holding back from truly following Christ but recently shown some willingness to move forward)

·         Request – Pray that the Holy Spirit will grow in him and bring him into obedience.

 

è Leader – Rudy (Latino man, says he believes, has been holding back from truly following Christ but recently shown some willingness to move forward)

·         Request – Pray that the Holy Spirit will grow in him and bring him into obedience.

 

è Leader – Armando (Latino man, head of household, believer)

·         Request – Pray that the Holy Spirit will call Armando to more – to a deeper obedience and love of the Lord – and that he will see his role in bringing new life to his family as well

 

è Leader – A. (Latino man, new believer, 2nd in command of a Houston gang, waiting for trial that could possibly send him to prison for 2-20 years)

·         Request – Pray also for A’s girlfriend M. (also new believer) and their nine year old son in the following ways:

1.    Spiritual - that the Holy Spirit will radically change them, call them to complete submission and obedience, and tear down Satan’s strongholds in their lives, in order that they may be blessed and used by him.

2.    Practical – that the legal details will be clear, that funds will be provided

Vision – that they will become great leaders whether A is in prison or not

Friday, March 21, 2014

*note

The Kyaw in "Leadership Transition: Part 1" is the same Kyaw from the post "Spiritual Turmoil." See this post for more information about his specific needs.

Leadership Transition: Part 1

Team member: Jacob

 

è Leader - Harka (Nepalese man, head of household, not yet believer)

·         Request - Pray that he would supernaturally experience the revelation of Jesus Christ and recognize Him as the only true God, rather than accepting all gods.

 

è Leader - Polo's dad (can't remember his name, Karen man, head of household, believer)

·       Request - He recently agreed to start trying to make disciples, but he feels that he has no in-roads into people's lives. Pray that God would lay 1 person on his heart from his workplace and that the Spirit would begin working on that person's heart.

 

è Leader - Kyaw (Karen boy, 11 years old, believer, has led more than 10 of his peers to the Lord)

·       Request - Pray that he would be more and more consecrated and set apart from the world and his friends, so that he would be able to call people to a greater commitment to God's vision.


Big Picture Part 1: Leadership Transition

Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting specific requests related to the five main areas God has called us to pursue as a team this year. 

 

The first of these is leadership transition: we are seeking to raise up leaders who will share God's vision for discipleship.

 

The following posts will contain...


1. A list of names of several people who either have the potential to become key leaders or are already showing leadership qualities. 


2. Specific requests for what they need to move forward in leadership.

 

Please join us in battling for these people.

 



Saturday, March 15, 2014

Thanks and Prayers

Thank God with us for these blessings and pray into the future:

Thanks!

A Vietnamese college student named Tien gave her life to the Lord this week.  She is one of our neighbors and has been away for several months. God supernaturally directed one of our team members to connect with her at the perfect time and she was ready to follow Jesus!

Pray...

That Tien will continue to be obedient to Christ and grow strong in her faith.

Thanks!

Earlier this week some of the guys on our team hosted 5 Latino leaders at their parents home and were able to share more about the gospel call these men to follow Christ. These are men they have recently become connected with and who are already leaders in their community.

Pray...

All of these men have said that they believe that Jesus is God and that the gospel is true, but that they are not ready to follow him yet.  Pray that they will listen to the Spirit and be brought to repentance and obedience.  Pray that God will enable us to prove his authority to them by supernatural means. 

Friday, March 7, 2014

Spiritual Turmoil

There is a Buddhist family in one of our apartment complexes that has been  experiencing a heightening of spiritual turmoil over the past few months.  Three of the five children living at home (sixth grown and out of state) are believers: Kyaw (11, boy), Mah Pah (9, girl), and Tin Tin (5, girl).  

Father, Aung, is alcoholic and close to death with impending liver failure. He has expressed belief in the gospel but refuses to go against his wife, Mu Gay's, decision that they remain Buddhist.  In their culture, the wife makes the religious decisions for the family.

Kyaw was the first to believe when the Keystone team began working in Houston and, even though he is young, he has already proven to be a strong spiritual leader among his peers. God has made it clear to us that he is a key person of peace both now and in the future wherever God may take him.  However, because of the spiritual turmoil in his family Kyaw has been struggling deeply.

1. Please pray especially for Kyaw:  
              - for spiritual protection and breaking down strongholds
              - against the dark and heavy spiritual influences in his home, 
              - and that these will be replaced with the Spirit of peace and 
                submission to the Lord.

2. Pray also for Mah Pah, who is similarly affected by these issues.

3. Pray for Tin Tin, who has only recently decided to follow Jesus - that the seed sown in her will be protected from the evil one who is seeking to pluck it up.

4. Pray for father, Aung, and mother, Mu Gay, whose refusal to follow Christ keeps their family bound in this spiritual oppression.

5. Pray for the members of our team who are invested in ministry and discipleship with this family, for wisdom and clear direction in the Spirit.

As you pray, remember that because of Christ, your prayers are powerful and effective:

"For though we walk according to the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds." 

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Spiritual War

Recently we have become more aware of the truth of these words:

"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." 

In the last few weeks we have seen this played out in a variety of ways. Sometimes it's very obvious - distinct demonic possession, alcoholism, drugs, prostitution, domestic violence, and armed robbery. Other times it's more subtle - our disciples are too busy to meet, or their parents ask them to go to the store, or someone we are sharing with is too distracted to connect with what we are saying.  Often the battle is in our own hearts - we are tired, discouraged, proud, distracted, fighting condemnation or fear of rejection.

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world."

Please pray with us...

1.  Against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places that are constantly warring against the coming of the Kingdom of God in the lives of the people he has sent us to reach.

2. That the team and our disciples will take up the full armor of God so that we will be able to stand firm against the devil's schemes.