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June 2007 |
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I had an opportunity to visit Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome a number of years ago. I noticed four huge pillars surrounding the main alter at the front of the sanctuary. Carved into the marble base of each of these pillars were two massive keys, symbolizing the "keys of the Kingdom" given to Peter.
Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of Hades will
not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
(Mt.16:18,19a) We understand that those keys and authority are given
to those who walk with Jesus. "All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations."
(Mt.28:18,19a) Those keys and authority are focused on the advance of
Christ's Kingdom and the mission of the Church.
Jesus gives
us His authority to pray for least reached nations and the many who
live in spiritual darkness. That kind of bold praying and the mission
assignments which flow out of it is capturing the attention of the
Church today. This summer we are sending ministry teams to "creative
access" countries in Asia with a clear mandate to pray and invest in
the disciple-making work of the Church. These teams will be composed
of young adults from both North America as well as the host countries
who are committed to reaching their nations with the gospel and growing
in their relationship with Jesus. Together they will be using the keys
of the kingdom to reach the unreached. In one of those assignments the
team will be riding horses into remote regions sharing the gospel with
nomadic people.
All over the world the Church is using the
"keys" of the kingdom with new authority. A partner mission to our
TREK program is currently sending discipleship training/mission
participants to the Middle East where they are reaching young men in
radical "military" training camps. Over 40 of these young men have
found Christ and are now reaching others in that sensitive region of
the world.
Please join us in praying this summer for the many
young adults who will train and serve in mission assignments around the
world. Pray they would understand who they are in Christ and serve
with that freedom, humility and authority!
Ministry Highlights
- Since November, we have been praying for
12 pastors imprisoned in Southeast Asia. Most of those pastors have
now been released, with several still in custody - pray all will soon
be returned to their families and congregations.
- This month,
Mennonite Brethren leaders from around the world will be meeting in
Kinshasa, DR Congo for meetings of the International Committee of
Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB). Praise God for this strong partnership of
MB conferences around the world.
Items for Prayer
- Pray
for the Thai government's approval of our registration application as a
charitable foundation - we've submitted the paper work 7 times and keep
making the suggested changes. We need more prayer for the approval of
this application.
- Pray for each of our summer teams as they
prepare for ministry with our ACTION, SOAR and DMI programs in Peru,
Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Thailand, Central Asia, South Africa, DR
Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Ukraine, and Canada.
Watch for a CMN (Celebration Missions Night) event near you in 2007! www.mbmsi.org/cmn
-Randy Friesen
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