FIEC Prayer News - July 2009
Week 1 - Wednesday 1st – Wednesday 8th
FIEC Council & Staff
General Prayer Points
The affairs of FIEC are handled by the 35 members of Council (our Trustees), supported by various teams and committees, and administered by the staff - most of whom are based at the Market Harborough office. The Council usually meets three times each year and is mostly comprised of men from busy pastorates; please pray that they may be effective in their own ministries and in steering the work of FIEC.
Personnel
President: Rupert Bentley-Taylor
General Secretary: Richard Underwood
Treasurer: Peter Shelley
Pastors’ Association: Basil Howlett and Elisabeth Smyth
Prepared for Service: David & Laraine Cook, Hugh & Joyce Hill
Office Staff: Rod Badams, Roy Saint, Tim Oldridge, Janice Bowman
Regular Volunteers: Margery Badams
FIEC Limited: Brian Matthews, Jayne Oldridge, Nick Williams; Derek Alcock, Mike Smith (volunteers)
Key Prayer Points This Week
Wednesday 1st Please pray for Richard Underwood (General Secretary) as he faces a punishing schedule of meetings this month. He plans to be at each of the consultation meetings which will be taking place all over the country, though he will be accompanied at most of them either by John Stevens (FIEC’s Director Designate) or by members of the Executive. Please pray for physical strength, safety in travel and effective engagement with church representatives. This evening there is a consultation meeting at Flitwick BC.
Thursday 2nd Please pray for Rupert, our President, as he juggles the priorities of leading Widcombe Baptist Church and fulfilling his commitments to the churches of the Fellowship. He will be involved with Richard at some of the consultation meetings this month. This evening there is a consultation meeting at East London Tabernacle.
Friday 3rd Please pray for Prepared for Service (PfS) which provides a unique training opportunity for men and women to be better equipped for works of service. PfS is taking a break over the summer. Richard and Janice Bowman are at a West Midlands Reps Meeting today.
Saturday 4th The Pastoral Introductions service helps many churches to find pastors. Thank God for the new ministries which have commenced in recent months and pray for churches who long to find the right man to lead, love and teach them. Please pray for the Yorkshire churches’ Family Day in Otley today.
Sunday 5th Thank God that we are able to worship God without fear today. Let’s remember to pray for those believers throughout the world who do not enjoy religious freedom. Please pray for Richard as he preaches at Little Hill Church, Leicester, today.
Monday 6th People from our churches are faithfully serving the Lord in many parts of the world. Please pray that the Lord will use them and raise up a new generation of young people who will serve him as missionaries taking the gospel to the whole world.
Tuesday 7th Please pray for all the staff working for the Fellowship. The work they do is essential to the smooth running of all the services FIEC brings to the churches. Thank God too for Peter Shelley, as he fills the demanding role of FIEC Treasurer. There is a Consultation meeting in Sheffield tonight.
Wednesday 8th Please thank God for, and pray for the FIEC Council and Executive Committee as they lead the churches of FIEC into what will be a challenging year. Pray too for the Barton-on-Humber outreach at Bike Night in the town.
Week 2 - Thursday 9th – Thursday 16th
FIEC Ministries
General Prayer Points
The various ministry teams do a significant amount of work ‘behind the scenes’. Please pray that each team may be aware that its work is valued as we seek to work out the aims and objectives of FIEC, which are to support churches, reach communities and grow leaders. Pray for each team to be enthused with their task of adding gospel value to the life of the churches
Teams
Executive Committee, Training Teams, Finance Committee, Overseas Relationships Team, Care & Recognition Team (CART), Media Team, Outreach Teams, Women’s Ministry Team, Pastoral Link Team, FIEC Limited
Key Prayer Points This Week
Thursday 9th Please pray for the Church Restoration Group which meets today. The work they do to help struggling churches throughout the country is greatly needed. May the Lord give them wisdom, discernment, inner strength and safety in their travels and hope to the churches they serve. There is a consultation meeting in Oadby this evening.
Friday 10th Please pray today for a meeting of the UEC at Stanway near Colchester this afternoon. Pray too for the Consultation meeting in Colchester this evening.
Saturday 11th Please pray for the ministry of all the FIEC Visitors around the country in their vital work of supporting churches and pastors. Thank God for new Visitors and ask him to help us identify more men who could fulfil this vital role.
Sunday 12th As we meet today for worship, may we be enabled to declare the unchanging truth of Jesus, the one who came to bring salvation to all who believe in him. Richard is at Bath Street EC, Walsall today—preaching this morning and speaking at a gospel concert tonight.
Monday 13th Please pray today for the work of FIEC Limited, and for Brian Matthews, Jayne Oldridge and Nick Williams, with the able assistance of Derek Alcock and Mike Smith on a voluntary basis in the invaluable work they do for so many of our churches. The FIEC Limited Board meets today. There is a consultation meeting in Ivybridge, Devon, this evening.
Tuesday 14th The Regional Gospel Partnerships are planning “A Passion for Life” Mission in 2010. Many FIEC churches are involved; please pray that the Lord would bless gospel churches as they pray and plan together to seek the lost for him. There is a consultation meeting in Meare, Somerset, this evening.
Wednesday 15th Affinity is a network of about 1300 churches located throughout the British Isles. Seeking to be conservative in doctrine and contemporary in culture, Affinity exists to promote biblical church unity for the furtherance of the gospel; please pray for the ministry of Affinity’s Director, Jonathan Stephen and for Richard who currently chairs the Affinity Council. The Affinity Council meets in London today. There is a consultation meeting at Widcombe, Bath, this evening.
Thursday 16th Pray for all ministries amongst children and young people—they are not just the church of tomorrow; they are a vital part of the church today. The work can be discouraging at times so please pray for Sunday School teachers and all children’s and youth workers. There is a consultation meeting at Moordown, Bournemouth, this evening.
Week 3 - Friday 17th – Friday 24th
Supporting Churches, Reaching Communities, Growing Leaders
General Prayer Points
The church is the special object of God’s love and the hope of the world. FIEC exists to equip churches to fulfil their divine mandate at a challenging time in our nation. We need to keep our hearts focussed on the glory of God, our wills aligned with God’s saving purpose and our vision fixed on the goal of making disciples from every nation.
FIEC Ministries
FIEC Visitors and local church groups, Learn2Lead, Pastors’ Association, Conferences and Consultations, Advice & Support from the FIEC office, Church Planting, Prepared for Service, Church Restoration
Key Prayer Points This Week
Friday 17th Please pray for the Care and Recognition Team. The CART addresses needs that arise within and between churches. It is also responsible for administering the Visitor scheme.
Saturday 18th Pray for the Women’s Ministry Team which aims to encourage biblical women’s ministries and to support and encourage pastors’ wives. A number of ladies’ and pastors’ wives’ conferences have been arranged for the coming months.
Sunday 19th Please pray for all our churches as we enter the school summer holiday period. Many folk will be absent from their home churches and whilst some will benefit from visitors who may be on holiday, some smaller churches may struggle over this period. Let us especially pray for the FIEC churches north of the Border that they will all be encouraged in their ministries during the summer season.
Monday 20th Please pray for the Overseas Relationship Team which works to promote contact with, and assistance of, churches in need overseas. It also enables folk from the UK to make overseas visits to encourage missionaries linked with their churches.
Tuesday 21st Please pray for the Finance Committee. The work of the FC is particularly demanding as the work of FIEC expands. Its task is to resource all the activities of the Council and its committees and advise on financial/staffing policies.
Wednesday 22nd We are currently planning the first FIEC Leaders’ Conference in Swanwick from 7-9 October. Please pray that the Lord will give us strong gospel relationships and a sense of shared purpose. Please pray for the consultation meeting in Three Bridges FC, Crawley, this evening.
Thursday 23rd Please pray for the Contagious youth event taking place at Culford School from 17-23 August. The theme this year is Life without God. Pray that God will raise up these young people to be mighty men and women of God.
Friday 24th Summer is a great opportunity for camps, beach missions and open air evangelism. Pray that God will use many of the young people in our churches particularly to share their faith boldly and have the joy of seeing young and older won for the Lord Jesus.
PLEASE LET US HAVE ITEMS FOR INCLUSION IN THE AUGUST PRAYER NEWS BY MONDAY 20 JULY – via the e-mail contact section on the website with 'prayer news' as the subject.
Week 4 - Saturday 25th - Friday 31st
Pursuing Evangelical Unity & Growing Partnerships
General Prayer Points
FIEC seeks to foster good relationships in the wider evangelical world and contribute to gospel work through informal networks, membership of organisations like Affinity and with representatives on the boards of various agencies (e.g. Go Teach and the Evangelical Movement of Wales).
Partner or Related Ministries
Affinity, Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches, Evangelical Housing Association Evangelical Movement of Wales, Go Teach, Grace Baptist Associations, Association of Evangelists, New Word Alive, Bible Colleges like LTS, Oak Hill and WEST, Proclamation Trust – and Cornhill Training Course
Key Prayer Points This Week
Saturday 25th Please pray for all the Christian young couples getting married this summer. Let’s ask that God will build many strong Christian marriages which can be a great encouragement in our churches and be a tangible witness to unbelievers.
Sunday 26th The church is the hope of the world. Please pray that as we meet today, the Lord would instil in us more deeply the needs of our nation and his heart for the lost. May he send us out with renewed confidence to disciple our communities.
Monday 27th Thank God for the launch of the Christian Ministry Training Course (CMTC) today with a first week of residential study at Beamsley, W. Yorks, with Martin Woodier (Otley) and Steven Bowers (Brighouse).
Tuesday 28th Please pray for pastors and church leaders suffering from ill-health, worry or discouragement today. May the Lord strengthen them in his love and enable them to return to their ministries full of the Holy Spirit
Wednesday 29th Thank God for those involved in church planting ministries. Church planting is a great way of reaching a new community with the good news about Jesus and keeping a congregation fresh and vibrant. Please pray that God would raise up new church planting initiatives—and new church planters. Richard is speaking at the CMTC in Yorkshire today.
Thursday 30th Please pray for FIEC’s church planters—the Asghers in Cranford, W London, the Reberas in Brighton, the Hutchinsons in Blackpool, the Swales in Newcastle and the Birmingham team. Praise God for the way he has blessed these ministries through the salvation of many people.
Friday 31st Churches are currently considering Council’s proposals for FIEC for a New Day. Please ask the Lord that as we pray and discuss, he will show us the way forward as a family of churches. Pray particularly for John and Ursula Stevens and family and City Church, Birmingham.
As the information contained in this prayer bulletin can at times be sensitive, please note that none of the content should be reprinted in another publication without the permission of the FIEC office – 39 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU (01858 434540).