My Ministry-related Prayers

I was cleaning the carpets last night. It is pretty monotonous work, so I had a lot of time to think. I began to think about the things that I would like to see happen in my ministry, be it youth group, children's ministry, or just the ministry in general. I understand that some of these things that I am praying for are pretty far out there, things that may never come to fruition. No harming in asking, right?

So, without any further jibber-jabber on my part, here are my ministry prayers.

• I am praying that my youth group would grow to at least 30 students by May 2013.
• I am praying that I would have the opportunity to lead at least 5 students to Christ by May 2013.
• I am praying that we would have a minimum of 30 children in Children's Church by May 2013.
• I am praying that there will be at least 200 people in the church service each week.
• I am praying that our weekly offerings will go over $10,000 in tithes and gifts.
• I am praying that we will have the volunteers to start a Wednesday evening children's program in September 2013.
• I am praying that more people in the church would develop a servant's heart and become involved in the ministry of the church.
• I am praying that the youth department will one day have its own facility. Not just a room or a basement, but its own building.
• I am praying that the opportunity for me to go on staff in a full-time capacity occurs in the very near future.
• I am praying that my students in the youth group will be sold out for Christ and will begin telling their friends about Jesus.

As you can tell, I have a lot of things that I am praying for and, actually, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Youth ministry is a job that rises and falls on prayer. I just pray that I am doing enough.

The Sad Reality of Abortion

I know the other day I wrote that I was going to focus on all things youth ministry and attempt to keep that focus for this blog. However, as I am typing this, I am looking at my beautiful wife and my newborn son sleeping on the couch. I can't imagine a more beautiful picture and I am overwhelmed by the blessing that God has given me.

At the same time, I just read a blog post about a woman in China who was abducted and forced to abort her second child because she was in violation of the one-child policy and could not afford to pay the penalty. While I am not writing this to debate the morality of that policy, my heart is breaking for that family and for those who believe that abortion is a "reproductive right" and who will angrily argue for a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.

Please take a moment to visit the link below. I must warn you that the pictures are incredibly graphic and sad. You will see the devastating aftermath of abortion, forced or otherwise. The aborted baby's body was thrown on the bed next to the woman. With the exception of the fact that she is dead, the baby in the picture is no different than my son.

This is the reality of abortion, a very sad reality. A dead child and a heartbroken mother.

Here is the link. You may also want to visit here.

Very Urgent Prayer Need and Call to Action

After I finish writing this, I am going to walk to my kitchen and get a glass of ice cold water, maybe even something to snack on. If I can't find anything there, I can drive to the store and buy whatever I am in the mood for.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for 12.4 million people in Africa. The Horn of Africa is experiencing a drought that is putting millions of individuals at risk. Please visit this site for more information.

Please be in prayer as to what God would have you do about this situation. Even if you don't feel led to give, pray that God would allow you to be a blessing to them somehow and in some way. I am doing something that is definitely outside of my comfort zone, which I will tell you about in the coming days. Please be in prayer about that as well.

Let's do something to help others who are less fortunate than us.