USA / South Korea military exercises
In recent years, the United States and South Korea have cancelled some of their regular drills and reduced others to computer simulations, to create space for diplomacy and allay Covid-19 concerns. But after North Korea dismissed South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's offer to exchange denuclearisation steps and economic benefits, the USA and South Korea began their biggest combined military training in years on 22 August, heightening their defence posture against the growing North Korean nuclear threat. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which will continue until 1 September, include aircraft, warships, tanks, and potentially tens of thousands of troops. They could draw anger from Pyongyang, which has pushed its weapons testing activity to a record pace this year while repeatedly threatening conflicts with Seoul and Washington amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy. Some say North Korea sees the exercises as rehearsals for an invasion.
Sri Lanka: believers persevere amid struggles
Sri Lanka is in talks with the International Monetary Fund about a bailout package. IMF officials will visit them this month. The country’s economic meltdown triggered protests, and President Rajapaksa fled the country. Now the former president will return. International Media Ministries (IMM) partner with believers and churches in Sri Lanka and are working to help the country and the church to live regular lives in the midst of upheaval. They are developing Gospel media resources to expand the vision of what Christianity is and spread the Gospel using the ‘Open the Gospels’ project. They also want to put the ‘Heritage’ project into languages that are regionally important. IMM are requesting prayer for God to strengthen and encourage the Sri Lankan Christian community. Pray that IMM partners can access daily life essentials like food and clean water. They are saying, ‘God hasn’t left us; we have hope.’
Lebanon: helping the persecuted
In the midst of persecution God is providing spiritual and financial support to Christians: spiritual investment is eternal, while the financial support is temporal. Help the Persecuted (HTP) addresses real needs with Gospel-centred, sustainable methods like an agricultural project in Lebanon that goes beyond providing physical needs. The community created around this farm is hearing the Gospel being shared along with food distribution. One member tells of being strangled by her radical Al-Qaeda husband and in that moment she saw Jesus. He reached out his hand and said, ‘I love you.’ She didn’t know who he was, but shortly afterwards learned about the person she saw in her vision. She gave her life to Jesus and fled alone to Lebanon. She knows he will never leave or forsake her. We can praise God for the work of HTP and need to continue praying for their protection and finances.
Sudan: court hearing for Christians accused of apostasy
Four Christians in Darfur accused of apostasy will have their first court hearing on 30 August. The prosecutor and investigator will present evidence, after which the judge will decide whether to continue the case or acquit the defendants. The four were arrested on 22 June following a raid on a Baptist church, accused of apostasy and subsequently released on bail. They were physically mistreated during their detention. They are charged under Penal Code Article 126, which criminalises apostasy, even though that article was abolished in 2019. Due to fears of community and police harassment, the four believers remain in hiding. There continue to be other reports of harassment of Christians in Darfur. Please pray for the judge to dismiss the case against them, and for physical and emotional healing.
As we came together, millions of hours of worship, prayer and intercession rose up before the Lord like incense as we cried out to the Lord on behalf of the salvation of multitudes in the nations. We desperately asked the Lord of the Harvest to hurl forth laborers to the remaining unreached people groups, asking every believer to be a witness. We prayed for an increased number of churches to be planted in 24 of the most unreached Muslim cities in the world. This resulted in millions coming to Christ, and thousands of churches being planted around the world, all for the Glory of the Lamb!
Global Jesus Fast – Thousands of believers around the world participated in a 40 day Daniel Fast, with a focus on ‘Beholding the Lamb,’ and praying in agreement for a mighty harvest of souls in the nations, including the salvation of unbelieving jews around the world!
One Miracle Night - During Ramadan we saw 43,000hrs of committed prayer (people committing to 15 minutes of day with specific Bible-based prayer points on behalf of unreached Muslims peoples and cities throughout the Middle East.
May 1st Go Pray - We launched a global prayer broadcast through God-TV calling the nations to pray for evangelism and church planting during the month of May (Go Movement)!
World Prayer Assembly 2.0 - 500,000 from 101 nations gathered virtually in watch parties to pray for a New wave of the Knowledge of the Glory of the Lamb to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). We shared together in a special time of communion at the Lord’s table and came together as family from different regions of the world. The Indonesia’s followed this with up adopting 100 of the remaining unreached frontier people groups around the world and prayer walked 257 Indonesian cities on June 27th!
GO Month Report – With the vision, “Every believer a witness: Everyone can reach Someone and Together we can reach the World for Christ,” over 50 million people came to Christ during the month of month. Many of the world largest denominations participated together this year including the Assembly of God and the Baptist world, with a strong emphasis and focus this year in Africa! Over 500 people were water baptized in one location in Chad!
Main Focus of this Consultation...
The total number of Churches overseen by the total number of participants is 25,313.
GOAL 3: To raise prayer/prayer walks in major unreached cities in the country
‘The SAPC 2022 meeting was a great encouragement and the message strengthened us when we were down in spirit’
‘I preached and taught a lot about prayer but I myself had a tough time to spend time in prayer, this meeting really gave me a fresh burden to pray for others more than to self’
The recent provision of longer-range weapons by the US and UK seems to have changed the course of the war in Ukraine’s favour. Over recent days, there have been missile strikes on bases, bridges and key Russian infrastructure in Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhya Oblast and Crimea, which historically would have been untouchable. This has hampered Russian supply routes and created a growing risk that their troops in the Kherson area could be trapped. 