Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about the Mobilization of Two-Thirds-World Senders ...

Brazilian missionary to Tanzania.Photo credit: YWAM Frontier Mission

Before he left for India, missionary William Carey told his friend, “I will go down...if you hold the rope.” Like the person holding the rope for a mountain climber, the sender of missionaries plays a vital role in helping their friends succeed. Please join the YWAM family in prayer this month for those people who hold the rope for missionaries, who serve as senders. In particular, please pray for senders from the Two-Thirds World.

Last month YWAM’s monthly prayer day, called The Invitation, focused on the encouraging realities of how God is transforming the missions field into the mission force!

But there is another side to this unfolding story. In many locations both in and out of YWAM there are hundreds if not thousands of amazing men and women from the Two-Thirds-World who are called to go the lost. They have proven character, they have a clear call, often they have been equipped for cross-cultural work, but what they lack are senders.

Senders are any believers intentionally focused on sending and supporting missionaries. In his book Serving as Senders, Neil Pirolo identifies six different ways we can serve as senders: moral support, logistic support, financial support, prayer support, communication support, and re-entry support.

The apostle Paul highlighted the crucial role of senders in his letter to the church in Rome. He wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15, NIV).

Let us join together to pray for both more senders and more leaders (mobilizers) who will focus not only on launching the Two-Thirds-World missionaries but also on equipping the Two-Thirds-World senders. More believers serving as senders in the Two-Thirds-World will release another wave of amazing missionaries from the Two-Thirds-World.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of March to pray with us about sending Two-Thirds-World missionaries. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, March 14. If you only have a few moments to pray we ask you to pray for a Two-Thirds-World sending country that God puts on your heart (for example, Brazil, Nigeria, South Korea, or India). We would love to receive stories from you regarding how God touched your heart through this prayer. You can email us at [email protected].

Prepare to Pray:

Watch this video from Bevin Ginder that explains why praying for senders from the Two-Thirds-World is so important at this time: https://globalcastresources.com/2018/11/07/new-missionaries-from-new-sending-nations/

“I will go down... if you will hold the rope.” - William Cary to his friend Andrew Fuller before departing to India. Image from Bevin Ginder

Pray for Two-Thirds-World Senders:

* The mobilization of many more Two-Thirds-World believers willing to serve as senders.

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about Mobilizing Two-Thirds-World Missionaries.

Missionaries From Pakistan That Serve In CanadaPhoto credit: Assist News Service

For decades there has been a dramatic shift in the makeup of the global body of Christ. In the 1900’s, most Christians lived in Western nations. But today, most of the followers of Jesus are from Asia, Africa and Latin America. As one would expect, there has been a similar shift in the makeup of the missions force. In 2010, three of the top ten countries sending the most missionaries were from Asia and Latin America: Brazil, South Korea and India. Other notable sending nations included South Africa, the Philippines, Mexico, China, Colombia, and Nigeria. (Melissa Steffen in Christianity Today.)

This means that missions is no longer “the West reaching the rest.” It is “the reached reaching the unreached.” According to mission researcher Jason Mandryk, “Today the Majority World Church sends out as many cross-cultural missionaries as does the Western Church.”

We are witnessing the globalization of missions where just about every country is both sending and receiving missionaries! This globalization of missions is also being enabled by several other trends such as unprecedented migration, a communications revolution and transportation technology. People are on the move. Both travel and communication are easier. But the globalization of missions may be disorienting, as there are new challenges and it requires new paradigms. The reached everywhere are partnering together to reach the unreached! This is nothing less than the global body of Christ partnering together to plant the body of Christ globally.

From the beginning, God lead YWAM to be international and interdenominational (Foundational Value #8). Today we are thrilled that over 50% of our staff are from the Majority World. Therefore, YWAM is uniquely poised to continue to play a significant role in mobilizing, equipping, sending and sustaining new missionaries from new sending countries.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of February to pray with us about the missions movement from the Majority World. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, February 14. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to pray for a Two-Thirds-World missionary that God puts on your heart. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how God touched your heart through this prayer. You can email us at [email protected].

 

Prepare to Pray:

You may find it helpful to appoint a facilitator for the Prepare to Pray exercise.

You will need a ball of string or twine. If you are a larger group, you may find it helpful to divide into smaller groups of 8-10 people, with one ball of string or twine for each group.

With the group standing in a circle, one person begins by holding the string. Being sure to keep hold of the end, they throw the ball of string to someone else in the circle. This person keeps hold of their piece of the string, then throws the ball of string to someone else. Continue throwing until everyone in the group is holding a piece of the string and the entire circle is connected by a network of string.

Web of ReflectionPhoto credit: Miranda Heathcote

Pause at this point and take a look at the person who threw the ball of string to ...

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about YWAM Foundational Values 13 – 15.

* #13 - Be Relationship Orientated

* #14 - Value the Individual

* #15 - Value Families

YWAM Foundational Values 13 - 15 Photo credits (left to right): YWAM Asheville, YWAM Restenas, YWAM Whitsunday

The YWAM “DNA” is comprised of our purpose, beliefs and values and is the framework that helps us determine who we are, how we live and how we make decisions. This is the fifth issue of The Invitation where we have invited YWAMers to pray for our foundational values, three at a time. For January we will pray for foundational values #13 – 15. Please refer to https://ywam.org/about-us/values/ to see the purpose, beliefs and remaining values. Our values have been developed and refined over decades and are supported by scripture. YWAM cofounder Darlene Cunningham has stated that “These understandings are foundational to our tribe being who we are, and we praise God for the way He has led us.”

#13 - Be relationship-oriented

YWAM is dedicated to being relationship-oriented in our living and working together. We desire to be united through lives of holiness, mutual support, transparency, humility, and open communication, rather than a dependence on structures or rules.

#14 – Value the individual

YWAM is called to value each individual. We believe in equal opportunity and justice for all. Created in the image of God, people of all nationalities, ages and functions have distinctive contributions and callings. We are committed to honoring God-given leadership and ministry gifts in both men and women.

#15 - Value families

YWAM affirms the importance of families serving God together in missions, not just the father and/or mother. We also embrace the inclusion of single-parent families. We encourage the development of strong and healthy family units, with each member sharing the call to missions and contributing their gifts in unique and complementary ways. We uphold and celebrate the biblical view that God’s intent for holy matrimony is between one man and one woman.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of January to pray with us about these three values. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, January 10. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to reflect on these values and pray that YWAMers would have full understanding of our values and that all teaching within YWAM will be true to these values. As you pray and contemplate these foundational values, we would love to receive stories from you regarding how these values have shaped your ministry or your life. You can email us at [email protected].

Foundational Value 14 – Value the IndividualPhoto credit: YWAM Louisville

Prepare to Pray:

Before you begin to pray, pair up with someone in your group with whom you feel comfortable. Have a facilitator set a timer for 2 minutes. For the duration of these 120 seconds, you are invited to silently hold one another’s gaze.

It can feel uncomfortable to look into another person’s eyes for an extended period of time! Do your best not to talk or fool around, or otherwise distract yourselves, rather bring to mind the inherent worth of the person in front of you. Think of all the life events that have brought him or her to this place, the good as well as the challenging or painful. Consider his or her courage, vulnerabilities, giftedness and limitations.

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about Moscow.

Left to right: Moscow River and Kremlin, Opening Day 2018 Soccer World Cup in MoscowPhoto credit (left to right): Trip Saavy, Felipe Trueba (EPA)

 This month, please join the YWAM family as we pray for Moscow. With an estimated population of 12 million in 2016, it is the sixth largest city in the world and northernmost megacity. The primary religion is Christianity with the Russian Orthodox Church being the most popular and Muslims accounting for 14% of the city’s population. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center in Russia and in Europe.

Some say that Moscow is a city of contradictions. On one hand, Moscow has provided economic stability for many migrants coming from other parts of Russia and former Soviet republics in recent years. Moscow also received worldwide praise for its hosting of the 2018 World Cup for soccer last summer. Historically, Moscow has attempted to leave behind the communistic days of Lenin and Stalin.

But on the other hand, Moscow has been involved in recent disputes with both some neighboring nations and the West. In recent years Moscow lawmakers have targeted evangelistic efforts and media boundaries limiting freedom of religion and freedom of the press. It is also a city with significant drug and alcohol problems, a high prison rate and much human trafficking.

According to Blair Carlson, formerly with the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, “The challenges of Moscow speak to the enormity and complexity of large European cities. We need to pray for the unity, vibrancy, and muscularity of the church in the great cities of Europe.”

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of December to pray for Moscow. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, December 13. If you only have a few moments to pray, please pray for unity and vibrancy in the church in Moscow.

Prepare to Pray:

Take some time to sit quietly with this image of an open door, painted by Andrei Zadorine. If you are praying with a group, consider projecting the image onto a screen so that everyone can see it clearly. What do you notice about the way the light from the open doorway floods into the dark room? Think about the nature of light, and the way even a small light can chase away darkness.

Read aloud from Psalm 24:

“Open up, ancient gates!

Open up, ancient doors,

and let the King of glory enter.

“Who is the King of glory?

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—

he is the King of glory” (verses 9-10)

There are many doors that God might want to open up in the context of Russian society. Where are the places He is longing to shine the light of His presence? Turn your attention from the darkness you might perceive, to the hope and strength of the light of God, made known through the life of Jesus. Keep your focus on His light as you go into prayer.

National Day of the Russian Federation in MoscowPhoto credit: www.xinhuanet.com

Let’s Pray:

* Pray that God would soften the hearts of Moscow’s people to accept Christ and that He would open doors for these believers to be discipled in a free and open environment.

* Pray for the Central Asian immigrant community. They come from restricted-access Muslim nations to Moscow in search of economic improvements.

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about North Africa.

Photo credit: YWAM North Africa

“Jesus is God. It is the truth. I believe!” was the voice message left by a local North African last month. This simple declaration of faith is evidence of the deep workings of the Holy Spirit in North Africa. Seeing North African friends come to a saving faith in Jesus is often a long, hard fought battle entailing years of fellowship, food, storytelling, evangelism, Bible reading, and desperate prayer before the Lord! It is no small victory for the Kingdom of God when one believes. Please join us this month in prayer for the people of North Africa.

In 1991, the YWAM North Africa Regional Center was established in Southern Spain as a strategic springboard to North Africa. Predominantly Muslim, with little Gospel influence, the North Africa region includes Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia.

YWAM’s North Africa Regional Center runs a DTS and a secondary frontier school called Foundations In Intercultural Studies (FIS), as well as, offering hospitality and member care for long term workers in the region. The team is focused on sending new workers and teams into the region where there are over 130,000,000 unreached peoples.

Isaiah 60:1a - Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of November to pray for North Africa with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, November 8. If you only have a few moments to pray, please pray for more workers to come to North Africa bringing the glory of the Lord with them and pray for the hastened work of the Holy Spirit in North Africa.

(Please note: All North African nations are very sensitive and have security risks. Careful attention is needed to communicate about YWAM’s work there. Please be aware that stories, news, or prayer requests from the region should not be posted online or shared in public settings, including churches and YWAM meetings that may be recorded.)

Photo credit: YWAM North Africa

Prepare to Pray:

Ahead of your prayer time, please weigh out 250 grams of uncooked short-grain white rice. If you were to count them, this will be approximately 10,000 individual grains. Place the rice in a dish or container. Add to your white rice 20 uncooked brown lentils or grains of black wild rice, that can be visibly distinguished from the rest of the rice. (See the picture in the letter at ywampodcast.net/prayer.)

As you prepare to pray, allow participants to run their fingers through the grains in the dish. Invite them to consider that across North Africa, evangelical believers find themselves comprising no more than 0.2% of the population. Imagine how widely dispersed these believers are, how difficult it is for them to gather to support one another, and how challenging it is to establish discipling communities. At the same time, bring to mind the 98.8% of the population who may never meet a believer who can tell them the message of Jesus.

As you seek to enter into this experience - possibly of isolation, or remoteness - you are invited to bring the emotion, longing or need you identify into your time of prayer. May your prayers bring with them the gift of identification with and empathy for the people of this region.

Photo credit: YWAM North Africa

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about YWAM Foundational Values 10 - 12.

* #10 – Function in Teams

* #11 – Exhibit Servant Leadership

* #12 – Do First, Then Teach

YWAM Foundational Values 10 – 12Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): YWAM Whitsunday, YWAM Asheville, YWAM The King’s Lodge

YWAM’s Foundational Values have been passed along from generation to generation for over three decades. These values have stood the test of 33 years and have shaped everything – our culture, our prayer time, our growth, our leaders, our students, our curriculum, our ministries, our partnerships, our challenges and our opportunities. While other things have changed, our values have remained steady and true. Our values were developed through the prayerful introspection, deliberation, collaboration and consensus of our leaders. In 2018, The Invitation, YWAM’s global prayer day, focuses on three of our foundational values each quarter. Please pray with us! This is our fourth quarter of praying for our values and so this month’s Invitation is focused on:

Value 10: Function in teams - YWAM is called to function in teams in all aspects of ministry and leadership. We believe that a combination of complementary gifts, callings, perspectives, ministries and generations working together in unity at all levels of our mission provides wisdom and safety. Seeking God’s will and making decisions in a team context allows accountability and contributes to greater relationship, motivation, responsibility and ownership of the vision.

Value 11: Exhibit servant leadership - YWAM is called to servant leadership as a lifestyle, rather than a leadership hierarchy. A servant leader is one who honors the gifts and callings of those under his/her care and guards their rights and privileges. Just as Jesus served His disciples, we stress the importance of those with leadership responsibilities serving those whom they lead.

Value 12: Do first, then teach - YWAM is committed to doing first, then teaching. We believe that firsthand experience gives authority to our words. Godly character and a call from God are more important than an individual’s gifts, abilities and expertise.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of October to pray with us about these three values. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, October 12. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to reflect on these values and pray for the Holy Spirit to move through the YWAM family globally in a continued manner as we saw at YWAM’s big family gathering, YWAM Together, which took place in early September in Thailand. As you pray and contemplate these foundational values, we would love to receive stories from you regarding how these values have shaped your ministry or your life. You can email us at [email protected].

Foundational Value 12 – Do First, Then TeachPhoto credit: YWAM Samoa

Prepare to Pray:

As you gather with your group and prepare to pray, we have a fun activity for you! This is a great game to help the group connect in a fun way before getting down to prayer. Laughter and movement are helpful ways to raise the energy in the room before focusing on the prayer topics.

You might remember the childhood game, ‘Follow the Leader,’ in which a group forms a line behind the appointed leader, following her and copying exactly everything she does. If she jumps, you jump! If she skips, you skip! If she stops, you stop.

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about Kolkata, India.

Kolkata market, Victoria Memorial.Photo credit left to right: Dong Shao and Nick Miller

This month, please join the YWAM family as we pray for Kolkata, India, the world’s eleventh largest city. YWAM’s City Ministries Director, Tim Svoboda, claims Kolkata is the most captivating city in the world.

Kolkata is the capital of the state of West Bengal where there are 67 unreached and unengaged people groups, each with its own culture and beliefs. Of this population, 78% is Hindu, 20% is Muslim and less than 1% is Christian.

YWAM has had a presence in Kolkata for more than 35 years, reaching various people groups and providing an enchanting field for other YWAM locations to send their Discipleship Training School (DTS) teams. YWAM Kolkata is also part of City Ministries YWAM that is not only reaching out to the poor and needy of the cities but to the high and mighty as well. City Ministries is about reaching the entire city with the gospel. This means employing strategies that reach into every ethnic, linguistic, religious, economic and employment structure of a city like Kolkata.

Kolkata has a richness of cultural diversity, beautiful sites, and also many challenges: poverty/slum living, a caste system, political violence, economic stagnation, pollution, street children, and migration from rural areas.

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!"

William Carey, Missionary to India (b. 1761 – d. 1834)

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of September to pray for Kolkata with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, September 13. If you only have a few moments to pray, please pray that God would usher in many workers that are called to reach the people groups of Kolkata and that the people would become hungry to hear about Jesus.

Strategic Peoples and Languages of Kolkata (2012)Source: City Ministries YWAM

Prepare to Pray:

* Read this story from a YWAM team in Kolkata: Many teams wonder how they will be able to communicate when they come to Kolkata. They are finding it’s easy to get locals to translate, but sometimes those local translators aren’t Christians themselves. What some may think is a problem can become a great opportunity. One of our translators had been open with us early one day saying “There are 1,000 reasons why God cannot exist.” Throughout our mobile clinic he was translating the gospel for us and watching as miracles happened right in front of his eyes. As more people received healing, he said, “Your prayers really work!.” At the end of our ministry time, he decided to give his life to Jesus as well, and as we left, he told us “I have changed my mind, I know now that there are 10,000 reasons why God is real.”

* Watch a video or two about Kolkata (each just over 3 minutes long):

* The Spirit of Kolkata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOx_c9XHMGY&feature=youtu.be

* Happy (We Are Kolkata)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FXa1ZYHGXk

* Read this poem from a YWAM outreach in Kolkata: https://ywammadison.org/i-left-a-piece-of-my-heart-on-that-street/

Photo credit: City Ministries YWAM

Let’s Pray:

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God as we pray for YWAM Together 2018. He is inviting you!

Photo credit: YWAM Together Prayer Team

Over the last decades, our YWAM family gatherings have always included celebration, relational connection and cross-cultural diversity. They have been significant times where God has spoken to us and shaped our lives. Many YWAM staff, volunteers, students and friends are now looking forward to attending another such event, called YWAM Together, which will be held in Thailand from September 2-8. Please join us in prayer for this gathering.

YWAM Together 2018 comes during a critical and transitional time in the history of the YWAM movement and the world. Coordinators of this gathering believe God desires to usher YWAM into a deeper level of unity with Him and each other in an “Acts 2” moment that could have a profound impact on all present and flow out to the nations.

“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

Revelation 4:1 (NASB)

Revelation from Jesus. As we “Come Up Here” (Revelation 4:1) we anticipate more of Jesus. We will engage in worship and prayer to hear what He has to say to us as individuals and corporately in this historic time.

From every nation (Revelation 7:9). We are expecting approximately 3,000 YWAM family members to gather, from many nations, especially from Asia. Many have never attended a YWAM gathering of this nature.

Shine Pattaya on Wednesday 5th September. We have an opportunity to shine the light of Jesus into the city of Pattaya.  Imagine 3,000 delegates and local participants going to the streets, schools, prisons, and neighborhoods of this city, encountering tourists and sharing the gospel through the arts, music and sports. We will also be distributing Bibles and praying. We believe this day will impact Pattaya and Thailand.

Calling prayer warriors! We need you! Battles are won through worship, praise, thanksgiving and spirit-led intercession. Through prayer, you are planting seeds from the heart of God and His Word, deep into the heart of Pattaya, Thailand, and into YWAM for future generations.

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of August and throughout the YWAM Together event to pray with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, August 8. If you only have a few moments to pray, please pray that God would use YWAM Together 2018 to build His kingdom and that He would break down barriers for YWAMers to attend.

. . . from many nations . . .  (Revelation 7:9)Photo credit: YWAM Together 2016

Let’s Pray:

* Pray that YWAMers whom God is calling to Thailand will hear and go. Pray also for provision of resources. Pray for a full complement of delegates from many nations. (Revelation 7:9). Pray for God to break down barriers for people to be able to go.

* Pray that YWAM Together 2018 will catalyze an ongoing move of the Holy Spirit in Pattaya, Thailand and in the region.

* Pray for strategic partnerships with local Thai believers.

* Pray for protection for those coming from “sensitive”

* Pray for the word of the Lord to be clear through many voices in our corporate gatherings and through Shine Pattaya.

* Pray for heart preparation of all coming.

* Pray that we would receive His burden and strategies afresh for YWAM and the nations (Rev. 4:1). Pray that we would be guided by the lessons in our history and propelled into our future by the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about YWAM Foundational Values 7 - 9.

* #7 – Be Broad-structured and Decentralized

* #8 – Be International and Interdenominational

* #9 – Have a Biblical Christian Worldview

YWAM Foundational Values 7 - 9Photo credits (from left to right): YWAM Minneapolis, Minnesota; YWAM Kona, Hawaii; YWAM Adelaide, Australia

During the month of July we invite you to join YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, as we focus on three of YWAM’s Foundational Values: Be Broad-structured and Decentralised (value 7), Be International and Interdenominational (value 8), and Have a Biblical Christian Worldview (value 9). According to Lynn Green, one of YWAM’s leaders, “the (foundational) values are the word of the Lord to us. They are our best attempt at summarising what God has spoken to us over the years. These are foundational DNA words and they have shaped us.” (From video Leadership and Change, March 2018 that can be found here: https://lynngreen.blog/2018/03/28/lynn-green-i-leadership-and-eldership-session-3/.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk_TZuASKgI

Being broad-structured and decentralised allows the Holy Spirit to guide diverse YWAM locations into doing what God wants them to do. According to the description of this value, YWAM is “a global family of ministries held together by shared purpose, vision, values and relationship.”

Lynn Green explains the foundation of being international and Interdenominational as “having a high regard for the whole Body of Christ and also for various Christian denominations and institutions.”

One of the ways to explain value 9 – Have a biblical Christian worldview is to emphasise loving the Lord our God with all of our mind, as well as, our heart, soul and strength. YWAM’s Lynn Green notes this distinction: “I believe YWAM is unusual in our calling to marry deep spiritual experience with the emotional dimensions that accompany spiritual experience along with in-depth exploration of the truth with our God-given intellect, which is of course created in God's image. We should always avoid the trap of exalting the intellect over the spirit, or the spirit over the intellect: both are in God's image.”

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of July to pray with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, July 12. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to reflect on these three values and pray for YWAMers to have a renewed sense of purpose within YWAM and to serve the Lord with all of their mind, heart, soul and strength. As you pray and contemplate these foundational values, we would love to receive stories from you regarding how these values have shaped your ministry or your life. You can email us at [email protected].

YWAM Foundational Value Seven – Be Broad-structured and DecentralizedPhoto credit: YWAM Perth - Africa DTS

Prepare to Pray:

As we prepare to pray, we want to take some time to appreciate the gifts we have received from those different from ourselves. You could have these conversations in small groups, taking time to hear from one another and to reflect together. A facilitator could keep an eye on the time and move people through the following three segments, giving adequate time for each short reflection.

First, bring to mind those YWAM locations you have vi...

Thank you for joining us this month as we take up “The Invitation” and join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about Contemplative Prayer.

In this edition of The Invitation, we invite you to consider what we can learn from the contemplative tradition of the global Church, and why contemplative practices might be a helpful balance to our busy, activity-oriented lives.

Steve Cochrane, one of YWAM’s leaders, spoke of his own journey into contemplative practices. “In the past decade, I’ve been on a more focused pilgrimage to listen to what Spirit is saying from a diversity of those that have walked the road before in deeper devotion to Christ.”  As Steve says, the work of “friends from the past” teaches us to sink down into the presence of God in the midst of our active lives.

Over recent years, a significant number of us in the YWAM family have, like Steve, been growing more familiar with contemplative practices. This is a helpful development for us, who are so used to active, outward-focused expressions of faith. Our desire “To know God and make God known” emphasizes the way we are to give attention to both our inner life of knowing God and our outward expression of making Him known. Indeed, contemplation is really about maintaining in all our activities a listening attitude toward God. This helps us live out YWAM’s shared value of hearing the voice of God, and helps us to expand that experience beyond our community meetings and prayer times.

Since around the third century the people of God have been engaging in practices that we now call Contemplative. To be contemplative is simply to develop a prayerful attentiveness to God—this attitude of listening—as we go about our busy, not-so-quiet lives. These prayerful practices help us to take note of how we’re doing on the inside and to develop an ongoing conversation with God no matter what is going on around us. In this way, our moods, our feelings of resistance or engagement, and our responses to our surroundings can all become prompts that direct us to God and enable us to listen to Him and discern His loving action in our lives.

A few of these contemplative practices involve: breath prayers, which consist of praying a short phrase with your in- and your out-breath; lectio devina, which is a meditative way of reading short passages of scripture; and silent prayer such as Centering Prayer.

As a mission, we are focused on the process of discipleship. And yet the process of transformation is still more mysterious than we’d like to admit! The truth is that it is God Himself who changes us to become Christ-like. Our part is simply to arrange our lives so that our motivating desires become more and more aligned with Him.

So these contemplative practices can benefit you, whether you are a Discipleship Training School (DTS) leader, working hard to create an environment in which your trainees can meet with God; or a worship leader, seeking to draw up living water from the well of your inner life of faith; or a community development project leader, daily facing the needs of those around you and desiring to put the Gospel of the Kingdom into practice. To do all the diverse activities we do, without running dry and instead experiencing fullness, we must cultivate a rich inner life with God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:17-19 says:I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of June to pray with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, June 14.