Scribbled on this tiny piece of paper are the words “Pray for the Harvest”.
Ted serves as the Missions and Outreach Pastor for the Grace Community Church in Goshen, Indiana. Since the start of his ministry at the church, he has seen God perform great things in the lives of people for the sake of Global Missions. Though purposeful in his work for the last five years, Ted realized there was more intentionality to be tapped into.
On top of his ministry with the church, Ted serves as a Board Member for Encompass World Partners. Back in October, the Encompass Board met in Atlanta for their annual gathering. During one of these meetings, Encompass Executive Director Dave Guiles posed a challenge to the board that met Ted’s heart with a piercing conviction.
What if every day you asked the Lord in prayer to raise up more Global Workers?
With this challenge dancing around in his heart, Ted returned to Goshen with a plan. In all honesty, he had not been praying enough for God to raise up the next generation of goers. So, acting on his desire to see people mobilized and the lost reached, Ted pursued this daily intentionality. Now, after turning on his desk lamp, Ted bends his knee in prayer asking God to raise up people from within his church.
Since taking this challenge to heart, six people have come forward with interest in Global Missions within the Grace Community Church. Something about receiving these people and letting them know that they were prayed for made Ted think, “This is how it should be done.” It made things better to pray every morning for people. There was more joy in it! Plus, God honored the call for more workers for his glory.
Anyone who cares about Missions should pray daily with this kind of intentionality.
Luke 10:2 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Not only is this challenge biblical, but it is also how God wants things to work. So, for the sake of our joy in honoring God as the Lord of the Harvest, we should bend our knees every day.
What would happen if we all took on this prayer challenge?
Our hope at Encompass is to see more people meeting God in prayer on behalf of Global Missions. If you desire to take on the prayer challenge of asking God for more Global Workers for the Great Commission, we’d love to hear about it! Please send us your name, church, and experience.