"The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus." - Dietrich Bonhoffer
FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications
Talking about the presidential debates around the office this morning and the above quote came to mind. God's Kingdom will advance through the slow, steady witness of normal, faithful believers. We don't need charismatic leaders, platforms or power. We simply need to abide in the One who has all power and authority.
For the Win[dow],
Bubby Bryan
VERSE OF THE WEEK: John 15: 3-4
"Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me."
COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Kazakhstan
Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for Kazakh Christians to seize opportunities to evangelize Central Asian immigrants.
- Pray for heads of families to place their hope in Christ instead of in shamanistic practices.
- Pray for well-trained, godly leaders despite most Bible schools and seminaries being closed.
- Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
- Pray for the US office.