Praise God for the many ways He accomplishes His work in us and through us. Pray for Him to use us and our own good works to point others to Him and give HIm the glory He alone is due. Ask God to grow our trust in and reliance upon His power in our lives.

This week, we are praying for our brothers and sisters at the Shelby Baptist Association (SBA) located in Columbiana (Brook Hills is a member of the Birmingham Baptist Association). The mission of the Shelby Baptist Association is to serve Christ together as they seek to enable and assist its member churches in Shelby County to accomplish their mission, promote and help churches coordinate mission and ministry opportunities, and partner together to accomplish the Great Commission locally and globally. We’re also praying this week for Chelsea Creek Baptist Church and Pastor Tyler Gordon.

Day 1: Pray for the Shelby Baptist Association and its churches to see and meet the needs in their communities. Pray for them to find ways to address needs in the areas of transportation, shelter, childcare, and dental care. Also, pray for the SBA to find ways to help language-minority people groups that are struggling with a variety of needs as well, including language classes.                             

Day 2: Pray for the Shelby Baptist Association and its churches to boldly share the truth of the gospel. Pray for the SBA churches to join in the North American Mission Board’s “Who’s Your One?” emphasis. Pray for each member of an SBA church to pray for and talk with one person about Jesus Christ and give them an opportunity to respond to the gospel message.

Day 3: Pray for all sixty-six churches in the association to work together in unity of truth and love. Pray that beyond denominational associations, all gospel-centered churches will be united in speaking the truth of God’s Word in love to one another and throughout the world.

Day 4: Pray for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry throughout the Shelby Baptist Association. Pray for the association to continue to offer ministry training opportunities that are both accessible and needed. Pray for them to identify the best means for providing support services for our churches.

Day 5: Pray for the Shelby Baptist Association and its related churches to promote integrity among the Body of Christ. Pray these church leaders and members will keep their eyes on Jesus. Pray for each of them to be humble and stay connected to the Body of Christ so that he or she will remain a good ambassador for Him.

Day 6: Pray for the Shelby Baptist Association and its churches to fulfill their calling to evangelism and disciple-making. Pray for them to be effective for the Kingdom of God. Pray that this would lead to church revitalization and new church plants.

This week we are lifting up Mid-Termer, Celena. She works in a small city in Central Asia with a team that is among the first to focus on a minority Unreached People Group (UPG). As part of her ministry there she attends a local university where she has the opportunity to build relationships with students from this UPG and those from many other regional groups. She and her team are serving in a small local fellowship where they are engaged in church planting and working to establish a healthy church in their small city. 

Day 1: Pray for perseverance and purpose on days when being a university student is taxing. Ask the Father to remind Celena constantly of the blessing that it is to be in this place and time. Ask Him to give her joy and energy in the mornings to rise and go to class for His glory. 

Day 2: Pray for her friend *Abby, a local woman in her mid-20s. Pray for Abby to be drawn to the loving nature of Jesus Christ and for her to know that her worth is founded wholly and beautifully in who He is. Ask for the gospel to penetrate her heart and turn her and her family to the Father in joy and repentance. 

Day 3: Lift up Celena’s team as they go through changes. Pray for them to be lights to one another, steady in times of trouble, and encouraging in times of sorrow. Pray for their foundation to be the redeeming grace and love of Jesus Christ. 

Day 4: Pray for Celena to be bold in sharing, to be founded in the Word, to be encouraged in the Spirit, and to be repentant in areas of sin. Pray for her greatest joy to be in the Father. 

Day 5: Pray for deep friendships. It can be difficult to establish meaningful relationships with women in her city. Ask the Lord to break down barriers and create lasting bonds that would be avenues to sharing the good news of Jesus. 

Day 6: In the fast-paced lifestyle of university and church planting work, pray for Celena to be discerning in how to rest and live faithfully with sabbath rhythms. Pray for her to seek the Lord deeply every day and grow daily in her love for Him above all else.

*Names changed for security purposes.