About six years ago, Kentucky WMU was asked to begin a prayer partnership with NAME (Northern Africa and the Middle East). During these years we have received monthly prayer requests which have been distributed by email to people who requested to be part of the prayer team for NAME.
The monthly prayer letter has included prayer requests from various NAME people groups and workers around the world. (Some NAME peoples live in places outside of the traditional NAME geography.) The pray-ers have been faithful. I have known it because from time to time the prayer letter has been late and I would always hear from someone asking why they had not received it.
On a recent trip to Israel, some NAME workers met with a Kentucky WMU team to give us an update. They reported to us that after years of very slow work, they are seeing incredible break-throughs. NAME area believers are growing spiritually and initiating new efforts to reach their own people.
The NAME workers said to our team, “This is the result of prayer. Thank you for praying.” Then one of the workers cried as she shared her burden for the lack of missions education in our churches. This young woman was keenly aware that her generation had little knowledge of how the Cooperative Program and missions offerings worked. She realized that unless missions education was again a vital part of what we teach children, the missionary force would decline.
After praying for her, I asked her and the other workers to pray for WMU. I told them that sometimes we are “swimming upstream” in our churches and culture to teach missions. It was a holy moment as one for whom we pray, prayed for us.
What does this have to do with EBO at Work? Everything! EBO helps KY WMU provide missions education resources, training, and events. If your church needs help to start, re-start, or strengthen this vital area, we can help! The missionary force of tomorrow is in our churches now! Are we preparing them to answer God’s call?
Please pray for EBO funded work. Learn how the offering is allocated at www.kywmu.org/eboallocations. Next review the list of ministries which received grants this year at www.kywmu.org/ebogrants. Then pray! Our prayers make an impact.
Joy Bolton