Prayer Needs for Mission Partners

HomePrayer Needs for Mission Partners

4/13/2025: In 1979, Cru created the Jesus Film. Since then, the film has been translated into over 2,100 languages around the world and continues to play a key role in fulfilling the Great Commission. You can view the Jesus Film HERE for free. It is also available in different languages. Pray through the people you know who might be interested in seeing it and have them over or share the link letting them know the film is available in their language if applicable. Please pray God would guide ongoing translation projects and continue to use the film to communicate the gospel to those who have not yet heard. We have two Mission Partners involved with the Jesus Film in different roles of support.

News from Wayne and Barbara Brink:
- They are currently in Europe, establishing some strategic partnerships. Pray they come back healthy and have a fruitful visit. Also, pray we all grow in our appreciation of the resurrection this Easter.
- Praise God they had a successful event in Roanoke, Virginia, in March.
- In a small Southeast Asian communist country, for the first time ever, the Jesus Film was playing in 14 cities in theaters! Additionally, in a small village, the JESUS Film was shown in a minority language, and they recorded 41 people who committed their lives to Jesus Christ. Praise God the government gave permission for the first time ever to show the Jesus Film in theaters.
News from Gerry Buchholz:
- Pray for Gerry to be able to meet with the local pastors of immigrant churches so she can make them aware of the JESUS film in 2,200 languages and many other tools they can offer them. Pray God will give her favor with them.
- Pray for the couple Gerry has been coaching who continue to raise their support. Praise God, He has given them several more faithful partners recently.
- The church who teaches English to immigrants showed The Story of Jesus for children on April 10th. Pray for a Muslim Kurdish Iman who came to the showing. Pray for his salvation and his family (wife and 2 teenage children).
- Pray God will give Gerry the opportunity to share the gospel with her Jewish friend.
- Gerry had hip replacement surgery April 11. Pray God will heal her through this surgery and use her as His instrument in the process. God willing, she will have the other hip replaced in July.

4/6/2025: Please pray for Ben and Beth Barthelemy, who are serving with TEAM, in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. Ben is currently teaching Research Methodology, Hebrew 1, and Homiletics 2 at Union Bible Institute. Union Bible Institute serves the South African church by providing a theological education for students who desire to serve the Lord in ministry. Beth's ministry is primarily within their family. She is also developing discipling relationships with student wives and other women on campus as time allows. Updates include:

Beth ended up having emergency surgery on March 6th to remove a large mass that was obstructing her right kidney. Gratefully, the mass was benign and she’s recovering well. Pray for her continued recovery from the surgery
Three days after Beth’s surgery, a dear friend, neighbor and colleague David Ebert passed away very suddenly at age 35, leaving Steph, his wife (due in June) and two young boys. The Barthelemy's have been very close with this family, and Steph's parents are TEAM(mates) with them at UBI. Pray for the Ebert family and their extended families, and for grace and strength for the Barthelemy's in the midst of grief.
Ben has a herniated disk in his back that has been the source of pain in his right hip and leg for the last six months. Unfortunately, the treatment options are not straight-forward. Additionally, his MRI turned up a strange growth on the left side. He was sent to have blood work done and we are waiting to find out if this is serious. Pray for wisdom for how to proceed and grace for Ben as he deals with chronic pain.
Their youth group at church has gotten off to a great start. Pray these young people would be motivated to be in the Word and for the gospel to take root in their lives. Also, pray for a full-time youth worker who can commit more time to the discipleship of these young people.
UBI has also gotten off to a good start. They have 15 new students this year, and it's a joy to see who God brings to their college in preparation for future ministry. The school has also been able to hire a couple of new staff members. One of these has taken on the role of Distance Learning Coordinator.
They have been sensing God has some changes on the horizon for the Barthelemy family and have been taking one step at a time in that direction. We're so grateful for your prayers as we seek to continue to follow Christ and his leading in our lives!

3/30/2025: Please pray for Keith and Judy Anderson, who serve with EFCA ReachGlobal through ProMETA. Keith works with the ProMETA team, an online seminary offering master’s level education for Spanish speaking leaders. The programs include both formal and informal training using both online technologies and face-to-face teaching methods.

Keith’s mom and dad both went home to be with the Lord in December 2024.
Praise God for the graduation of over 40 ProMETA students in February. The largest group of graduates were from Venezuela! Remote graduates were honored online, along with the in-person master’s graduates who were present. It was ProMETA’s 9th graduation! ProMETA also celebrated 25 years of presence in Costa Rica.
Please continue to pray for Visas for Dr. Sepúlveda and family. By mid-April, Javier and his family should receive notice from Immigration as to their legal status in Canada. Their preference is to remain in Canada, but, if their application is denied, they will have to dispose of all their furnishings and move to Ecuador.
ProMETA launched a 15-person new master’s cohort in Montevideo, Uruguay led by ProMETA graduate and doctoral student Andrés Corrales. Pray these students persevere and receive the training they need for teaching and pastoring.
EFCA Hispanic pastors have enrolled in ProMETA´s programs and a cohort of EFCA Hispanic doctoral students has launched and is moving forward. Pray for this group as well as the two new doctoral cohorts that will launch in August (which will include non-EFCA students).
Pray the gathering in Porto Alegre, Brazil from March 27-April 1 to be a ministry-changing experience. Pray for the preparation into what it means to be transformed. In Latin America, discipleship is viewed more as a course with various levels rather than a way of life in apprenticeship to Jesus. The academic dean of ProMETA and Keith are responsible for laying the biblical foundation for this retreat as they wrestle with the complex, yet simple issues.
Their ReachGlobal team leader (the international director for Latin America and the Caribbean) left for Cuba after receiving permission to enter. They will be working on dates for later this year or early next year for a training trip to the island.

3/23/2025: Please pray for Mike and Ann Wheeler. The Wheelers continue to serve with Serving in Mission (SIM) as part of the US Home Based Team and continue their international ministry from Wascea, MN. In February, they moved into their new home - Mike's first house in 44 years. Occasionally Mike will travel to Cochabamba, Bolivia or Latin America to work with the seminaries and pastors. Prayer requests include:

Mike is heading up the accreditation process for two seminaries in Bolivia. Please continue to pray Mike will guide this process in an effective way and both seminaries will be able to improve the training of their students for the ministry.
Mike recently returned from a global theological education conference. Thank the Lord with him for the number of contacts he made with people from all over the world, and especially with those from Latin America.
People at the conference from three seminaries expressed interest in accreditation. Pray for them as they consider pursuing this path.
Pray the Lord will continue to lead Ann as she teaches English and prepares a booklet on the governance of non-profit organizations in Spanish.
They are still fine-tuning the monitoring and evaluation system forms Ann helped design for a ministry in Asia. Please pray for wisdom as they work on the next stage: introducing their work to an organization to test the spreadsheets before they are given to all the other organizations.
Ann continues to hold regular meetings with her SIM USA home based missionary team, all of whom work with leaders in non-formal education. She holds regular meetings with them as a group and as individuals, performs routine administrative work and attends a monthly meeting with other team leaders. She has enjoyed getting to know her team members, hearing their stories and learning about their current ministries. Please pray as Ann develops her relationship with them and tries to develop them into a cohesive virtual team.

3/16/2025: Please pray for Carlos and Suzanne Tejada. The Tejadas have been living and serving in Cartago, Costa Rica with ReachGlobal. Carlos is helping in a program to teach hermeneutics to pastors and leaders. He is working alongside indigenous pastors who are planting churches among their people group. Almost every Cabecar pastor does not have any theological training. Carlos desires to plant healthy churches, but for that to happen it is necessary to equip leaders first. This year he is training 8 pastors and leaders from different villages. Suzanne is primarily serving at home with her family and connecting with local pastors to promote Casa Viva, a Christian foster agency.

Last year Carlos went with a group and began exploring the community of Nimari. They invited the community to do outreach activities in the soccer field. Many women, youth, and children would come to the activities but not men. After a while, the group realized many of the men were opposed to the gospel. The men were close to banning them from entering that community. They demanded the group bring them gifts as a way of letting them into the community. The only things they gave the men were audio Bibles. This year they began visiting the community every 15 days. These men received the group better and, sometimes if Carlos didn't go, they asked for him. By the grace of God, the group is building trust, and it has given them the opportunity to share the gospel with the men of this community. The hope is to be able to start a Bible study in a home in that community.
Pray for a good school year for Alesa and Elijah.
For a fruitful year of Carlos making disciples and possibly helping plant a church in Nimari.
We give thanks for God’s provisions and many generous churches and individuals.

3/9/2025: Please pray for Lonnie and Debbie Smith. The Smiths serve with EFCA ReachGlobal in Marseille, France and are involved in church planting and relational evangelism. Please pray for the ministries they are involved in, including the Merlan Church and the university students who had been involved in the FEU this past year (the FEU is the university student ministry of the Merlan Church). This winter at the Merlan Church the Smiths have been offering a series of seven marriage enrichment sessions for couples, and there have been good reports of how beneficial it has been for them. One person shared he and his wife are finding it very helpful. As first-generation Christians from North Africa they have been influenced by their home culture, as we all have been in our respective cultures. He said: “It is doubly difficult for us, as the man’s right to live to please himself is so ingrained in society and in families. For example, a husband would never submit to his wife in our home culture - it would be impossible.” He expressed their desire to live in a counter cultural way; to follow the teaching of the Bible rather than the traditions in which they were raised. Thank you for praying for these young couples as they all seek to replace the world’s values with the truth of God’s Word. Prayer requests from the Smith's include:

Pray for the gatherings every Thursday called 'Midi Connect' - where we discuss a Bible story over lunch served at the FEU for university students.
Pray for the Merlan Church as new evangelism initiatives in the community are explored.
Pray for Christophe and Sébastien, the two new elders at the Merlan Church, and for their families as they take on this responsibility.
Thank the Lord for the testimony and gospel presentations given by several from the Merlan in Tunisia, during the February vacation. Please pray for those who are seeking will find the Savior.

2/23/2025: Please pray for Leon and Mandy Poplawski, who lead Cru City in Lake County, IL. Leon and Mandy help leaders in the workplace, community, and church live out their callings and learn to communicate their faith. They are part of the Neighbors National Leadership Team, which gives direction to 250 staff around the country. They also coach eight staff members each and lead a virtual POD. A POD is their version of a virtual small group. Their POD includes 15 staff members from around the country they shepherd virtually once a month. Leon continues his Lake County Jail Chaplaincy and Mandy serves with CrossLife's MomCo. Here is their update:

Leon's been talking to a guy in jail who is responding to God’s love. Initially, when we met, he told me the tattoo on his head was to keep the demons in. I told him I wanted to show him how to get the demons out. To clean out the house and fill it with Truth. The Spirit in me sensed God was giving this guy a chance to be transformed. He has responded to verses I gave him and is now reading about spiritual warfare. He’s getting out of jail soon and wants to continue to meet. Pray for him to continue to walk towards the light of Jesus. God is drawing him in and it’s amazing to me.
Mandy had the privilege of moderating and being on the panel of the local MomCo, in which she is a Mentor Mom. It was such a joy to join with two other women who have walked the path of these young moms and to be able to share some of the things they learned along the way. Being a young mom is such a joyful, yet difficult and self-sacrificing time. Mandy loves being an encouragement and also leading these women to know Christ and walk with Him closely. There are many new moms attending this year, and it is always exciting to find out what their faith journey has been and to come alongside them.
Please pray the many seeds planted will result in changed lives.
Pray the many discipleship/equipping conversations and studies would have a "pass on" effect bearing fruit in many contexts.

2/9/2025: Please pray for Cheque and Hope Garcia. Cheque and Hope spent 9 years working in Monterrey Mexico with Back2Back Ministries. Back2Back Ministries is an international Christian non-profit organization dedicated to being a voice for orphans. Many in our congregation have been to Monterey to work with them in their ministry. In 2018, they began the process of setting up a Back2Back presence in the Dominican Republic. This is an update from the Garcias:

Classes at the community center are back up and running after the Christmas holidays. We now have 22 students registered in the program.
We continue to see growth and change in students as our teams work with them daily. One boy began the year very dysregulated and was causing lots of fights and trouble. After working consistently with him our team has seen him relax, calm down, and begin to learn. He is like a different child!
We are opening a volunteer program this year that will allow locals to come and serve alongside our team at the community center.
We have three students in particular who are very challenging and come from challenging situations. Please pray for them to come to know Christ, find peace, and learn, and grow. Pray for our teachers to have grace and wisdom while working with them.
Pray for local volunteers to come and support the work we are doing.
Pray for God's divine connections with other ministries and the local government to begin positively influencing the system toward foster care, which currently does not exist in the DR

2/2/2025: Please pray for FIT Moms (Families in Training) in Waukegan, IL. Established in 1987, they are a faith-based organization designed to provide loving instruction to single moms and their children in the Waukegan area. The ministry exists to serve as a bridge to self-sufficiency and life transformation through a program of education, support, referral, advocacy, mentoring and spiritual guidance. To learn more, follow them (FIT Moms Illinois) on Facebook, or email them at to receive their quarterly newsletter. Current praises and prayer requests include:

Praise and thanks be to God for providing Colleen for this staff position, and for the way God is working in her and through her.
Please pray spiritual seeds that were planted this fall will continue to show signs of growth and will not be snatched away by Satan.
Please pray for a family who has been living in a PADS hotel for more than 18 months will be able to get into an apartment, and the mom will continue to have regular earnings and be able manage funds well.
Please pray as they begin a new study of “Habits of the Household”, the families would build habits that will result in less chaos in their households and would learn ways to look to God in their everyday lives together.
Please pray for wisdom and direction for the board as they seek to lead this ministry in ways that will bring honor to God.

1/26/2025: Please pray for Youssouf and Awa Dembele. The Dembeles are contributing to the work of the church in Mali, Africa and throughout the world through leadership in the local church, seminary, evangelical associations, and bible translation projects. Youssouf shares the following:

Praises and Thanksgiving

The Lord has been good to us during the year 2024. During the Christmas celebration, our church was full, around 800 people attended the service and it was also broadcast through an FM Radio Station. Before Christmas, I recorded three evangelistic sermons that were aired in several FM Radio Stations. We really praise and thank our Lord for the opportunity he gives us to share the Gospel in a Muslim majority country.
On December 31st, 2024, we had a night service in the church. I taught on the Christology of the Gospels in Bamanan language, the majority language in Mali. I shared the text with many Pastors since there is no book on the topic available to them in Bamanan language.
On January 14 and 15, I had two full days teaching in the Bible School with some 70 alumni on the book of Ezekiel. I am now finishing a book on Ezekiel to be used as a textbook in one of our Bible Schools in French.
On January 26, I am travelling to Nairobi, Kenya, where we have a meeting on the training curriculum of Africa Bible translators and Bible translation consultants.
On February 26, I will travel to Kayes, one of the main cities in Mali for a three-day training with the Pastors of all Protestant Churches on the topic of Evangelism among Muslims.
On March 3-8, I will be teaching a challenging course on Hermeneutics in Bamanan language. This will be the first time Hermeneutics is taught in Bamanan language. The attendants are the alumni Pastors of the Bible School that teaches in the Bamanan language. More than one hundred Pastors and Pastors’ wives are expected. I have to finish also a book on Hermeneutics in Bamanan language for the teaching of this topic in the Bible School.
During the week of March 17th, we will have the joy to launch the Khassonke Bible in Mali. This the first Bible ever in that language.

Prayer Requests

My assistant Pastor Etienne Diarra is still unable to walk after he went through surgery on October 2018. Please pray for healing.
Please pray for our need of two assistant pastors whom I can mentor before my retirement as pastor of the two churches we are taking care of. I will be retiring from active pastoral work within two years to devote myself to teaching and writing.
Continue to pray our kids may walk with the Lord and be His witnesses. Eliette will be graduating in May 2025, and Awa and I are planning to attend the graduation in Illinois.
Pray for me (Youssouf) as the National Board of our church denomination appointed me to lead a theological commission in order to help the church with writings and trainings.
Pray for me for the completion of the two course books needed in our Bible Schools.

1/5/2025 : Please pray for Francesco and Manuela Grassi. Francesco and Manuela are missionaries with the United World Mission and are serving at the Italian Evangelical Bible Institute in Rome. As a missional scholar for the Theological Education Initiative (a branch of the UWM), Francesco is involved in the ministry of theological education, both residentially as well as in the various decentralized schools around Italy. Together with Manuela, they also serve as mentors, providing counseling and hospitality to students living away from home. Their passion and prayer are for Italian believers to recover the importance of a sound and holistic biblical formation for the life and witness of the church in Italy. IBEI (Rome) is intentionally and concretely invested in this regard. With its focus on two critical needs of the Italian churches (the theological/spiritual/practical formation of believers and the education of the many bi-vocational church leaders around Italy), the school maintains the clear goal of helping the whole church grow to maturity in Christ. Here is an update and prayer requests from the Grassis:

Pray we can serve with passion and humility, helping students to see and live the Word as they also grow in their faith and love for God.
Pray we as a family bear witness to the gospel of our God with courage and zeal, and see people come to a genuine, saving faith in Christ.
Pray our children would be strengthened in their faith and grow into women of God.
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