OM USA began 31 Days of Prayer this weekend, nightly in August from 6-9 pm. These evenings are a time of worshiping the Lord in song and prayer. We will be praying for each church that is represented and for unity among believers in the area. We want to lift up personal issues as well, for health and for family members, however the Lord leads. Please join us for as many evenings as you are able, as we seek transformation in our community. (Click picture for directions.)
...is to work with the church to motivate and equip Christian teens to have a real friendship with Jesus to reflect Him daily in their world.
Have you checked out pictures and videos from TeenStreet happening right now in Germany?? You can find pictures here and videos here.
Starting Saturday in our worship center are 31 days of worship and prayer that are open to the community. Please join us as we come together from all different backgrounds and churches to pray as one for the community, nation and world, as well as for personal breakthroughs.
OM USA team members kicked off the school year with prayer and interactive worship in our regular prayer time today. We celebrated 91 missionary kids from infant to college age. Here, three "volunteers" from the audience (OMers whose names were drawn from a basket) demonstrate the motions for kids' Bible songs to a room of OM team members and their families. Remember to pray for missionary kids worldwide who are starting school.
Volunteers from OM USA Video on Vimeo.
Looking for something meaningful to do on your next road trip? Come down to Tyrone, Georgia and volunteer a few hours. Every Saturday in August, OM USA is hosting Dog Days, a chance to work outside on the OM campus and really experience the dog days of summer.Please let us know you're coming
so we can make your lunch!
Check out the front page of OMUSA.org for a new video overview of OM's ministry. Also read about an exciting short-term outreach in the Mediterranean next summer.
We asked him: "Do you believe Jesus is the Messiah?" He very directly and assuredly said, "Yes." Our Philosopher friend went on: "But there is one exception." He said if officials were to press him, he would say, "No." I told him I appreciated his honesty.
A few weeks passed and the Philosopher didn't show up at our Sunday Study. His father explained his son was in the hospital with aches and pains that didn't go away. He had been diagnosed with a fungal infection of the brain; a kind of encephalitis. Over the next three weeks we visited but his condition deteriorated. On our last visit The Philosopher was barely alert and hardly able to communicate. We did pray for him, and sat talking while he held one of our hands. It was disheartening to see him in this condition. He had his Bible with him, so we read some passages to him. When he first went into the hospital, his father excitedly told us how he was reading the Bible avidly, and never forgot Jesus.
We returned a few days later and were told he had died. So we went to his house where quite a number of people were kneeling in the driveway. Four saffron-clad religious officials were seated in chairs in front, leading the visitors in prayers and chants. We quietly sat to one side, and silently prayed and waited. Eventually we were able to talk with The Philosopher's parents who were of course sad, but happy to see us. One of us was able to join them for the funeral that afternoon.
The following week we decided to visit his parents with one of our national friends, who shared the gospel with The Philosopher's three siblings. It was encouraging to hear details of those last days of our beloved friend, who we sense may have become a brother in the Lord. His father had brought some rosary beads to the hospital in the hope that his son might use them, as many Buddhists do. The 108 beads are thumbed one by one as the person recites a chant. The father recalled how his son just passed the beads one by one, repeating "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!"
As we look back over this experience of knowing this young man, we realize once more the urgency of the task ahead of us all. Just four weeks ago the Philosopher appeared healthy. He was enjoying life and the Sunday afternoon studies. I still think back to the day he look straight at us and affirmed that Jesus is the Messiah. I hope that is how things stood at the end and trust he was fully reconciled with God.
Please be encouraged to pray all the more earnestly for those who come to these Sunday Studies and for their families; that God would bring them into His Kingdom.
Send the Light, OM's original literature distribution ministry, became independent then merged with the International Bible Society two years ago, forming IBS-STL. This month, the organization announced their new name and unveiled a new website, Biblica.
The OM USA blog is now part of alltop.com, an "online magazine rack" covering all the top news in countless categories. OM USA appears on the Alltop Christianity page, and there's a great widget which pulls from all the feeds on that page. Add the code to your own site and your readers will get a wealth of Christian news updated hourly. You can find us under the title "Mission News from OM USA". And don't forget to hit the share links at the top of the page -- tell your friends and followers online!
Graham Wells, prayer minister for OM USA, explained the purpose of the Prayer Summit: "We believe that according to 1 Timothy 2 we are called to pray earnestly for those in authority over us, especially when the decisions made during these days affect not just peoples but nations. So, for the hours of this summit we will be praying into their agenda asking the Sovereign Lord to rule and reign in the affairs of man, executing justice, righteousness and truth."
Summit team leader Ian Cole from World Prayer Center in the UK explained that this prayer team is joined by tens of thousands of intercessors from different nations around the globe who are watching the G8 proceedings closely as well:
"Today as the kings of the earth flew into L'Aquila Italy to begin their meetings, we met to praise and lift up the name of the King of Kings! Tucked away in a corner of Italy we were able to follow via live Internet feed the proceedings and agenda of these leaders, and pray into their discussions. With a table set up in the middle of the prayer room with the flags, pictures and names of each of the leaders in the order they are seated in L'Aquila, we were able to ask God to give us the things to pray for, His heart for the disadvantaged, and to pray His will into the world economic situation and other global issues."
Please continue to join these intercessors in prayer as you pray through the news.
Departure of the Logos Hope was delayed to await the arrival of some spare parts needed before it set sail. The ship is now underway and you can watch its journey to the Caribbean on the Logos Hope Voyage Dashboard. The webcams there display still shots from throughout the ship. Images change at different intervals, depending on the time and available bandwidth. Some days you might see outside the ship, other days you'll get glimpses on board, or both. Bookmark the dashboard, but careful -- you might get addicted.
Motivational speaker Richard Sharp addressing a group in Latin America.
"Thank you for coming. You provide such a wonderful break from our reality. I hope you never get tired of coming," said Candy, a young mother attending OM Costa Rica's women's ministry in Las Tablas. The reality of Las Tablas includes families dealing with poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, commercial sex work and domestic violence against women and children.
An OM outreach in Bangladesh is rebuilding after a neighborhood-wide fire this April. Over the last five years, a Kid's Club has become increasingly popular among local residents. All 150 children who attend the club live in the same poor neighborhood and all suffered loss in this recent disaster.
In a recent article by Mission Network News, Christian leaders share their thoughts on the late Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the Perspectives class and the US Center for World Mission. Dr. Winter also introduced the idea of unreached people groups and started the magazine Mission Frontiers. One of the leaders interviewed is our own founder George Verwer, who met Dr. Winter over forty years ago.
I've been in Nepal for just over three months; days rich with experiences of God's goodness.
The largest ship in the history of the OM fleet, Logos Hope, will be officially launched in London this weekend. ASSIST News has a great article about the scope of this new ship's ministry, as well as a rare photo of OM founder George Verwer in a suit.
Thanks to the efforts of the OM team in Northeast Thailand, a well-stocked Christian bookstore has now opened—the only one of its kind within 100 miles in any direction! The shop is in a good downtown location and offers literature in both Thai and Lao. Recently, a volunteer team came from a church in New Mexico, USA, bringing hundreds of books, Christian t-shirts, bookmarks, and other items for the new bookstore. The group also visited orphanages and worked alongside small rural churches, performing puppet skits, dancing, and singing Gospel songs in rural schools, shopping centers, and orphanages. One team member provided a year's supply of nutritional supplements for the children in a small Christian orphanage that was in much need of that kind of help.Praise God that these visitors were able to share the Gospel with hundreds, leaving an eternal mark of encouragement on the lives of so many local believers simply by working alongside them. Pray for other international groups that are coming to leave their mark, and for the permanent team to be able to follow up new opportunities.
A team from OM's DanceLink will be in Budapest this summer for a two-week outreach. Please be in prayer for them as they make their preparations. Pray for travel safety and for favor among the local people. We believe the Lord is doing something new through this ministry and trust He will draw many to Him during this time. Praise God that the team found a local photographer who will be capturing some of their performances on film. Watch for updates here!
Matt: To hear that this was the first time that the local youth had proclaimed the gospel on the streets of their city was a real encouragement and I definitely got the sense that this was the beginning of something great in Baja.
Beth: The Bus4Life helped provide a focal point in the local community for people to gather together to hear the gospel...If Paul had had a bus,
he would surely have used it!
Ireland has its own traveling ministry called The Big Red Bus. Their bus is less library, more meet-n-greet. Team members take their double-decker event center to all types of gatherings, using the bus as everything from a puppet stage to a coffeehouse. See them in action below, as founder Mike Mullins gives you a tour. And read how this ministry started at the OM Ireland website.
Nothing says OM like the iconic ships ministry. The ships Doulos and Logos Hope sail to ports around the globe offering reading materials, relief services, and most importantly, relationships. Currently, the ships have several openings for accountants. Would you consider using your finance skills in this vital role? Read more about this niche opportunity.
Career OMer Dan Lagasse was recognized earlier this year as one of the Heroes of Hope Living with CF. This is an honor given by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to individuals living positively with a CF diagnosis. Most recently, Dan and his wife Deanna have been representing OM on the west coast. You can read more of Dan's inspiring story at the Heroes of Hope site.
It's Memorial Day here in the States, a day to honor those who have gone before us to give us our freedom. Let us also remember the heroes of the faith who brought the word of God to us and shared with us His sacrificial love.
OM founder George Verwer will be receiving an Honorary Doctor of Divinity tonight and tomorrow from Biola University. You can watch the commencement services live at Biola's site. Tonight's ceremony is for those earning graduate degrees (6pm PDT), tomorrow morning's is for undergrads (9am PDT). George will be the commencement speaker at both ceremonies.
Will you pray with us? Tomorrow OM USA is starting 10 days of 24/7 prayer. Our prayer room will be open around the clock through Pentecost, May 31. Come pray for OM, pray for your church or the nations, or just draw nearer to the Lord. We welcome you to join us for chapel Thursday morning from 8:30 - 10:30 for the opening of our 10 day focus, ending in a prayer walk around the campus.
