Dear Brother or Sister in Christ,
Praise God for the many wonderful ways that He continues to work in and through our church as we approach our 100-year anniversary in 2024! Please pray that we will be in step with His Spirit. Please pray for our church’s Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) as they recruit 15-20 members from our church who represent the various demographics and aspects of ministry here. Pray for clarity as they seek to rightly understand our current status, and then prayerfully envision the goals and future that God would have our church pursue into our future. Please pray for Mustful Strategic Consulting as Brandon works alongside our SLT members in this 6-9 month process. Pray for Mark Carlson as he chairs this team.
Pray for effective gospel outreach to our Bemidji area. May our church be a gospel lighthouse that people can come to but also a training ground and prayer base that sends Christ-followers out into their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Pray Romans 10:14-15 for our church: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Pray that each and every Christ-follower from E-Free Bemidji will have beautiful feet as we share the good news about Jesus. Pray for favor in our relationships with our spiritually lost family, friends, and neighbors, including those we know from work and school.
Praise God for our newly approved 2024 General Fund Ministry budget. Pray that we’ll steward our building, grounds, and finances for God’s glory and for His gospel purposes for this community and beyond. Praise God and please pray for our newly elected church officers. 3 trustees: Nicki Carlson, John Baer, and Stephen Helweg (for his 2nd 2-year term). 3 elders: Jim Hodgson, Ron Bouchie, and Jerry Drebelbis. 1 church clerk: Kate Trosen (for her 2nd 1-year term). Pray that these men and women will serve and lead our church well. Pray for wisdom and insight into all that God would have them do and decide on behalf of our local church body.
Pray for the many weekly and monthly ministries connected to our church, as well as all of the many special events. Visit www.efcbemidji.org/pco-events/ to pray through our church’s calendar. Please also pray through our weekly bulletin each week. Pray that we won’t just be a busy church with lots of activities, but that we’ll be a church with the right things on our plate. Pray that we’ll be on mission with God and be effective for His glory. We need to pray, pray, pray for all that God is doing in and through us. Pray John 15:5, that we will remain in the vine, Jesus Christ, and that we will bear spiritual fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Pray 1 Corinthians 15:58, that we will stand firm in our faith, that we will let nothing move us, that we will always give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Pray Galatians 6:9, that we won’t become weary in doing good, but we’ll reap a harvest in God’s perfect timing, if we do not give up.
Please also pray for the completion of our new Global Partners Prayer Flipbook (coming soon!). Pray for each of our Global Partners as they continue to spread the good news of the gospel near and far. Pray for their health and safety, for good relationships, for full financial support, for favor with foreign governments, for language learning, for adapting to culture and diligence in pressing on through its challenges.
As always, please pray that E-Free Bemidji will become more and more the church that God would have us be. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, thank you for praying!
Together for Christ,
Pastor Jerry