Valentine’s Day set as day of prayer for student missions

Go Now Missions

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MIDLOTHIAN—More than 200 college students from around Texas will gather at First Baptist Church in Midlothian Feb. 12-14 for Go Now Missions Discovery Weekend, a time for students to worship, learn about God’s heart for the nations, minister to the local community and seek God’s guidance about serving in summer or semester missions this year.

The Go Now Missions prayer team is asking churches to dedicate Feb. 14 as a day of prayer for student missions, interceding for students as they seek God’s direction and discover ways they can fulfill the call to take the gospel to all peoples and nations.

Go Now Missions“Committing to pray on Sunday morning when the students are making their last decision about serving in positions can only help and really begin to free up and enlighten the leadership team as they put assignments together, knowing that not only the people in that room are praying, but also people at every corner of Texas,” said Ben Edfeldt, director of the Baptist Student Ministry at Midwestern State University and Go Now Missions prayer team leader.

Not every student who attends the weekend will accept a position, but that is not the goal, said Brenda Sanders, director of Go Now Missions. Above all, she hopes to see students draw closer to God as well as gain a better understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

“I pray students walk away from this weekend having heard from God,” Sanders said. “And once they have heard from him, I pray that they will now be obedient to whatever he calls them to do. For some, that may be to follow him to the mission field. For another group, that may be to return to their campus and live intentionally there this summer. And for others, that may be to walk more closely with the Lord.”

To include churches and other believers in the weekend, the prayer team is providing a virtual prayer room, an online prayer initiative where people from across the state can sign up for one-hour time slots to pray for the students and the activities taking place that weekend.

The goal is to have the students and leaders covered in prayer around the clock while they are participating in the weekend. As the prayer team meets with students, they will post prayer requests to the prayer website so volunteers can pray for the needs and positions being considered.

Sanders also hopes churches will commit to encourage and walk with the students on their journey as they commit to serve and begin raising their support and preparing spiritually for the missions task.

“My prayer is that churches will see Go Now missionaries as their missionaries and that they would embrace these students,” Sanders said. “I hope that they see the significance of being partners in missions and prayer support for them. It is vital to encourage these students, because they are our future career missionaries, pastors and lay leaders.”


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In 2009, more than 331 Texas students served in short-term, summer or semester mission positions through Go Now Missions.

To view additional ways to pray for the students participating in Discovery Weekend and those serving this year, or to sign up to be part of the virtual prayer room, visit www.gonowmissions.com.

 

 


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