No. 486 — "Please Pray for Our Church Together (Part 1)" 2026 06 07

Here's the column translated into natural English: No. 486 — "Please Pray for Our Church Together (Part 1)" 2026 06 07 Last week we talked about personal prayer. God said, "Call to me" (Jeremiah 33:3). Jesus told us, "Ask, seek, knock" (Matthew 7:7). And James taught us to say, "If it is the Lord's will" (James 4:15). This week, I want to invite you to hold onto those words and join me in interceding for our church. Throughout Scripture, God has always worked through communities that pray. When He called Abraham, when He established Israel, when He launched the early church — God didn't work through lone individuals. He worked through people who prayed together. Jesus promised, "Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20), and He called His followers to stay awake and pray as they waited for the Holy Spirit. The early believers devoted themselves to prayer with one heart and one mind — and it was in the midst of that praying community that the Spirit came. Through their prayers, God built His church and spread the gospel. The same is true today. The future of our church does not rest on human ability or well-laid plans. The church comes alive when God moves, and ministry bears fruit when God opens the way. That is why we must seek together, search together, and knock together — two or three, in one accord. God will work through us as a praying community. With that in mind, I'd like to ask you to pray for several upcoming events in June. Please pray for the Georgia Baptist Ministers' Family Retreat (June 8–9) and the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting (June 9–12). Ask God to grant wisdom to churches and pastors, and to guide the convention toward a healthy, gospel-centered direction for missions and ministry. Pray especially that our denomination and its churches would stand firmly on God's Word rather than drifting with the currents of the culture. Please also pray for Pastor Jae-Hong Kim, who will be visiting us from Korea (June 8–20). Pray that God would keep him healthy through the long journey, and that our time of fellowship and ministry together would be a mutual source of encouragement and blessing. Finally, please pray for our short-term mission trip to Chiapas, Mexico (June 13–27). Pray for the safety and health of the mission team, for the Ichthus Mission Center and the local workers, and for the teenagers and local teachers who will hear the gospel through the English camp. Above all, pray that what is shared would not be a human program, but the love of God and the message of the gospel. I will be joining the team for the final week, June 20–27, to take part in whatever ministry God has prepared.