Click here for a printable version
of this list.

If you don't have Acrobat Reader, click on the icon above to download a free version.

Main Prayer Page

 

For a downloadable
text version of this News Release
as a Microsoft Word document -
  CLICK HERE
 

The Call Goes Out For “Ten-Thousand”

            Participants are being sought for what may likely be the largest prayer effort in the history of the Free Methodist Church of North America. And it couldn’t come at a more important time.

            The upcoming General Conference in Seattle – the 34^th General Conference since the founding of the Free Methodist Church – will focus attention on a multitude of challenges and opportunities. The church has never been so diverse or complex. Nor have the issues facing our church been so global in nature.

            Even though the denomination is not facing the deadly threat Jehoshaphat faced, the issues we face are enormous. And we echo the sentiments of his prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:12, “O Lord… we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” After that occasion of national prayer and fasting, God responded by providing a remarkable answer to their cry for help.

            Jehoshaphat’s pattern is worth following today. And that is just what the General Conference Prayer Coordinators, Doug and Margie Newton, are attempting to do.

            “Our goal is simple,” say the Newtons. “To enlist 10,000 prayer and fasting participants for the 40 days right up until General Conference. And that’s not unrealistic. With nearly 1,000 churches, we only need to enlist ten participants per church on average.”

            The Newtons have crafted a prayer event called “A True Fast for the Free Methodist Church” to be observed from May 19-June27. The concept of a “true fast” is central to the plan. Too often prayer and fasting efforts neglect what God described as a true fast according to Isaiah 58. True fasting has two parallel concerns – humility toward God and compassionate service toward people.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Isaiah 58:6-7

            In an attempt both to encourage the denomination in fasting prayer and to revive our classic identity as a church that cares for the needy, the Newtons are following the Isaiah 58 model by encouraging people to fast in both times of prayer and service.

            Participants have the opportunity to fast in a variety of ways from going without food to going without TV. They can also give up personal time and engage in what the Newtons call a “service fast” or a “hospitality fast.”

            To aid people in deciding how to get involved, an elaborate website with scores of resources is being developed. Full descriptions of all the varieties of fasting are on-line in the prayer section of the General Conference website at www.freemethodistchurch.org/GenConf. Daily prayer calendars and practical idea guides are also available, along with promotional materials for churches. By May 15 more prayer guides and other resources for all types of fasts will be on-line also.

            Many churches are already planning group events such as 24-hour prayer vigils and 40-day prayer vigils.

            Anyone interested in participating during all or part of the 40 day period are urged to sign up on-line at the prayer web section.

            “We are convinced that God has a definite plan for the future fruitfulness of the Free Methodist Church,” affirm the Newtons. “We just have to make sure we are able to hear His voice and follow His lead. With thousands of people joining together in prayerful fasting and service, we are trusting that our hearts and minds will be ready to listen.”