How to Pray for Missionaries This Christmas [December Prayer Guide]

TEAM - The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Dec 01, 2016

Where you the first time you heard the Christmas story?

By the fireside with your family? At a church play? Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas ?

This month, missionaries around the world are sharing about Christ’s birth through carols, parties, gospel tracts, skits and more. For many people, it will be the first time they ever hear that God sent his Son to save us!

Will you please pray with us for all the Christmas outreaches and other ministries TEAM missionaries are serving in this month?

December 1 – 7

christmas outreach in japan

Workers in Japan are preparing for their annual Christmas outreaches and ask for your prayers. Photo by TEAM


JAPAN | Murray and Kathy Trim write, “Please pray for the many evangelistic outreaches this month where we will be sharing the true meaning of Christmas. Also pray for us as we return from home assignment on December 1 and will immediately jump into ministry with the many opportunities for evangelism surrounding Christmas.”

SOUTH ASIA | Workers write, “Pray for qualified American English teachers, a business manager and start-up capital to help us launch a business venture in South Asia among some unreached Muslim people in a major urban context.”

AUSTRALIA | Owen Ames writes, “Pray for me as I meet with the national leaders of various missions in Australia to explore Kingdom co-operation between them and TEAM. Also pray for wisdom as I seek to follow God’s leading as to what new ministry areas he would have TEAM start in Australasia. Some exciting opportunities to work with indigenous churches are presenting themselves.”

ASIA | The Asia Pacific region leadership team and leaders from the 15 ministry areas in the Asia-Pacific region will be meeting together in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec 5–8. Pray that these days together will be times of good fellowship, learning and new ideas for future ministry.

FRANCE | Living in a strange culture, speaking in a second language, working to plant a church — sometimes, the stresses of missionary life make a place to get away almost a necessity. To help, workers in France have made an apartment available for missionaries to do just that. Please pray that wearied workers would be refreshed through this ministry of hospitality.

BRAZIL | Dave Kanagy writes, “Please pray for a man I am discipling named Cleiton, that he would understand our Lord more fully and that I would be wise as I mentor him. Pray, too, for one of our small group Bible studies, that I would have wisdom in helping direct this study and that God would give me moments where I can have input into the life of the leader about this study.”

PAPUA | Workers in Papua hope to start a sewing class in order to help women in the community start their own businesses. Please pray that God would use these classes to encourage laughter, friendship and conversations that point to him.

December 8-14

Guatemala-Puppet

Workers in Guatemala are praying for their puppet ministry to grow. Will you join them in prayer? Photo by TEAM


GUATEMALA | A puppet ministry in Guatemala is sharing the gospel message through its performances and trains other groups, including seminary students, to do the same. Please pray that God would use this ministry to captivate many children with stories of his love.

EAST ASIA | Missiologists marvel at how quickly the church has grown in parts of Asia. But in some mountain regions, it’s as if the good news of Jesus never happened. Trained national missionaries are ready to share the gospel with these unreached people, but lack the funds to do so. Will you pray that God would raise up support for them?

JAPAN | Mike Gray writes, “Please pray for our music outreach during December on the street and in the church. Also pray for direction and funding for a new Takamatsu Christian Center in Takamatsu, Japan.”

MEXICO | In La Paz, programs at a local community center are creating natural ways for workers to share the gospel with youth and their families. Workers are trusting God to continue to provide funding for rent and other equipment to keep their doors open. Will you join them in asking God that this center would continue to bless La Paz for years to come?

ZIMBABWE | At Karanda Mission Hospital, TEAM doctors and nurses use simple aids like rattles, dolls or walkers to encourage the mental and physical development of disabled children. Please pray that their care would be effective and would reflect the care of Christ.

AUSTRALIA | Ray and Marti Williams write, “The Adelaide College of Ministries is having its final graduation ceremony on 14 December. Next year, the school enters a merger with the Bible College of South Australia. It is a good move in some respects but sad in others. Pray for the students who will be making a transition to the new environment. Thank God for the impact that the graduates of ACM have had/are having in the work of the Lord. We are both thankful that we will have a role in the new school. Praise the Lord for continuing opening for ministry.”

PAKISTAN | A traveling tent-school project is giving nomadic children in Pakistan the chance to get an education. TEAM workers train shepherds to teach the children in their own camps during seasonal migrations so kids can keep learning. Pray that these teachers will be effective in their work.

December 15-21

Chad-Literacy

Workers at a school in Chad are seeing progress in their students, but need more school books to enrich their work. Photo by TEAM


SPAIN | Workers are slowly building a Christian school program in Seville, Spain, starting with extracurricular activities. Pray for God’s provision and guidance as they take the next step by starting an early childhood program.

ITALY | Pray for all TEAM Italy members as they plan evangelistic outreaches for the Christmas season. Pray that the Lord will use prayer, talent and creativity to reach nonbelievers in a season when they may be more open to the gospel. Pray especially for wisdom on how to use the Christmas season to reach out to the town of Sansepolcro.

JAPAN | Rob and Yoko Taylor write, “We are currently looking for a building to rent for our new church plant in Ueda city in Nagano prefecture. We have had a very difficult time finding a big enough space that we can afford within reasonable walking distance to the train station. Also, we are in the process of pursuing adoption, and we are also in the beginnings of homeschooling our elementary age boys, Codey and Miles. Please pray for wisdom for Yoko as she leads the homeschooling effort, and how possibly having a new baby in the house will fit in with the boys homeschooling.”

CHAD | In a region of Chad, children are coming alive as they learn to read at the first school for their local language. But in order to sustain a literacy movement, some experts say you need at least 100 different books — and the school only has 27. Recently, missionaries created another 30 children’s books, but lack the funding to print them. Please pray that these students would receive the resources they need.

PAPUA | Dan and Louise Hubert write, “Pray for the successful launch of the Semangga Community Center (a new community center just outside Merauke, Papua). May it be not only a place to study English and computers but also a place where the light of the gospel shines forth.”

MIDDLE EAST | As more Syrian refugees flee their country, their chances of finding work are growing even more scarce. Pray for missionaries in the Middle East who are distributing bags of food and building relationships. Ask God to give refugees true hope through this ministry.

MEXICO | Ralph and Ellen Shepard write, “We are really seeking to add another group or two in the near future as we expand our house church ministry. Please pray for open doors for this via current believers or interested people or multiplication of current groups. Thank you for continued prayer for our men’s ministry too. It is a great encouragement.”

December 22-31

Papua-Seminary

Seminary students in Papua often struggle to feed their families on a limited income. Will you pray that their school’s rice program will continue to be a source of provision? Photo by TEAM


EAST ASIA | Every year, workers in East Asia put together a Christmas program with carols, games, crafts and the Christmas story. About 400–500 people come every year! Ask God to help them pull together the final details, and pray that many hearts will be touched this year.

JAPAN | Paul and Violette Bridgman write, “Please pray for our English class students to have open hearts to receive the Gospel.”

PAPUA | Papuans often struggle to feed their families on their own when they go to study at the Roesler Memorial Bible School. Ask God to encourage them during this time of sacrifice. And pray that God will continue to bless the school’s rice program, which helps feed many of the students’ families.

GLOBAL | Pray for the many nations that will be celebrating Christmas today. May the true meaning of Christmas be proclaimed far and wide by Christians everywhere!

TAIWAN | Ron Heinsman writes, “Please continue to pray for the ministry of Trailblazer Camps, both for the camp facility repairs and the ongoing program development. Pray for wisdom as staff and board membership make long-term decisions.”

FRANCE | A church in Plaisir, France, has dreamed for years of having a worship center of its own, but TEAM missionaries Bob and Veronique have faced many roadblocks in buying land this year. Please ask God to open the right doors for this congregation’s future place of worship.

AUSTRALIA | Ray and Marti Williams write, “Our visa denial has been appealed. The appeal process can take over a year, so we are still here. Pray that we can stay focused on ministry while we wait and that we will receive a positive result from our appeal.”

GUATEMALA | TEAM nurses recently started working at a Guatemalan-run clinic to provide quality care and shine the light of Christ. But a lack of organization of patient records dramatically slows down the process of seeing patients and makes long-term care difficult as records get lost. Please pray that despite the challenges, TEAM nurses would be able to administer treatments to those who need it most.

SOUTHERN AFRICA | Lynda Collison writes, “Please continue to pray for Swaziland Evangelical Bible Institute third-year students as they are really beginning to think of life after school. They will have their graduation ceremony next February. Pray for the incoming students. We never know how many.”

JAPAN | Roberta Peabody writes, “Please pray for the Japanese living abroad who return to Japan with their families. The wife may be the only Christian in the family and face pressures within the family and children’s educational system. The ministry that I work with will have an Equippers Conference to assist returnees of all ages to come back to Japan and be witnesses.”

Bridging Dissonance: Finding Connection in Music and the Gospel

By Emily Sheddan • 18 Jul, 2024
TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”

Connecting in a New Kind of “Neighborhood”

By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson • 13 Jun, 2024
Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.
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