SPCKA 2O11 Prayer Diary

Please pray daily for the work of the Society and its partners around the world.

1. Egypt. Pray for the strategic Alexandria School of Theology and its Principal, Revd Dr Emad Azmi Mikhail. Give thanks for the successful launch of the Master of Arts programme and the appointment of Arabic-speaking faculty. Please pray that the library books provided by the Society will deepen students’ love and devotion for the Lord of the harvest. www.ast-eg.org

2. Pakistan. The Zarephath Bible Institute is preparing pastors and scholars to serve in this powerful but unstable country. Please pray for graduates as they leave the institute to work in less hospitable environments. As the institute grows and standards of theological education rise, SPCKA has been asked to help build up library resources. Pray for Rev Steve Sonneman as he encourages students and pastors to acquire the habit of regular reading. Pray also that ZBI graduates will begin to address the dire need for good quality Christian books written in local languages. www.zbiedu.org

3. India. Pray for under-resourced church planters in parts of northern India where there is little Christian witness. Praise God for their courage and dedication. SPCKA is supporting them by funding the publication of pastoral aids, Bible references and commentaries in Hindi.The Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) celebrates three hundred years of service. Please pray for the General Secretary, Revd Dr Ashish Amos. Under his leadership ISPCK has become an exceptional indigenous Christian publisher and development agency. ispck.org.in

SPCKA 2O11 Prayer Diary

4. Your church. Does it support literature ministries in diffi cult places? Please encourage your congregation to help make Christian literature available where it is most needed through SPCKA. Do you encourage your leaders? Pray for them as you praise God for those who originally pointed you to Jesus and nurtured your Christian growth by recommending helpful books.

5. France. An SPCKA loan has made possible the publication of Soif de la Parole, the French edition of Search the Scriptures. This is an initiative of GBU, the French IFES-affi liated student movement. Pray that this book will nourish and inspire French-speaking students in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and Canada. gbu.fr

6. National Council. Please pray today for members of the SPCKA National Council who guide the Society’s work and support our National Director, Michael Collie. Pray also for those who serve on our Awards, Grants, Management and Publishing Committees as we seek to faithfully fulfi l our purposes under God.

7. Sri Lanka. Pray for the Colombo Theological Seminary and its Principal, Ivor Poobalan. The Society has been invited to help CTS publish locally-written theological workbooks in English, Sinhala and Tamil. These new workbooks are designed to standardise certifi cate-level theological teaching across the three languages and will extend sound theological education to regions where it has never been available before. Pray that this unprecedented trilingual publishing initiative will help reconcile a country torn apart by twenty-six years of civil war. www.cts.lk

SPCKA 2O11 Prayer Diary

8. Books and bookshops. We have lots of them in Australia! Please pray for Christians who can’t enjoy the resources we take for granted. With your support we can make a diff erence. Pray too, for those who work in your nearest Christian bookstore and those involved in writing, publishing, and distributing Christian literature. Pray that in every nation God will raise up bold, robust and self-suffi cient Christian publishers.

9. LetraViva is a network of forty Latin American Christian publishers that exercises a ministry of logistical support, professional development and mutual encouragement. Please pray for the LetraViva coordinator, Ian Darke, based in Costa Rica. Pray especially for the eff ective functioning of the LetraViva dispatch centre in Miami, an essential means of book distribution run cooperatively by member publishers. www.letraviva.com

10. South America. The Society has been asked to sponsor a LetraViva training event in July this year for book designers in Buenos Aires. Please pray for the trainers: Colombian graphic designer, Catalina Echeverri, and SPCKA’s Michael Collie. Pray that the participating designers from Argentina, Bolivia and Peru will be better equipped to make vital written resources accessible and attractive to those who most need to read them.

11. Argentina. Our partnership with Certeza Argentina over two decades demonstrates the value of open and enduring relationships with those we serve. Thank God for Certeza’s progress in a volatile economy and growing infl uence in the Spanish-speaking world. Certeza Argentina is now assuming a mentoring role with developing publishers and booksellers. Pray that Certeza Director, Beatriz Buono, will continue to lead her team with vision, creativity and courage. www.certezaargentina.com.ar

12. Sudan. Please pray for peace in this troubled country following the January referendum. SPCKA has been asked to assist with the production of liturgical resources for the Dinka-speaking church. A trial edition of a new Dinka hymn book compiled in Australia by Revd Abraham Ayur Mayor Dit has been circulated to twenty Dinka congregations for testing and checking. Please pray for Dinka church leaders and the SPCKA Grants Committee as together we explore how this resource might be best delivered to the global Dinka community.

13. Kenya. Pray today for Rev Peter Ibui and his team at Word of Life, a correspondence school based in Kianjai. The Society has provided a computer, duplex laser printer, paper and toner to make possible the economical preparation and printing of Bible studies and evangelistic tracts. This material is produced or adapted by local Christians in Kiswahili.

14. Tanzania. St John’s University, Dodoma, opened in September 2007. Please pray for wisdom and energy for Australian missionaries Neville and Elspeth Carr and other members of the faculty. SPCKA is helping to provide a library for the University’s theology students. Thank God for the Christian commitment of the University staff and the opportunity to be partners in this nation-building enterprise. Pray for the successful launch this year of a digital theological journal: www.journals.sjut.org/soma

15. Tanzania. A model of holistic mission, Australian missionaries John and Jill Morshead both teach at the Munhimbili University of Health Sciences and at St Mark’s Anglican Theological College in Dar es Salaam. SPCKA is restocking the college’s theological library and provides book prizes to graduates. Please pray for the college Principal, Maimbo Mndolwa, and all those responsible for the care and preparation of lay and ordained church leaders.

16. Africa Bible Commentary. SPCKA presents essential reference works to students graduating from Bible colleges in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This year SPCKA is pleased to be able to make available to East African graduates the newly published Kiswahili edition of the Africa Bible Commentary. Written and edited by African theologians, the Africa Bible Commentary is the first one-volume commentary ever created to help students, pastors and lay leaders apply God’s Word to distinctively African concerns. Now Kiswahili-speaking students and pastors can draw on the experience, wisdom and insight

of Africa’s church leaders and scholars to deepen their understanding and appropriation of the Christian faith.

17. Central Tanganyika Press. The Society has a long association with this pioneering Christian publisher. Please pray for the new Managing Editor, Revd Michael Nchimbi, as he oversees its reorganization and rejuvenation. Pray for the Society’s Grants Committee as it seeks to support and encourage him.

18. DR Congo. Typically, students coming to Berea Bible College in Kindu have never owned a book and clergy and congregations in villages have no access to printed resources. Funds provided by the Society have been used to build up the college library, provide students with key Bible references and print Bible study and liturgical materials prepared locally in Congolese Swahili. Please pray for the college staff and their Bishop, Masimango Katanda, as they equip and encourage lay and ordained church leaders.

19. China. With the relaxing of laws regarding the religious instruction of children there has been a sudden influx of children attending Church services and Bible studies. The Society is providing first-generation Sunday school teachers with training, teachers’ manuals and other teaching aids. Pray that churches with little experience of Christian education for children will introduce boys and girls to Jesus with enthusiasm and creativity.

20. Mongolia. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Russians withdrew in 1990 there were only four known Christians in Mongolia. Twenty years later there are tens of thousands of believers and hundreds of churches. Praise God for this display of his grace. Pray for first generation believers as their enthusiasm is tested by the hazards

of affluence: individualism, indifference and apathy. Pray that local Christian authors and publishers will address the urgent needs of the growing church and the profound social crisis provoked by the disintegration of the communist regime. Pray that by providing expertise and strategic grants and loans the Society will effectively nurture independent and sustainable Christian publishers.

21. Philippines. We receive regular expressions of appreciation from final year students at St Andrew’s Theological Seminary in Manila for the provision of a Bible commentary and concordance upon graduation. Please pray especially for the graduates who take up teaching and pastoral positions in less sympathetic contexts such as Myanmar. As their personal resources are meagre these gifts become indispensable tools.

22. Cambodia. There is very little Christian literature in Khmer. Please pray that the Cambodian church will find creative ways to foster a reading culture. Pray for Christian publisher, Fount of Wisdom, and Australian missionaries, David and Leoni Painter, as they endeavour to nurture local writers and generate a vibrant body of indigenous Christian literature. www.fountofwisdomph.com

23. SPCKA supporters. The generosity of our supporters is both humbling and inspiring. Please thank God today for those who pray regularly for the work God has put in front of us. Thank you for being one of them! Pray that we, and those we assist, will be motivated and challenged to bring people to Christ and help them to grow to Christian maturity. Pray also for discernment so that we will apply generously-given resources effectively and efficiently.

24. Deacons & bishops. When new bishops and deacons are ordained in Australia, the Society celebrates the occasion by presenting them with a book gift on your

behalf, together with a letter alerting them to the nature of our work. Please pray that they will be faithful in building up the body of Jesus Christ.

25. Northern Territory. Give thanks for Nungalinya College, the growing popularity of its courses and the appointment of the new Principal, Dr Jude Long. Pray that the students and their communities will be transformed by a personal knowledge of Jesus. www.nungalinya.edu.au

26. Northern Territory. Pray that God will raise up more people to help with Bible translation and literacy teaching. Pray that the Holy Spirit will stir indigenous Australians as they read the Bible for the first time in their own tongue.

27. Other mission societies. Support for Christian literature work is requested by people from a variety of denominations and mission agencies such as ABM, BCA, CMS and Pioneers. Please pray for these co-workers, and also for SPCK (UK), SPCK USA and ISPCK (India). Although our societies are autonomous, a positive fraternal relationship continues. Pray that we will all be Christ-focussed in our work and purpose.

28. Management. Pray for our Administrator, Carol LePage, and our Treasurer, Bruce Millot, who are responsible for the efficient operation of our Melbourne office. Pray too for the Management Committee as it meets monthly to monitor the effectiveness of the Society’s work.

29. The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award was won in 2010 by Tom Frame’s wide-ranging Losing my Religion (UNSW Press). The best-selling The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall & Tony Payne (Matthias Media) earned Second Prize. Trudy Adams won third prize with her gritty first novel Desolate Beauty (Ark House Press). The 2010 Young Australian Christian Writer Award went

to Jack Burham and the 2010 Australian Christian Teen Writer Award was won by Sarah Longden. Please pray for the judges and the team responsible for administering the Australian Christian Literature Awards. Pray that the awards will encourage Australian Christian writers and publishers and that their work will help seekers to find Jesus and Christians to grow.

30. Grants Committee members are selected for their experience and knowledge of mission and Christian literature needs in various parts of the world. Pray today for Michael Collie. As National Director he is responsible for providing the information with which the Grants Committee will decide how to best respond to the many requests for assistance we receive.

31. Hard places. Sometimes we support work in locations which are too sensitive to publicly disclose. This might involve providing opportunities for people to encounter the Word of God in education and translation work. Pray that members of literacy teaching teams will use appropriate opportunities with courage and integrity to share the good news of Jesus.

A Prayer for SPCK Australia

Almighty God, we thank you for rescuing us from sin and the ignorance of your love by sending your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. By his death and resurrection you have opened the way to true knowledge of you, our Father in heaven.

By your Holy Spirit, fill us with the knowledge of your love, so that we will be willingly involved in your purposes for the world.

Raise up more people to pray for and give to the work of SPCK Australia; give wisdom and discernment to all involved in gathering and allocating resources, so that through Jesus Christ our Lord, the light of the knowledge of your glory will fill the Earth.

Amen

SPCKASociety for Promoting Christian Knowledge Australia and the Australian Christian Literature Society PO Box 198, Forest Hill, Victoria 3131, Australia Telephone 1300 13 7725 admin@spcka.org.au | www.spcka.org.au Christian literature in difficult places