Today's prayer request from the prayer guide:
A Life Given is a Sacrifice
Throughout their 175-year history, Southern Baptist have maintained an uninterrupted witness among the nations, in spite of famine, war, and civil unrest. This commitment has not come without sacrifice.
About 60 missionaries and children have died because of tragic circumstances while serving with the International Mission Board (IMB) since the organization's founding in 1845, when it was known as the Foreign Mission Board. The causes include accidents such as drowning, automobile and aircraft crashes, and ships lost at sea. They also include deaths as a result of war and criminal or terrorist acts. In some cases, the missionaries were targeted specifically because of their faith or missionary service.
Of those 60, more than 20 IMB missionaries lost their lives "as a result of human hostility in a cross-cultural setting," according to Scott Peterson of the IMB global research team. While the IMB does not typically refer to or describe personnel who died in active service as "martyrs", the sacrifice of those who died while serving cross-culturally is no less significant than those who were targeted specifically for their faith.
Each life given is a sacrifice because of a life lived in obedience to Christ.
THANK GOD for the man and women who, with their children, have traveled to the ends of the earth to share the gospel with those who have never heard.
THANK GOD for the uninterrupted witness of Southern Baptist among the nations for 175 years.
ASK GOD to continue to protect missionaries and their families serving in cross-cultural and often difficult areas around the globe.