Personal Prayer Teams: An Introduction

Arthur, Director of PrayGlobal, introduces you to the idea of Personal Prayer Teams and the role they will play in Latin America going forward. You can expect to hear more from Arthur and PrayGlobal in the near future!

Last month the Latin America Division Leadership Team met in Costa Rica to continue our work on our 10- and 3-year goals and our 6-month tactical plans.

One of the 3-year goals we established is for all of our staff to develop a small personal prayer team in addition to the broader prayer support we receive from those who are on our donor/supporters list. As a first step, each of the LA division leaders committed to developing our own small personal team in the next six months.

This personal prayer team goal aligns with the rest of ReachGlobal -- with the Africa and Asia Divisions already adopting this same 3-year goal for their area staff. As the Director of PrayGlobal, this is one of my first initiatives to strengthen and grow a culture of prayer in ReachGlobal.

A smaller, personal prayer team will be new to some of us, while others of us have had one for years (for ourselves or for our family). A personal prayer team is a formally recruited group of 3 to 9 individuals we personally know who are committed/called to pray for us regularly -- usually daily. It is this group that forms our core prayer support. They pray for our most personal, ministry and daily life needs, challenges and opportunities. They are the kind of people we go to first when effective prayer is critical or when we are in crisis.

In 2002 -- two years after Tim Addington became the senior leader at ReachGlobal -- I began to establish a small personal prayer team for him. This team has become a core lifeline for him and his wife, Mary Ann, for almost a decade now.

My wife, Karen, and I have a small personal prayer team, as well, who has prayed for our ministry, for us, and for the salvation and sanctification of our three children for 4 years now. We know from experience both the increased fruitfulness and the protection that comes from having a personal prayer team on our side.

I look forward to talking with you all more about how you can develop a team for yourself. And in the near future, we will provide coaching and teaching to better equip you in this area.

I know our God will do extraordinary things in and through us as we grow a culture of prayer and dependency on Him.

Area leadership update - March 2011

Have you ever wondered what the Latin America area leadership team does?  Do you know who is on the team? Do you ever wonder if there is an overall strategy for the area?  Watch this video to learn more...

Meet Taylor Knopf -- Communications Intern for LA

It's exciting to report that we now have a second set of hands working on communications projects in Latin America. Taylor Knopf arrived on March 2 to serve as the Communications Intern. Please read Taylor's introduction and contact her to welcome her to the LA team!

Taylor & Melissa in Costa Rica

Hola! My name is Taylor Knopf. I recently joined the ReachGlobal Latin America team as a Communications Intern. I will be living in San José, Costa Rica, for the next 5 months serving with Melissa in the area of communications. It is exhilarating to use my passion for writing to share what God is accomplishing in Latin America!

I am a university student, and, so far, I have spent three semesters at Miami University in Ohio studying journalism. Recently, I was accepted into my first choice college in Michigan, though. So, this fall, I will transfer to Hillsdale College as a sociology major in the journalism program to finish my degree.

My experience with ReachGlobal has been interesting. God’s hand was very apparent in the whole pre-field process. In June 2010, I planned to go to Budapest, Hungary, in March 2011 for a communications internship with EFCA. Some unfortunate complications arose, and the trip was cancelled in late December. I admit that I felt very disappointed then. It may have been shocking to me, but it wasn’t to God. He says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, [...] plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Lord closed the doors in Budapest, but He quickly opened new doors in Latin America!

Arriving in San José just one week ago, I already love the city. My Spanish needs a lot of work, though. I am limited to very basic words and phrases at the moment. Therefore, I will be attending a one month language intensive in May and moving in with a Tico (Costa Rican) family!

I am really looking forward to what God has in store these next few months. It is so exciting to see Him work!