A Call to Prayer for World Revival

We strongly urge that extraordinary prayer be made for the ten days between the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost. (Declaration of Dependence)

We urge all churches and all Christians around the world unite in seeking the face of God through prayer and fasting, persistently asking our Father to send revival to the Church and spiritual awakening to the world so that Christ’s Great Commission might be fulfilled worldwide.


In 2010 Ascension Day is May 13 - and Pentecost May 23.

I just finished re-reading The Power of Extraordinary Prayer by Robert O. Bakke, and was deeply moved by stories about the power of prayer in God’s people. The concerted effort of prayer led to Great Awakenings where churches were revived and a fervor for world missions was awakened. Could the Lord God Almighty bring another Great Awakening in the 21st century? Let us call all of God’s people to pray for a world-wide Great Awakening. This, I believe, is the way world missions will move forward.

One of the founders of SIM (through merger with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship) was Andrew Murray. For ten days each year, Andrew Murray challenged churches in South Africa to pray for revival. He took his model from the ten days between the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost when the disciples “all joined together constantly in prayer.” (Acts 1:14) The Lord often blessed the concerted prayer of God’s people by sending revival.

In 2010, Ascension Day is May 13 and Pentecost Sunday is May 23. What might happen if each of us were to personally set aside extra time during these 10 days to pray for the renewal of the church around the world and for an awakening of fervor for world evangelization? What might happen if every mission challenged missionaries and churches to concerted prayer for the Holy Spirit to be poured down on our ministries and our churches?

Could individuals, churches and mission agencies unite in ten days of prayer? What if every mission organization and every mission-minded church would join together in pouring out our hearts to the Lord? For ten days, millions of God’s children would flood the throne of grace pleading for a world-wide spiritual awakening.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Pray with vision. Picture in your mind the impact of your prayers on mission agencies, on churches, and on the world. Picture the impact and pray that this vision might come true. Pray with eyes of faith.

2. Confess sin. Confess and forsake all known sin. Spiritual awakening must begin with those who are praying for the world-wide awakening.

3. Pray from Scripture. Paraphrase Daniel 9 or Ezekiel 36 or Nehemiah 9 or any other promises from the Word. Great awakenings in the Bible often took place when leaders prayed from the promises of the Word.

4. Pray together. After Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples went to the upper room to pray for the promised power of the Holy Spirit. They “joined together constantly in prayer.” I’m not suggesting that we should have a single world-wide prayer meeting. Instead, I picture tens of thousands of small groups on their knees pleading for personal and worldwide awakening during the 10 Days of Prayer.

To paraphrase the Declaration of Dependence:

We strongly urge all churches and all Christians around the world to unite in seeking the face of God through prayer and fasting, persistently asking our Father to send revival to the Church and spiritual awakening to the world so that Christ’s Great Commission might be fulfilled worldwide. We strongly urge that extraordinary prayer be made for the ten days between the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost. (Ascension Day May 13 to Pentecost May 23 2010).

In Praise of Long-Term Missionaries

In the last few years, we have made repeated visits to 56 different countries. Our minds often reflect on the heroes we’ve met – highly effective long-term missionaries. We stand in awe of these enduring servants of the Lord who not only survive but thrive in the most challenging circumstances.

We appreciate their effectiveness, singles and families who have taken years to become fluent in a language, have learned to enjoy cultural differences, and have taken time to build the trust that takes decades to grow. Because of their long endurance they have been richly used of the Lord to make a powerful impact on the Kingdom through evangelism, healing the sick and planting vibrant churches.

We appreciate their long-term sacrifice. They have given up well-paying jobs to live in countries where they will never quite feel at home. Some live where they are targets of terrorists and armed robbery. Others live in the most polluted cities of the world, where malaria and AIDS are rampant. Part of the sacrifice is not being home for Christmas, birthdays and family reunions.

Yes, we understand the importance of short-term missions. Both of us had positive and influential experiences as short-term missionaries. Jim spent three months with Wycliffe in Peru, which confirmed his desire to serve long-term in missions and Carol grew up as a missionary kid in Ecuador and then spent a summer while in college with her parents, working with them with HCJB radio and church planting. Our two children have also had life-changing short-term encounters working with SIM. Our daughter Shari taught English to Somali refugees in the Chicago area, and Danny spent six months living with a Bolivian family. We thank the Lord for our excellent short-term experiences.

While short-term experiences provide valuable insights for the missionaries, and often provide important services on the field, the majority of the most critical tasks are best done by missionaries who take the time to learn the culture, learn the language and build lasting friendships. Bible translation demands years of study, friendship-building, teaching as well as translating. Cross-cultural seminary teaching requires not only academic qualifications, but a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of pastors. Mentoring local leaders is best done by people who have earned respect of lasting friendships. There is a critical need for many more long-term missionaries.

While we appreciate short-term missionaries, we wonder if the ratio is balanced? It’s estimated that each year about a million short-term missionaries travel from the United States to serve cross-culturally. Compare this to about fifty thousand long term missionaries sent out from churches in the United States. We wonder if U.S. churches should be sending 95% of their missionaries as short-termers while sending only 5% as long-termers. Many long-term candidates become discourage and drop out because of the difficulties of raising support. Yes, we see the value of short-term missionaries but why are we sending so few who are willing and qualified to serve long-term?

Here are some suggestions
1) Those who have had short-term experiences – Ask the Lord to show you if your experiences should be a stimulus for long-term service.
2) When you return from a short-term trip, work hard to communicate your experiences to the church. We realize that many of you have had life-changing experiences and few in your church seem to care.
3) If, after a short-term missions experience, the Lord definitely leads you to stay home, pray fervently for missionaries, and be an example of someone who is willing to sacrifice financially to support long-term missionaries.
4) If you are considering a short-term missions trip ask the Lord to touch your heart with the opportunities of long-term service.
5) Church mission committees, we encourage you to make the support of long-term missionaries the backbone of your missions program. We realize that short-term missions might seem more “glitzy” but your first obligation is not to provide interesting experiences for members of the church, but ask yourself “how can our church make the most difference in the worldwide Kingdom of God?
6) Long-term missionaries, hang in there. Yes, you are sacrificing much but your effectiveness for the Kingdom can grow every year you are on the field. No reward in the whole world can begin to match the commendation from Jesus “well done, good and faithful servant.”

Jim & Carol Plueddemann

Adapted from World-Shapers – World Pulse April 23, 2004