April 29, 2025

 

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

— James 5:16b

 

Thank you LGC family for your faithful prayers!

 

 

Please let Sharon Stultz know if you have any new prayer requests for publication in the Prayer & Praise email only, at dan@stultzphoto.com by Monday at NOON.

 

 

Please pray for Dean and Marisa Schoff and the extended Schoff family. Jim Schoff, Dean's brother, passed away suddenly, leaving behind his wife, Kim, and two young children.

 

Remember to pray for LGC’s college students as they prepare for finals during the next few weeks and as they job hunt.

 

 

The Bells:

 

On Monday morning we started the onboarding process for two native-speaker partners based in Asia who will begin leading Bible discussion groups that we digitally organize. Each of these chat groups has an average of about 30 Muslim seekers.

 

In total, we have around 10,000 individual contacts who are eligible to be invited to these chat groups, and that number increases daily. The fields are white for harvest!

 

Pray that the Lord would raise up more native-speaker partners to shepherd these underserved multitudes, and that the Lord would call many from among them to know and be satisfied in the Great Shepherd of the flock!

 

The Sabines:

 

We had a very exciting week here as we dunked a new brother under water. In one of the desert villages, faith has spread from one person to another and now to another. Each man has been dunked under water. Please join us in thanking the Lord for his grace in the lives of these men and ask that the good news would continue to spread despite opposition.

 

We are looking forward to being home at LGC the last two weeks of May and seeing you soon!

 

The Papworths:

 

Thank you for your prayer and support! Continue to pray for the social media promotions that the Voice of Christ Media staff sends out every two weeks, mostly targeted to Afghanistan (the sanctions on Iran prevent us from targeting Iran). Pray for many open hearts and minds to know about the truth of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

 

Many women in Iran and Afghanistan live very difficult lives. Abuse is rampant. Pray for two of our Iranian women program producers as they write and record radio programs just for women in these countries. These programs are urgently needed to encourage, explain the gospel of grace and strengthen the faith of these women.

 

Pray that Voice of Christ Media will be able to sign a lease on a new office space in the coming week. Pray that our staff will have strength and peace as they begin the huge process of packing up to move to this new location during the month of May. Pray for wisdom to know what to take with them and how to fit it into a smaller office space. Pray for a smooth transition with no glitches.

 

The Schiltzes:

 

Please pray for the community college outreach team as they engage students at Moraine, Harper, and DuPage. Praise God for the open doors to witness to students, especially those who have never had exposure to the Scriptures.

 

A few names of students come to mind of those who have stopped at the table for in-depth conversation, some on multiple occasions: Omar at Moraine (Jordanian), Hassan at Harper (Turkish), and Betul at DuPage (a Syrian girl). These are just a sampling of the dozens of young Muslims that we have had encouraging conversations with, most concluding in their taking of gospels or New Testaments.

 

Pray for Amy and the health of the baby in pregnancy.

 

We enjoyed a great conversation with two international student guys over Easter lunch last week – Namig from Azerbaijan and Nirob from Bangladesh. Pray for them to consider the truth claims of the Bible and that we could have a follow up before they leave.

 

These guys are part of the final cohort of international students with this COD program. Pray for us as we find new opportunities to connect with international students going into the next semester.

 

The Luibrands:

 

At our sunrise Easter service in a nearby park, we got to share with passersby who asked what we were doing. In fact one woman attended the service at church later that day.

 

Many other new people joined our Easter celebration as well. Please pray for God’s Spirit to work in their lives, convince them to return and help them see God’s glory.

 

Please continue to pray for the completion of the legal foundation that Pol was spearheading before his untimely death.

 

Pray for provision of a larger, permanent meeting place for the new church in Samandağ.

 

Next week Tim visits pastors who do follow up for the BCC in five different cities. Pray for safety and timely visits to work out with everyone along the way. Also pray as Tim regularly prepares various Bible studies and sermons.

 

Pray for Aynur as she leads and teaches the women and conducts private counseling and one-on-one ministry too. Please continue to pray for a new church building!

 

We will be in the States for a couple of months this summer, Lord willing – New Jersey (June 18-26), DC (June 27-30), the Carolinas (June 30-July 3), Chicago (July 4-17) and Montana. Please reach out to us if you want to meet up!

 

We thank God that a strong earthquake in Istanbul was not destructive, and we were safe. However, people are on edge. Those who are living in old, unfit buildings are fearful for their lives, as everyone predicts “the big one” could happen at any time. Pray that this fear would drive people to consider spiritual things!

 

Thanks for praying for all of us! May the Lord encourage you with the hope of the Resurrection as you follow him!

 

 

Other requests:

 

Pray for those seeking employment.

 

Pray for the elders and Tom Hephner as they perform the duties of the director of pastoral ministries.

 

Pray for those suffering around the world, for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere, and for unrest in our nation.

 

Pray for those at LGC who have unspoken needs.

 

Pray that our college students and Pre-K – 12 students will know Christ and honor him in all areas of their lives. Pray for the educators who attend LGC.

 

Pray for officials in our government on the local, state and national levels – that God would protect their lives and help them to serve with humility and wisdom. Pray they would honor biblical principles in their decisions.

 

Pray that we as Christians will live without fear and find ways to reach out and encourage others.

 

Continue to pray for these areas of need and for people with ongoing health issues:

 

Pray for many suffering around the world, our nation, our troops, Randy Behnken, Collin Bray, Vodus Campbell, Arlene Difino, Jim & Janice Drechsel, Fran Gouley, Sofia Hernandez, Dik Kaiser, Lorraine Kirkland, Nel Lair, Jody Lutes, Rob Marshall, LaRue Mills, Jenny Schmuldt, Dolores Schultz and those working with our children and young people, friends and family members who may not know the Lord and those with special needs.

 

David Brown	630-709-7354
Jimmy Hull	302-354-3271
Chad Legel	708-937-8300
Jay McCracken	630-935-0663
Andrew O’Brien	331-457-9557