TENTWO PRAYER INITIATIVE GAINS MOMENTUM
By Joe Conway
ALPHARETTA, Ga.- Luke 10:2, the biblical admonition to pray workers into the Lord's harvest, is driving a national prayer strategy quickly approaching a major milestone. The North American Mission Board's TenTwo prayer initiative invites churches to join in focused prayer for laborers on October 2 and beyond.
"I learned about the TenTwo prayer initiative on Twitter and followed the link to NAMB's website," said Daniel Ausbun, pastor of First Baptist Church Moreland, Ga. Ausbun watched the online video, liked what he saw and decided to share it with the church.
"We showed the two-minute video and read Luke 10:2," said Ausbun.
"[Everyone] was nodding their heads in agreement that we have an abundant harvest and we need to ask God to send workers into the harvest field. Everyone knows we need to pray, and TenTwo provides an organized opportunity for that."
On Oct. 2, First Baptist Moreland will join Canadian and Southern Baptist churches across North America in praying for workers for the harvest. Many, like Moreland, are intentionally taking their normal Wednesday evening activities and focusing them on prayer.
"We are going to replace our Wednesday night Bible study with an hour-long prayer service," said Ausbun. "No sermon, no songs, no testimonies-only prayer-a true prayer meeting. Everyone is welcome to come and pray. On Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10:02 a.m. and 10:02 p.m. we want our entire church to pause and pray, wherever they are."
Gary Frost leads NAMB's national prayer strategies. He is excited about the prospect of Oct. 2 and what it means for bringing the Gospel to communities throughout North America and beyond.
"Penetrating lostness in North America is a huge task," said Frost, Midwest region vice president for NAMB. "Everywhere I go I hear a 'TenTwo buzz,' sometimes literally. Baptists everywhere are setting their phone alarms to 10:02 a.m. or p.m. to remind them to pray for God, by His Holy Spirit, to stir the hearts of harvesters to leave their comfort zones and work the fields. Personally it has become a vital and welcomed 'alert' for me every single day to remind me of the lostness of our world and the urgency of sharing the love of Christ in every opportunity."
Churches like First Baptist Church Rose Bud, Ark., are not letting the fact that they do not have a prayer meeting on Wednesday keep them from participating. The central Arkansas church will use the entire month of October to pray and promote TenTwo.
"We plan to kick off our efforts on the last Sunday in September," said Kathy Moss, ministry assistant at the church. "We will have home prayer meetings the first Sunday night in October and have other activities planned for the month using the TenTwo DVD and prayer guides."
"I'm planning to preach from Luke 10:2 on Sunday, Sept. 29 [the Sunday before October 2]," said Ausbun. "I'd like to encourage other pastors to remind their people who 'the Lord of the harvest' is. I believe prayer evangelism is something we've gotten away from in the SBC. God sometimes has to remind me that only He can save a soul. Without prayer, our evangelism is fruitless. Pray for God to send workers to share Christ with the lost and pray for God to save lost people."
To view a TenTwo video, visit namb.net/video/tentwo/. To explore other resources for TenTwo, visithttp://www.namb.net/tentwo.
Joe Conway writes for the North American Mission Board.
