Guam, US Territory: Missionary outreach from Guam is beginning to occur. The churches have the capacity and desire to send missionaries to the Pacific nations, and the increasing influx of tourists from Japan, Korea and elsewhere makes for witnessing opportunities right at home. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Guadeloupe, Caribbean: Pray for Areas and peoples less reached with the gospel:
Those of Asian descent – most are Tamil in background, but also Chinese and Arab. Most Tamils are nominally Catholic, while retaining many of their Hindu beliefs. There is at least one Chinese congregation.
For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Grenada, Caribbean: The Grenadian diaspora is large, numbering possibly twice as many as those living in the country. The weak economy is the major cause of emigration, exacerbating the challenges of urbanization and a listless, dissatisfied younger generation. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Greenland, Europe: Special ministries:
Greece, Europe: Foreign missions have not found Greece to be an easy field because of strong nationalism, visa restrictions and the high degree of cultural adaptation required. A general lack of responsiveness (or outright hostility) means that calling must be certain to endure long-term. Greece’s EU membership facilitates the residence of missionaries from other member states, an opportunity not yet fully utilized. Pray for more workers and greater fruit from their faithful labour. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Gibraltar, Europe: Muslims working in or visiting Gibraltar are very open to receive Christian material and to hear about Jesus; pray that this opportunity might be utilized sensitively but decisively. Pray for effective methods of reaching them and for more workers for this rare opportunity. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Ghana, Africa: Christianity has long been established in the south. About 63% of Ghanaians call themselves Christian, but many have only a tenuous link to a church, and attendance figures rarely top 10%. African traditional worldviews and practices too often lie beneath a veneer of Christianity; this dual spirituality is the greatest challenge to the Church in Ghana. The formality and foreignness of many older churches have stimulated rapid growth among some AICs and charismatic churches, which instead offer excitement, involvement and healing, but not always salvation by faith. Pray that the true gospel may shine into the hearts of those who call themselves Christian but who are not born from above. Pray for a decisive break from all fetishism and occult bondages, and that true liberty in Jesus is found. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
Germany, Europe: The nation’s spiritual health is failing. Humanism and destructive criticism of the Bible in the 19th Century enfeebled churches and opened the way to compromise and to pagan Nazi tyranny in the 20th. Post-war dynamics accelerated the secularization and de-Christianization of society. Symptoms of this sickness are:
Georgia, Asia: Inter-ethnic conflicts of the past decade within the autonomous regions have displaced nearly a quarter of a million people from home and village. Many now live in camps or makeshift accommodation in and around the capital, Tbilisi. Humanitarian needs are great, with adequate food, water, heat in winter and medical supplies in high demand. Unemployment for these people is very high, and emotional and spiritual needs are vast. Pray for the effective witness of various church and agency personnel working among these struggling families; pray for provision of physical needs. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.
The Gambia, Africa: Islam is dominant, but the traditional Gambian expression is a gentler version rather than the more strident edition from Libya and Saudi Arabia seeking to exert influence over the education and economic systems and the political process. Most Christian work and presence have been near the coast, with few involved in reaching out to the Muslim majority, especially those living upriver. Pray for continued ability to minister to all peoples and for Christians to take advantage of the religious freedom to share and demonstrate the gospel to all parts and all peoples of the Gambia. For more information, go to www.operationworld.org.