5 June 2006

To: Prayer Partners

From: Pastor Lucenay

Late Sunday afternoon I joined about 30,000 other believers in Hong Kong stadium for the Global Day of Prayer gathering. The prayers were punctuated with music. Participants sat around the stadium with a large gold cross in the middle of the pitch. People prayed silently and aloud, alone and with small groups, with friends and family, with strangers, and as one body. The pace of the bi-lingual service was steady and meaningful.

Earlier in the day as we celebrated the Lord’s Supper I spoke to our congregation about each of us being part of the “body of Christ” in today’s world. Certainly the local church is the body of Christ with which we can identify most easily. However, the larger gatherings of Christians remind us that we are a part of a larger body of believers.

Let us take time to thank God for allowing us to be a part of the “body of Christ” in today’s world. Thank God for establishing the church. Thank God for our church, Kowloon International Baptist Church. Thank God for the privilege of living in a place where we can pray without fear, praise without restraint, and participate with God in reaching the world for Christ.

Thank God for Kowloon International Baptist Church. Begin with your gratitude for the wonderful people who make up our church family. Express appreciation for the diversity and the consideration given to different peoples. Thank God for the way He has enriched our worship services and bible studies by bringing together believers and pre-believers. Thank God for:

-the sweet spirit experienced in our fellowship

-those who teach and those who assist in classes as well as those who care for the smallest ones

-new believers and new babies

-growing believers in almost every age group in the church

-those who have mentored your faith

-the ushers and greeters, the sound and lighting teams, the many volunteers

-our musicians and the investment of themselves they make to make our worship what it is today

-the church staff working behind the scenes….the administrative assistant and secretary and the caretakers

-the minister of music He has placed here to lead us

-the minister of education He has brought to guide our teaching ministry

-the minister of youth/students coming to join us in about a month

-thank God for the pastor (hopefully this is a point of thanksgiving). I happen to know he is most grateful for the opportunity of working with you.

Thank God for giving you the opportunity of investing yourself in His work at KIBC. If you are not doing something somewhere for God, ask God to help you find out why you have left this opportunity to grow with Him out of your life.

Ask God to: help our church be the church He wants it to be today

-Cleanse our hears -let His presence be known as we gather

-Help us forgive -help us encourage one another

-Help us hear the needs of each other -be compassionate with one another

-show us how to give the Holy Spirit freedom to guide us according to God’s will

-open our resources to Him by guiding all of us to give of our money, time and talents

-increase our financial support for His work through the church

-increase our giving toward missions, the Home Mission Offering at this time

Thank you for the kindness you show our family. God bless.