A Missouri Baptist church group nearly found themselves in a war zone early last month.
The group of 42 people from Heritage Baptist Church in Lebanon, Mo., flew out of Israel on Friday, Oct. 6 – just before Hamas assailants attacked Israel and sparked an ongoing war that has claimed thousands of lives.
“The war started while we were in the air coming home,” Pastor Kevin Smith told me earlier this month.
“We came home with full hearts, with everything we had seen and experienced,” he said. “God did some amazing things in our hearts.” In fact, one person who made a decision for Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was baptized on Sunday, Oct. 8.
“The sense of being overwhelmed by all God had said and done in our lives was quickly changed to a feeling of shock,” Smith added, explaining the church group saw news reports about the attack in Israel as soon as they landed in Missouri.
“It’s just a mixture of all kinds of emotions and feelings. … Our hearts are heavy for the people of Israel, and we need to be praying for them in the face of such evil.”
Smith’s testimony strikes home for me – particularly, since he’s my father-in-law. I thank God that he and my mother-in-law made it home safely, along with their whole church group. After all, many others did find themselves stuck in a war-torn region, including some Southern Baptist church groups from around the nation.
In fact, some unnamed Missouri Baptist individuals actually did have family members stuck in Israel when the war started, according to Scott Brawner, president of Concilium – an organization that specializes in risk assessment for global missionaries and ministries. I encourage you to pray for these families.
But Brawner, who is also a Missouri Baptist church member, said there are many others caught in the crossfire of this war, especially in Gaza:
“Friends, please remember that there are brothers and sisters in Christ INSIDE GAZA who are suffering the consequences of the Hamas attacks on Israel,” Brawner wrote on social media, Oct. 10. “There are missionaries and their families who are trapped and have nowhere to go as retaliatory strikes continue. Please pray for the safety and deliverance of missionaries in Gaza from these terrible conditions.”
In an editorial earlier this year, I encouraged Pathway readers to pray for the people of Israel – that they would put their faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must continue to do so, all the more as this war continues. And, as Brawner notes, we should pray for all those – especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ – who are caught in the crossfires of this conflict.
After war began in Israel, the International Mission Board (IMB) released the following prayer guide, which can be accessed on the IMB’s website:
• Pray for physical needs: Men, women, and children are facing unspeakable horrors. While this region has a history of unrest, the escalation of violence demands an urgency in our intercession.
Pray now that God would have mercy on the millions who are suffering and comfort those who have lost loved ones. Ask God to bless the efforts of those distributing aid. Pray He will provide opportunities for them to share His love.
• Pray for lostness: Rockets are launched and the streets are filled with violence. Amid this chaos, the lost are living and dying in darkness. While the nations rage, God is still in control and near to all who call out to Him.
Pray that God will use current events to draw the lost into a relationship with His Son.
• Pray for Gospel access: Believers are walking through this crisis with non-believing neighbors, friends and family members.
Pray that believers will have attitudes of peace amid the current situation. Pray that the lost will ask them about the peace they have in times of trouble.
• Pray for the Church: In a land impacted by years of hatred, believers from diverse backgrounds who are united in Christ can display God’s love to each other and to their neighbors.
Pray that they will seek to share and be the light of Jesus to their neighbors.
To access the IMB’s downloadable prayer guide, visit the IMB website here.
As you pray for Israel and for all those affected by the war, be sure to consider other opportunities to pray that God’s kingdom will be advanced globally:
First, if you didn’t take part in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, Nov. 5, set apart a specific time to focus in prayer for Christians around the globe who are suffering for their faith.
Second, begin now to prepare for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Week of Prayer for International Missions, Dec. 3-10. Learn more here.