January Prayer Link

Sunday 1st

Crown Terrace: Pastor Gary Smith. Thank God for the input of Breanna Derbecker, an American student who has spent the last three months with us, breathing fresh life into our music in worship. She returned to the US at Christmas to complete her studies. We also give thanks for the Williams family, preparing to serve with BMS in India for a year. They planned to leave in Jan. 2012, but are delayed by health concerns for their son. Please pray for them, as they wait for tests, and redefine their plans.
After many years of flourishing children's work, we now find ourselves with few children, and fewer children's leaders! Ask God to show us the way forward in our work with the young folk.

We have been involved with Bethany Christian Trust the last three winters, hosting a night shelter for the homeless, and now seek to expand our partnership with them into other areas of work with the homeless. Please pray that we would have wisdom to know how to develop the work, and that we would find enough volunteers to make plans come to fruition.

Culduthel: Rev Bill Slack. Praise God for: the year’s major focus on the E100 initiative connected to Biblefresh and the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible; a weekend focus on the Scottish Bible Society, with Elaine Duncan, that raised £800 towards a new Scripture translation for Burkina Faso; the work of our CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Centre and the couple who have come to Christ through this ministry; a large increase in the numbers of children from the community attending our Good News Club; our young people and the encouragement and blessing they are within our fellowship; the many people from the community who pass through CCC every week. Pray for: our 2012 focus on mission and our new Witness and Outreach Team; the development of witness opportunities to those who regularly use our facilities; the Just10 mission featuring the evangelist J. John, from 15th January through to 18th March 2012; our Missions Exhibition planned for Sat 24th March; new people coming and new members joining the church at this time

Sunday 8th

Culloden Baptist. We value your prayers as we enter another year and seek renewed emphasis in the whole fellowship on sharing the good news of Jesus with those around us. Pray that God would provide a pastor for us in 2012 and that money would continue to come in for our building project. We hope to start construction in about 12 months time. Thank you for gifts we have received from other individuals and churches in recent months.

Cupar Baptist Church. 2012 will be an exciting year as we start in earnest our search for a new Minister. Please pray for wisdom and insight for our vacancy group and pray that, when the time comes, the membership will recognise and endorse the candidate God has prepared - and that the candidate concerned will, in turn recognise us as the Church God has chosen for them!
We also give thanks for the many people who have helped keep the church running in the absence of a Minister. We pray for continued strength and energy for the leadership and for our Moderator, Rev Brian Talbot. Please pray that the fellowship will remain active, unified and supportive of each other at this time.

We give thanks for the growth of our Community Cinema Project – now featuring double bills on a regular basis – and ask that we will be clearly led in how to develop further meaningful links with the community around us and demonstrate ‘Outrageous Generosity’ to the people of the town and surrounding area.

Sunday 15th

Dalbeattie. We thank and praise the Lord for His continuing faithfulness as we celebrate our 30th anniversary. We started the year as a small fellowship owning a 19th century building in desperate need of repair, rewiring and renovation, which we could not afford. We did not know what to do, other than to continue to put our faith in God. So, with much prayer, that is what we did.
Thanks ONLY to the Lord’s provision, we end the year with a totally new worship centre in our same premises, rewired, renovated, redecorated and refurbished. The renovation revealed rotting timbers and dangerous wiring of which we had had no knowledge.The electrician could not understand why we had not had a fire - but we know! It can only have been the Lord's doing.
During the renovation our worship services have been held in our local Fire Station, and the Lord has even seen fit to increase the numbers attending regularly during that time. What a wonderful God! We look forward to the future expectant that the Lord will work more miracles, if we will just keep faith with Him.

Dalkeith Baptist Church. Rev Jeremy Shaw. We rejoice in our recent Christianity Explored course, which saw some real blessing. We also have a team faithfully going out witnessing to the Gospel each Saturday, in and around Dalkeith, and good contacts have been made. We recently started a new ministry called 'Cafe at Church' which offers a free three-course meal each Wednesday evening and utilises our new Church kitchen.

Our Youth Pastor is seeing the work among teenagers grow and we have helped in the establishment of Christian groups in a local primary school as well as the Dalkeith High and St David's shared campus. This is essentially student-led and we are grateful for these local opportunities to make contact with children and young people. Please pray for: the faithful witness each Saturday that warm contacts will be made leading to conversion; the Cafe at Church initiative - that it will really take off and reach people in need in our locality; the Youth Pastor's work both church-based and in local schools.

Sunday 22nd

Dedridge Baptist Church, Livingston: Rev Ken Brown. 2012 is an important year for us as we continue working through our 10/10 vision based on the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel. Our heart is to experience the abundant life of Jesus increasingly ourselves as Christian people and then to share it creatively with the communities around us. This means, initially, a new café facility and a children & families project worker building on the existing links we have as a church in the south side of Livingston. Other opportunities we hope to develop are a food bank and debt advice centre, building on the expertise of people in our congregation. The needs around us are great but in strategic partnerships with others we trust that God will guide us in making significant impacts in the lives of our neighbours.

Livingston is 50 years old in 2012 and continues to be a difficult context for the Christian faith, with consumerism reigning supreme and traditional expressions of church proving ineffective. We value your prayers as we enter this new phase in the life of DBC.

Sunday 29th

Denny: We have a lot to give thanks for but make special mention of the youth work and the youth club which goes from strength to strength with an increase in numbers, especially non-churched teens; also there is a generally deeper engagement with our community which is beginning to bear fruit. Pray that we will have the courage to take the risks that we need to in 2012.

Dingwall: Please pray for this Highland church. currently in vacancy.