With the Taliban regaining control in Afghanistan, the Afghan people face terror, rape and even execution. Girls are being taken as sex slaves. Men are being shot. You’ve probably seen the shocking images of people clinging to planes in a desperate attempt to escape the country. Some families have been wandering in the desert for more than a week in similar desperation. People are suffering.
See all prayer requestsAs GFA national missionaries share Christ’s love with communities in Africa and Asia, they rely on a vital group of people—the Mission Support Team. As behind-the-scenes missionaries, the Mission Support Team keeps GFA World’s offices running. Their administrative work propels the ministry by linking national missionaries with their donors and prayer partners in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Finland, Germany, South Africa, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The staff who work in GFA’s offices have answered God’s call to give of their lives and use their skills to help fulfill the Great Commission. Many of these behind-the-scenes missionaries have moved from other states or provinces, leaving behind family, friends, careers or educational opportunities. GFA World’s Mission Support Team staff need partnership and prayer, just as the national missionaries do. Please lift up behind-the-scenes missionaries in prayer this month.
See all prayer requestsIn many of the areas where GFA World serves, transportation options are limited. These rural places, in which many of the world’s poor people live, are isolated by distance and by challenging terrain. GFA workers may trek miles, often by foot, just to visit a remote village. The isolation also affects the people within those communities, hampering adults from reaching their workplaces and children from obtaining a proper education.
See all prayer requestsGFA missionaries help in the extreme cold by giving blankets and winter clothes to those in need, as well as sharing hope in Christ. Please join us in praying for those who need blankets and winter clothing.
See all prayer requestsChildren are the future of any society, and right now, many children in South Asia find their futures may be teetering on a cliff’s edge.
See all prayer requestsThrough GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program, many impoverished children receive the opportunity to learn and advance themselves in life. The program staff encourages the children and demonstrate Christ’s love. With all the tools the program offers, which may include a free meal every day, school supplies, health care and hygiene training, children have the chance to break the cycle of poverty; this can change their lives and the lives of their families forever.
Join us this month as we pray for the child sponsorship program and children in the program.
See all prayer requestsGFA pastors and missionaries serve in regions where many people live without the hope of Christ. Often, these precious people also endure extreme poverty, with no way of escape. Living without hope for this life or the next is a crushing burden. But the generosity of our partners is lightening the weight of this load through donations for items in GFA World’s Christmas Gift Catalogue! These gifts meet immediate needs and offer hope in the One who took on flesh “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Please join us in praying this month for those who need such gifts and for their hearts to find solace in Christ.
See all prayer requestsFor most Asian congregations, a church building is much more than a Sunday morning meeting place. Learn why thousands of congregations are currently praying for church buildings, and how you can pray with them.
See all prayer requestsAs we start a new year, we look forward to the incredible ways that God will use GFA missionaries to bring lasting hope and abundant life to communities in Africa and Asia. We also know that “unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1).
See all prayer requestsGFA's Compassion Services—which includes disaster relief efforts, and the medical, slum and leprosy ministries—meet some of the most vital and urgent needs of people in South Asia.
See all prayer requestsJoin with us as we lift up those who brave the harshest of catastrophes to minister to affected communities.
See all prayer requestsUnknown villages tucked away in the mountains, dusty roads and deep lush forests—these are only some of the places where GFA-supported national missionaries serve. Some travel on foot, while others have bicycles or motorcycles to get around.
See all prayer requestsWithin a few hours, a film and a team of two to five missionaries can tell Jesus’ story to an entire community and provide an opportunity for the local pastor to start building relationships with villagers.
See all prayer requestsTo many across the globe, Christmas is the season of giving. It’s a time we think about others and plan to bless our friends and family with gifts that let them know we love and care for them.
See all prayer requestsWhat can a piece of paper do to change lives? Sometimes, a lot. For people who have never heard about Jesus, a simple Gospel tract can introduce them to the Creator of the universe—the God who loves them—and open the door to eternal life. This month, we are praying for God to transform lives through 100 million Gospel tracts. Join us in asking Him to move mightily through Gospel literature!
See all prayer requestsHelp us pray for healing for the millions of people around the world who are suffering from disease. Some of the hardest-hit communities are in Asia, where poverty and destitution provide illnesses a way in.
See all prayer requestsToday, leprosy (also known as Hansen’s Disease) is shattering thousands of lives worldwide. Although leprosy is treatable, in some parts of the world, people who live with this disease are commonly shunned by society. For them, a leprosy diagnosis can be like a death sentence as they face utter rejection and isolation. But through your prayers, they can find acceptance and hope in Christ.
See all prayer requestsGFA missionaries have dedicated their lives to sharing Christ’s love with those around them. As members of their communities, national missionaries have unique insight into the people’s needs and challenges. These godly men and women live sacrificially and care compassionately for those in their communities.
See all prayer requestsOn the field, national missionaries share Christ’s love with communities in Africa and Asia. And around the globe, people like you partner with those missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission. Connecting those two groups is a small yet vital team of people—the GFA World Mission Support Team (MST).
See all prayer requestsMalaria remains an ever-present threat to impoverished communities. In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases worldwide, an increase from the previous year’s 227 million cases. The poorest communities often have no way to protect themselves, leaving many vulnerable to disease—or even death.
See all prayer requestsPlease join us this month as we intercede for those caught in poverty and the various ways GFA is working to help them.
See all prayer requestsGFA missionaries and churches have responded compassionately to the need for food and other essentials in light of this crisis. Please join us in praying this month for GFA World’s feeding efforts and the people who continue to grapple with hunger in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See all prayer requestsPlease join us in praying this month for GFA World’s sanitation initiative and for those without proper sanitation facilities.
See all prayer requestsPoverty keeps millions of children across the world in a seemingly endless cycle of despair—around 356 million children live in extreme poverty, which includes 150 million pushed into poverty in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no way to afford education, proper health care or even food, many children suffer in destitution, often with no way out. Hope is a stranger to these precious children.
See all prayer requestsThey suffer in silence. Forgotten by the world, left to the mercy of their pain. They long for a way out—a way to ease their seizing stomach cramps, a way to ensure their children don’t go blind, a way to treat their diabetes. But there is no way. No clinic near enough or staffed enough to offer help. No money to pay for treatment even if they could find it. They’re forced to endure—and sometimes to die—with no hope. And there are millions of them, suffering every day for lack of essential health services they need to survive and thrive. Join us this month as we pray for GFA’s medical ministry.
See all prayer requestsJoin us as we pray this month for those in need of sewing machines.
See all prayer requestsSince 1986, God has used GFA-supported radio programs to bring His message of love to people across Asia. Radio broadcasts can cross treacherous terrain to share with people who are hungering for a love greater than the world can offer. Walls cannot keep this faithful messenger away, so hope-filled programs can be heard within prisons, hospitals and even brothels.
See all prayer requestsGFA World is currently building a medical college hospital that will become the second major hospital in Rwanda. By the grace of God, this will become a base from which trained medical professionals can serve in Rwanda and surrounding countries, spreading the care and hope of the Great Physician around the northern half of the continent. Much like our hospital in Asia, this new hospital will be a place where people both receive medical care and hear of the God who loves them. Please join us in praying this month for GFA’s Rwanda hospital.
See all prayer requestsLet us pray with passion for this ministry as God equips these precious women to sow His unfailing love deep into the hearts of everyone they serve.
See all prayer requestsMore than 1.05 billion people live in slums worldwide. Many of those people live in extreme poverty with a lack of necessities like proper shelter, clean water and adequate sanitation, let alone education. Daily work can be hard to find, and even when it is found, it typically only covers one day’s expenses. No savings means no significant purchases (such as a reliable form of transportation), and that means no hope for escape. Because of this relentless cycle, it’s nearly impossible for these individuals to improve their situation. GFA World is dedicated to offering practical help and the hope of Jesus to people living in slums, whether it’s by providing an income-generating gift, access to health care and education, or even friendship. Please join us in praying this month for GFA’s slum ministry.
See all prayer requestsThrough various ministries, GFA helps nurture family units. Strong families impact communities as they shape generations and form worldviews. Through education, income-generating gifts, hygiene, basic medical training and care, Jesus Wells and, most of all, the love of Christ, many families are experiencing change today. Healthy families are important to the Lord’s heart and society as a whole.
See all prayer requestsSqueals of excitement fill the air as thousands of children gather. Each one has a different story and background. But today, they get to set aside their differences and experience Vacation Bible School together.
See all prayer requestsSewing, weaving and candle-making are most often seen as hobbies enjoyed here in the West. But for many women in Asia, these "hobbies" can be a genuine source of income.
See all prayer requests“He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings.” —Psalm 107:35 So often in the Holy Scriptures, God uses water to illustrate who He is and what He does for us. He compares His blessing to streams for dry ground, describes His Spirit as water for a thirsty man and calls Himself the “fountain of living waters” (Isaiah 44:3; Jeremiah 2:13). Just as God blesses, satisfies and gives us life, water has the power to bring fruitfulness to our communities, refreshment to our thirst and life to our bodies. Yet, in many places throughout Africa and Asia, precious people are living in “dry lands” and have yet to experience the gift of abundant, clean water. Their knowledge of the Living Water—and the wholeness He brings—is even more limited. This month, will you join us in asking God to bring water and hope to those still waiting in a “dry land”?
See all prayer requestsChrist-centred teaching and fellowship is precious to all believers, but it is especially valuable to the many women in Asia who are new in their faith or are the only believers in their family. Through GFA-supported Women’s Fellowships, women receive discipleship, encouragement and prayer support.
See all prayer requestsAbandoned. Lonely. Destitute. She waits … but for what? Not the children she raised to adulthood, who feel no obligation toward her. Not the community at large, to whom she is “socially dead.” To them, she is no one.
She is a widow.
Join us this month as we pray for these precious women and those ministering to them.
See all prayer requestsJoin us this month as we pray for widows and abandoned children and for the missionaries ministering to them.
See all prayer requestsAbuse, illiteracy and poverty are but a few of the burdens challenging some women in Asia. In the face of such obstacles, GFA-supported workers help provide hope and freedom to these women. Various programs and initiatives, such as vocational training and literacy classes, are organized to give women the tools and skills they need to break free from whatever may bind them.
See all prayer requestsIn a culture where women don’t interact freely and openly with men, heartfelt conversations with male missionaries are limited. But God is raising up sisters in Christ to reach women in their spheres of influence.
See all prayer requestsNepal is a nation that needs your prayers. From over a decade of bloody civil conflict that claimed thousands of lives to ongoing political instability in its government, this picturesque Himalayan country has suffered greatly and bears deep wounds.
See all prayer requestsOn Easter Sunday in 2019, several churches and hotels in Sri Lanka were bombed, purportedly by suicide bombers. The death toll is up to 290 and includes many people who were attending Easter church services.
See all prayer requestsIf you would like to sponsor, donate or make a store purchase, please visit our US office page.