USA (MNN/IMB) — If you ask a missionary what you can do for him, most likely he will ask you to pray.
In Matthew 9, Jesus gave His disciples a key command for missions, "Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers." But it's often overlooked in trying to accomplish the task itself.
If you look at building the kingdom in terms of tools, it's time to stoke the furnace. President of International Mission Board, Tom Elliff, says, "Our trustees have just approved a senior vice president's position for prayer mobilization and training."
The IMB has an emphasis on prayer, and this new position will complement what they're already doing. "We have elevated prayer to a top, top, top rung position," Elliff said. "We are establishing here, at our training center, a school of prayer for all nations, for anybody. Any church can come or send representatives."
Elliff tapped Dr. Gordon Fort to lead the School of Prayer for All Nations. It's a perfect fit. Fort has been serving in global strategy and will transition to the senior vice president position of prayer mobilization and training.
If you want to find a spot on this earth where 24 hours a day people are calling out to God for the nations of this world, the School of Prayer for All Nations is the place to be. It's headquartered at IMB's International Learning Center (ILC) near Richmond, VA. Elliff says their vision is providing the average person with inspiration and connection. Visitors "can hear the finest teachers on prayer–[the finest] in the nation, or in the world."
Elliff notes that those who come "can walk on the grounds of that learning center and mingle with hundreds of folks who are ready to go out to the ends of the earth, who are there training. And then they can discover how to go back to their church and develop a prayer ministry that turns evangelical church in America into a blast furnace of prayer."
It's the kind of Great Commission-directed prayer that can change entire countries for the sake of the Gospel. Ask God to give Dr. Gordon Fort wisdom in his new role. Pray that through this prayer mobilization and training, more people will come to know the Lord.
In the words of Tom Elliff, "We don't dare send people out without praying for them."
