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Prayer requests and praises
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We praise God for:His hand of protection on Nazarenes in Nairobi during the recent attack at Westgate Mall. We pray that the Kenyan people will turn to God in this time of uncertainty and trouble and that Nazarenes will stand ready to help those in need. A church that welcomes people, in Jesus' name, no matter what kind of life they have lived previously. Young people who have caught the vision of holy living and who take leadership roles in their communities. A witness of integrity that draws others to Christ. We request prayer for:Parents as they coach their children to be holiness champions. 
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Explore the Africa Region
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10 Extraordinary Prayer Requests: Every Nazarene home a nursery for Holiness Champions- by Filimao Chambo
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Sports attract and unite millions who come together to cheer and support their team with the hope that they would be the champions. Generally, the winner takes first place. Yet, championship does not always equal winning, but rather the dedication demonstrated, qualities displayed and excellence involved.Champions are developed and coached. The athletes' qualities result from hard work, commitment to excellence, and dedication, as well as, trust developed between coach and team.
Therefore, if indeed we believe that Christ is the hope of this world, we need to develop champions who demonstrate excellent qualities and dedication to the cause of Christ. We need to develop champions of the message of holiness who will be the hands and feet of Christ to those who are hurting and impoverished, champions of justice and righteousness to a world faced with i
 | The Chambo family
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instability and unrest. While the Church has a major role to play, parents are the primary coaches who help their children to be excellent, dynamic and authentic followers of Christ and disciple makers. It requires hard work, intentional planning and huge investment of time and resources.
May your home be a place where champions develop for the cause of the Gospel!
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A Christian Response - by Faith Cassim
| The HIV/AIDS epidemic has crippled the church and the world economy. The psychological effects of HIV/AIDS have not yet been fully understood amongst the body of Christ and communities. Thus, those who are infected and affected find themselves dealing with this in isolation. We are in a powerful position to speak into these areas and be Christ unto HIS people, because there is HIV wherever there is a church!
 The body of Christ is well situated to shape emotionally wounded people in all areas of struggling. The important thing is first to go back to God's guiding principles that He gave us and to understand:
* Our identity - We are the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12,
* Our task - To be Christ's ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20,
* Our attitude towards people - To accept as Christ accepts,
* Our motivation - We are compelled by the love of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:14,
* Our responsibility: To break the silences by speaking the truth in love Ephesians 4:15,
* Our search for answers and solutions - With wisdom of the Holy Spirit in James 3:17,
* Our responsibility - To uphold the dignity and worth of every human being in Luke 8:43-48.
When we fully understand and do that, it will inform us to understand God's grace!
My dream for the body of Christ is to serve God's people faced with discriminatory challenges with more compassionate care. Can we move away from judgment and intolerance, towards unconditional love? YES, with the love God gave us and called us to impart to others!
In integral mission, our proclamation has social consequences as we serve and call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. Our social involvement will have evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. Serving others places us in a powerful place of leadership. We are well placed to draw people unto Christ or push them away from "Him." It is of the utmost importance that we be self-aware of our own prejudices and allow Christ to rise up in us so we can emulate him at all times through our serving! The more we understand and appreciate this unique role we are called into, the more healing we can bring to a world full of hurting people.
As the HIV Coordinator for Helping Hands Africa, I conducted a "Christian response to HIV/AIDS" seminar for pastors and lay people. The objective is twofold: to examine ourselves and to enable the body of Christ to get involved in hope initiatives that will be instrumental in responding effectively to the impact of HIV and AIDS. We must be seen as a channel of hope and be competent in demonstrating unconditional love to God's people.
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Testimonies of a Welcoming Church - by Rev. Antoine On'okoko
| During the August 2013 local mission emphasis north of Brazzaville (Congo), many souls were saved and many lives restored through preaching, teaching and prayer. Among many testimonies, we have chosen to share three. 
Papa Willy (55) is a father of six kids. He was praying with all his family in a certain denomination that values prophecy too much. The pastor's son took Papa Willy's wife through use of prophecy. Papa Willy then decided to cease praying and never attend any church any more for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, the loving God visited him through the Nazarene local mission emphasis. As result, his faith in God was restored. He decided to get fully committed to worship God and serve him with the Church of the Nazarene. In his testimony on Sunday, September 1, he suggested that we call our church the Restoration Church of the Nazarene. He is very grateful to God for reaching out to him. He also expressed the desire that the Nazarene family worldwide continue praying for him until his wife comes back.
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Before August 2013, Sister Brucelli was a prostitute and had destroyed her mother's family. She fell in love with her mother's husband, who was the father who brought her up during childhood. She began drinking, got many boyfriends - including her stepfather, who currently has five kids with her mother. The man has expressed his desire to have Sister Brucelli as his second wife since he claims to no longer have any more feeling of love toward his wife.
Fortunately, during the Church of the Nazarene local mission emphasis, Sister Brucelli met the Lord Jesus Christ and repented from her sinful life with a complete desire to restart her life with God. Her conversion has brought some people who knew her past life to attend the Vie Comblée (Full Life) Nazarene worship service out of curiosity to witness what is really taking place there. We pray the Lord will restore her mother's family relationship since things are not good at all.
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Sister Lyria was living with three boyfriends and had no peace at all. During the Church of the Nazarene emphasis, she repented from her sinful, immoral life and decided to burn everything she got by selling her body to boys. The burning of her sinful treasure, which took place on the evening of August 15, lasted for more than one hour. Her sinful treasures included many things, which disturbed her conscience.
After the burning, we prayed for her and the Lord filled her heart with inexplicable peace and joy. This changed her face and mind to turn completely to the Lord Jesus. We praise the Lord for that. She had already won a boy to Christ and he is committed to a discipleship program. She is committed to the Church of the Nazarene in Congo-Brazzaville.
May all the honor and glory be to God.
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May the Lord be glorified in all these - By Rev Frank Mills
| About 480 young Nazarenes gathered at the Namankwan zone center for revival services, training and teaching at the Ghana North Youth Convention (August 27-29). The youth spent two days in prayer and fasting. They asked God to revive the youth ministries and to revive our leaders into the mission of God. They prayed for God's protection, direction and provision for the youth and all leaders in the church and outside the church.
 | Praising and worshiping God throughout the night!
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As the Africa West Field NYI Coordinator, I trained youth workers on the responsibilities of the youth leader and youth members in the local church. I encouraged the youth to not just attend church services, but to actually get involved in the whole ministry of the church. Youth are very talented, gifted, active and smart. They must return thanks to the Lord by using all they have received from God in serving in various ministry opportunities in God's church. Youth must be involved in all levels of the church ministries so that when leadership is passed on to them, they will not be found wanting and confused. I encouraged them to always find ways to draw closer to God and to improve their relationships with all people around them. Youth must spend more time reading Scriptures, meditating on God's word, reading good holiness books, listening to sound doctrinal gospel songs, fasting and praying, instead of hanging around with friends and involving themselves in activities which do not help in their personal spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of the families and church. I encouraged the youth to never stop going up the education ladder and to enroll in the Nazarene Theological Institute if they want to be committed to their faith, the church and God.
District NYI President David Dokin preached good revival sermons. He encouraged the youth to learn from Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ himself. Jesus, Paul and many other leaders met great challenges; yet, they focused on their calling and contributed greatly to the advancement of the kingdom. Today, the 'Christian ministry baton' is on our hands. How are we going to handle the work until we pass it on to the next generation? Are we going to please God or disappoint God? We need to not
 | Pastor Sarah -
the only female pastor on the district
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focus on problems, but see them as opportunities to move to the next level after we have successfully overcome them and turned them into success. He encouraged the youth to remain prayerful in all times.
Eighteen-year-old Sarah Azanyaya, lead pastor of the Kurtiskpem Church of the Nazarene, preached on the importance to glorify God with our bodies as the temple of God. She encouraged the youth to be very mindful of the way they dress in public. She also reminded the youth to stay away from all ungodly activities such as alcoholic drinks, prostitution, gossiping, jealousy, idol worshiping and abortion. She encouraged the youth to stay away from sexual relationships outside marriage saying that sex is a gift of God designed for only married couples and must be respected as such.
The youth sang good local gospel songs and danced to praise the Lord for His goodness and mercies on humans. Bibles in the Dagbaani, Kusaal and Moa languages where distributed and the youth voted for the youth leaders for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. David Dokin was re-elected as the district president and Denis Yakobo was elected as his vice president.
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Creative Praise
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A village with 120 families held a meeting and decided to send five religious leaders to the house of a Nazarene zone leader in a nearby town. The elders gave him the message from the village leadership, "We need to convert to (your) religion."
The Nazarene leader taught the elders for eight hours. They were very impressed with the teachings in the Gospel of Mathew and returned to their village full of joy. The elders asked if the village could send fifteen young men to learn from the Bible. The Nazarene leader accepted the request. They cited the recent compassionate ministries implemented in neighboring villages and the integrity of the Nazarene community of faith as the main reason for deciding to convert.
We covet your prayers for this village, which does not have a single known Christian in it.
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| This issue marks the end of my first year as Out of Africa editor. It's time for a performance review. How did I do? What is good? What needs improvement? I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks!
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Amy Crofford,Out of Africa editor
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rch of the Nazarene