Photo: projects-abroad.com.au
A Call to Come Together
Across Morocco God’s Church is growing. In some places it grows slowly. In other places a little faster. But there is no doubt that its growing. One Moroccan church leader shares,
“In my ministry across Morocco, I know of 200 people who chose to put their faith in Jesus during 2013.”
Because the church in Morocco does not have any legal recognition, they can not yet meet in official church buildings, so the church is still an underground house church movement. In some parts of Morocco there are numerous house churches meeting every week. While in other parts of Morocco believers are still isolated, one or two believers in each town or village, with little opportunity to meet with other Christians for fellowship and encouragement.
Church leaders are closely monitored by authorities and routinely brought in for questioning. In most cases the authorities just want to know what is going on. But this kind of scrutiny brings a pressure with it which does not make it easy for people to feel safe and comfortable in church meetings. It also makes it hard for Christians to gather in larger groups. What about meeting with a number of house churches together in a city for special Easter or Christmas services or events? How about a joint worship and prayer time? Can church leaders across the country meet together to encourage one another? How can isolated believers ever experience what its like to be part of the wider Body of Christ? Fear and mistrust get in the way too.
How can we pray?
- Pray for visionary leaders to be raised up in the Moroccan Church. Leaders who have a passion for calling the Body of Christ together.
- Ask God to give ideas and inspire key people in the Moroccan house church movement to begin creating opportunities for believers to meet together across church groups in each city, and between cities too.
- Pray for open doors and creative wisdom to develop these kinds of opportunities.
- Call on the Lord to give church leaders humility, and a desire to meet with other leaders just for encouragement, to share what God is doing, to pray for one another and to partner with one another in ministry.
- Ask God to break the power of fear and mistrust, and give courage and willingness to take risks in meeting with other believers.
- As unity grows, so must the acceptance of one another’s differences. Pray that the Holy Spirit will fill believers with love and grace for one another.