Dear Prayer Warriors,

This is a different kind of update. We are making a plea to you that has been on our hearts for some time, and it provides a new opportunity for you to be a vital part of reaching the unreached in Papua New Guinea in an even deeper way.

In order to break through the strongholds that bind those in the unreached parts of the world, it is imperative that God’s people engage heartily in the vital support ministry of prayer. I love what James O Fraser said, “I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished in overseas missions by the prayers of earnest believers at home” (emphasis added). Did you catch that? You can accomplish much in the task of reaching the lost of Papua New Guinea without even leaving your home, by means of dedicated prayer. What a privilege!

Not everyone can Go to accomplish the task, as many are needed to stay behind and Send. But all can Pray. And prayer is real Gospel work. Dick Eastman said, “I am convinced that when we stand before God…we will discover that every soul ever brought to a knowledge of Christ was in some way related to intercessory prayer.”

Prayer is warfare against the unseen strongholds of the enemy. These are places where we do not see God’s rule presently enjoyed. It could be areas of peoples’ lives that they have not surrendered to the lordship of Christ. In other cases, entire villages, or tribal groups, remain under the oppression of the enemy. Would you like engage with us in fighting this fight for the sake of the Kingdom of God in a special way?

In the Old Testament, King David had a select group of warriors known as his Thirty Mighty Men, “who gave him support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king” (1 Chronicles 11:10). These mighty warriors were a support to David in the task that God had called him to do. In the spirit of this, we are asking God to raise up Thirty Mighty Men and Women who would like to join in supporting the ministry of reaching the lost in PNG through dedicated and devoted prayer. Our prayer letters go to a larger audience and are necessarily more general and infrequent. But, for those who would like to “enlist,” we have set up a Facebook group called “The Thirty for PNG” as a means to share regular prayer needs on a (nearly) daily basis, Lord willing. This is broader than the prayers for just our family (which you all have faithfully committed to—thank you!) Rather, this will be a group where we share vital, often time-sensitive, prayer needs for the entire work of Ethnos360 (NTM) in Papua New Guinea.

We realize this is a lot to ask of these Thirty people. Your lives are busy and full of ministry and prayer burdens in many directions! But because we firmly believe that this battle will be won on our knees, and we would like to put this opportunity out there for those who would like to engage in this opportunity for the Kingdom!

If you would like to join the Thirty, please reply to this post or ask to join on Facebook, and we will add you to the group. Thank you for reading through this and considering it! Please join only as God leads.

In the Battle Together with You,
Neil and Becky Burleson