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International Mission Study, Week of Prayer rolled together

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EDITORS’ NOTE: The following story replaces one with the same headline in (BP) dated 6/30/99.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Southern Baptists are in store for a power-packed week in November.
The Week of Prayer for International Missions and the International Mission Study have combined forces. Traditionally, the annual events were observed separately. Starting this year, the two emphases will be combined into the week traditionally set aside for the Week of Prayer.
The idea to combine the two weeks into one seemed natural to both the International Mission Board and the Woman’s Missionary Union, said IMB Executive Vice President Don Kammerdiener.
“Most churches were only using one week for both of the emphases,” he said. “We decided to combine forces and offer a package that would be cost-effective and far-reaching.”
The joint decision came after many denominational calendars were already printed for the years 1999 and 2000. These calendars still show the annual events on separate weeks. The correct dates will be: Nov. 28-Dec. 5, 1999; Dec. 3-10, 2000; and Dec. 2-9, 2001.
Kammerdiener said the materials will be designed so churches can still schedule the International Mission Study separate from the Week of Prayer.
Also this year, the traditional boxed mission study will not be published. Free resources for the mission study will be found in the November editions of “The Commission” magazine, “On Mission with God” videos and mobilization fliers.
Churches with missions organizations will find the mission study emphasis in their weekly or monthly curriculum for November or December 1999. For those who are not regular subscribers to the periodicals published by Woman’s Missionary Union and the North American Mission Board, single issues may be purchased through the agencies’ respective customer service centers.
In addition, WMU has produced study guides which will enable churches to transform information about the missionaries into church-wide events that will attract those who do not routinely participate in missions organizations.
The theme for the special week will be “The Unfinished Task: Loving the Lost.” The International Mission Study takes church members to areas of the world which represent different categories of “lostness.” The mission study will feature work among cultural Christians in Brazil, Arab Muslims in Sudan and the Han of China, among other people groups.
The Week of Prayer Guide will continue the same theme. Church members will pray during the week for eight different people groups or population segments ranging from the Bengalis of India to secular atheists in Russia.
To order products for the International Mission Study, call the IMB Resource Center at 1-800-866-3621; WMU Customer Service at 1-800-968-7301; and NAMB Customer Service (LifeWay Christian Resources) at 1-800-448-8032. Prayer guides for Week of Prayer for International Missions will be available mid-October through state WMU offices.