RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Southern Baptists will fast and pray for 22 million people of North Korea during the 1999 Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization, scheduled from 6 p.m. Friday, May 21, to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 22.
The country has been afflicted by several years of drought and flooding, soil erosion and crop loss. Up to 2 million North Koreans have died of hunger and related diseases since 1995, according to some estimates.
Southern Baptists have responded repeatedly to North Korea’s physical needs. Now God is calling on them to blanket the country in prayer — not because North Koreans are “on their knees” as a nation, but because he loves them, said Randy Sprinkle, director of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board’s prayer strategy office.
“We know God loves all the peoples of the earth, regardless of their situation,” Sprinkle said. “We need to view the North Korean people as beloved of God and the focus of his saving grace in Christ, regardless of their current social and religious context.”
After April 15, Southern Baptist churches interested in participating in the North Korea prayer emphasis can obtain a free resource kit, which includes a video and viewing guides, a prayer guide, fasting guidelines, clip art and a reprint of an article on North Korea from the IMB’s Commission magazine. To order the kit, e-mail IMB customer services at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-866-3621.
