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Pastor Fights New Charges for Housing Homeless: ‘They Will Not Stop Until’ He’s ‘Sitting in Jail’
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us, tonight, in a prayer conference call hosted by Persecution Watch.
(CBN) The attorney for an Ohio pastor who reportedly faces criminal charges for housing the poor is accusing City of Bryan officials of “unlawful harassment” and waging “lawfare.”
Ryan Gardner, an attorney with First Liberty, a religious liberty law firm, told CBN News there’s a hearing May 13 seeking injunctive relief to stop the city’s actions against Dad’s Place and its pastor, Chris Avell.
“On April 24th, the fire chief, the assistant fire chief, and a police officer burst through the church’s doors [at] 5:30 a.m. for a surprise, unannounced fire inspection,” Gardner said. “And, upon completing that inspection, they immediately cited the church for new violations, which had never been discussed before.”
For His Kingdom,
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader
Prayer Conference Call Details
6 nights a week, Monday through Saturday, on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the two missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2015 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2016. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters are invited to the conference call and share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in, and pray silently or mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign up at link below to be added in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
America: Join Us To Pray For Our Country During The Elections
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Sunday, February 11, 2024, in a prayer conference call for America hosted by Persecution Watch.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Prayer Points
- Pray for candidates to seek God’s guidance.
- Pray that candidates (and all of us!) would have listening ears and soft hearts.
- Pray for candidates to address poverty and justice issues.
- Pray for strength and encouragement for our leaders and election candidates.
- Pray that our leaders would commit to working together (and that we would too).
- Pray that we would see each other through Jesus’ eyes.
Read more source
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family and for the church.
- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here.
- Armenian Genocide Happening Again. Read full report here: Genocide and Forced Deportation: Nagorno-Karabakh
- The Harvest: “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Merlaine, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Moderator
Prayer Conference Call Details
7 nights a week on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the two missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2015 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2016. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters are invited to the conference call and share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in, and pray silently or mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign up at link below to be added in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Photo Credit: Harley Pebley, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ministry Leader Says Christian Clubs ‘Thriving’ in Backlash Against ‘After School Satan Clubs’
GOOD NEWS! (CBN) Despite the efforts of The Satanic Temple (TST) to force the removal of Christian clubs from public elementary schools in the name of diversity, one of the leaders of the largest child evangelism ministry in the world says Christian clubs are thriving throughout the country and around the world.
“Although even the very presence of After School Satan Clubs shows how far America has sunk into moral relativism, these so-called clubs are not succeeding in their goal, which is to scare school authorities into banning all after-school groups so as to oust Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF)’s Good News Clubs,” CEF Executive Vice President Moises Esteves said in a press release.
“Satan cannot create anything but trouble, and this is a prime example,” he said. “The devil promoters think they’re clever, but they don’t have a prayer when it comes to persuading parents to choose them for their children over CEF’s Gospel-sharing clubs.
“Parents simply won’t agree to send their children to a club whose mascot represents pure evil,” Esteves said.
Meanwhile, not even one CEF club has been shut down from their efforts, he noted.
Esteves confirmed to CBN Digital that Satanists’ efforts haven’t been successful in shutting down his Christian clubs.
“It hasn’t accomplished their goals to shut our clubs up,” he said. “As a matter of fact, sometimes it does the opposite, because Christians that are not aware about the work we do in the public schools … go, ‘Hey, we like what you guys are doing. Can we help? So, it helps us have more clubs.”
The CEF recently noted that the publicity generated by these clubs has increased interest in Good News Clubs. Every time organizers advertise a new Satanic club, more people are discovering the Good News Clubs, and these people want to help.
The ministry also reports school officials are seeing the positive difference the Christian clubs make. A survey of over 200 principals from 28 states reported that 87 percent of those principals where clubs are located “noticed an improvement in student behavior.”
One principal said: “Since the Good News Club has been a part of our school, the office referrals have decreased.”
Happy Thanksgiving from Voice of the Persecuted and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
(Voice of the Persecuted) Dear Brothers and Sisters, may the grace of Christ Jesus be with you on this Thanksgiving Day. We will not meet tonight on the prayer conference call but will resume tomorrow night. We pray as you gather with family and friends, that your hearts will be filled with peace and joy while remembering God’s love for you. May the Lord bless you and give you His Light to shine to all around you!
We encourage you to remember our persecuted brothers and sisters, for those who are suffering, and for the Harvest. Keep them in a special place in your heart for you know they are very precious to our Father.
Now my precious ones, to Him be the Glory forever and ever Amen!
In Christ’s love,
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader, The Persecution Watch Prayer Warrior Team, Lois Kanalos, Voice of the Persecuted Founder
Photo Credit: Flickr Tyler Neyens
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 
