A Potpourri of Prayer Requests

Pray for Denmark has continuing contact with a large number of friends in Denmark, including pastors and laypersons in local churches, leaders of Christian organizations, and a number of those who have initiated contact with us through the website. Some I have had the privilege of meeting personally. There are many needs that surface through these various contacts and the interchange of email messages. Let me share a few of these with you in the hope that you will join with us in prayer on their behalf.

PRAY for a young American believer who is currently playing professionally for one of the Danish basketball teams in Jutland. He first contacted us for assistance in finding a church or group with whom he could have fellowship. He needs prayer that he will be able to stand true to his faith in difficult and demanding circumstances.

PRAY for a young Scot lassie who recently arrived in Denmark and is attending a college in Sjæland to enhance her training and experience as a teacher. She is a believer who craves fellowship with other believers. In response to her request we have helped her by making some suggestions of possibilities of fellowship with Danish believers in Holbæk.

PRAY for a fine Danish couple in Kolding who are loving parents of two autistic children. They are believers and need prayer for wisdom and strength in caring for their children's needs day by day.

PRAY that a Christian faculty member and Campus Crusade advisor at a community college in Minnesota will have many opportunities for witness with Danish exchange students from Svendborg. We have been able to put him in touch with Anders Seekjær, a leader in Funen of the Danish counterpart of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The prayer need is that upon their return to Denmark there will be good follow-up with these exchange students who have shown some interest in having a Christian group similar to the one they attended in Minnesota.

PRAY for a newly married couple temporarily working at a Christian facility near Aalborg in Jutland. They are concerned and a bit anxious to know God's will for their future and more permanent ministry together. He has a German father and Danish mother and has had some training at an American Bible college. His bride comes from America. Some of their plans have been frustrated by changes in visa regulations. Our hope is that if it is His will the Lord will guide them into ministry in Denmark.

PRAY for a fine young theological student attending one of the universities in Jutland. He is a strong believer intending upon completion of his studies to become a minister of the Danish State Church (Folkekirke). The liberal university environment is not especially friendly to a student who espouses an evangelical and evangelistic faith. Our prayer is that he will remain committed to his faith in Christ during his time at the university.

The Salvation Army at Work in Denmark

The Salvation Army is an evangelical Christian church founded in England in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth. With its unique quasi-military organizational structure, this faith community now has work in 109 countries with over a million members worldwide (the Army calls its members "soldiers"). With its Christian heritage and motivation, the Salvation Army has been supremely successful in wedding evangelism with works of a social nature, based on its sense of the interdependence of material, emotional, and spiritual needs. It has never surrendered its essential biblical base, and has long fed and sheltered the hungry and homeless, ministering to the "down-and-outers" in countries around the world. It has been at the forefront of the rehabilitation and restoration of those having problems with alcohol. The Salvation Army is prepared and can be counted on always to be among the very first on the scene of any catastrophe wherever in the world it may occur. As an organization it casts spiritual vision on all of the dimensions of human need through its churches (corps), social work, crisis centers, work with children, youth, and adults, rehabilitation, thrift stores, and the like.

The work of the Salvation Army in Denmark dates from 1887 where it is known by its Danish branch name Frelsens Hær. Its purpose is one with that of The Salvation Army International: "Dens opgave er at forkynde evangeliet om Jesus Kristus og i hans navn møde de menneskelige behov uden diskrimination" (Its task is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and in His name to meet human need without discrimination). Frelsens Hær has 34 corps (churches) in Denmark with 1072 soldier-members and 172 civilian members. It operates three recycling centers and 21 thriftshops, 16 social institutions, and six "åbent-hus" centers. According to the latest available figures, Frelsens Hær provided help to more than 160,000 persons in Denmark during 2005 with Christmastime assistance offered to 6000 families. For further information, click on the following informative webpages: www1.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf or www.frelsens-haer.dk/.

PRAISE GOD that though relatively small in number, the "soldiers" of Frelsens Hær are quietly and without compromise or fanfare providing for the material, emotional, and spiritual needs of thousands every year in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAY for adequate financial support for the many social and evangelistic ministries of Frelsens Hær on behalf of needy Danish children, youth, and adults.

PRAY for the newly appointed leaders of Frelsens Hær in Denmark as they enter upon their many responsibilities. Lieutenant Colonel Erling Maeland will begin his work on July 1 following the retirement of Colonels Michael and Ina Marvell. Colonel Maeland's wife, Lieutenant Colonel Signe Helene Maeland, will work alongside him as the leader of Frelsens Hær children's division.