by Scott & Connie Anderson

John Piper has said that the work of missions is proclaiming the gospel – in word and deed, to every people, and in each generation. But, he goes on to say, “the power that wields the weapon” is prayer!

This wedding of prayer and mission increasingly shapes our work with InterVarsity as we call young people into God’s mission in the world, and teach them to pray missionally.

At the Urbana Missions Convention we led a team of 70 intercessors who laid down a path of prayer for this generation to encounter God and be sent to engage His world. Then in Thailand we ministered in word and spirit to InterVarsity alumni who are now church planting in China – teaching from Hebrews, training in intercession and discernment, doing spiritual direction, counseling, and healing prayer.

To our great delight, one of them was a young man who had gone to Whitman College an unbeliever, had been saved in InterVarsity, and now here he was a missionary in Asia! We rejoiced at God’s great mercy, and continue to marvel at the spoils of our prayer and planting work there so many years ago…

Back home in Colorado, we have been calling our staff and students to concerted fasting and prayer as we pursue our “Inter-Varsity work” of evangelism and leadership development. After two years of what has felt like praying for rain in the midst of drought, we had 60 seekers at our Spring event on Jesus and Justice. Last week saw us training 60 student leaders on the interplay of vision, leadership, and missional prayer.

As God continues to teach us, we are teaching students that to be good news in the world is not only to do the gospel, it is also to speak it and to pray it!

The Andersons will be in Seattle for 3 weeks during the month of July. If you'd like to get together while in town, please contact them at Connie_Anderson@ivstaff.org, Scott_Anderson@ivstaff.org.