AFWIS joins Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of Latvia, Europe

Aug 10: Latvia

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Latvia

Republic of Latvia

Europe

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Geography

Area: 64,610 sq km
A fertile plain with 3,000 lakes; indented by the Gulf of Riga. The central of the three Baltic republics.
Population: 2,240,265    Annual Growth: -0.46%
Capital: Riga
Urbanites: 68.2%
HDI Rank: 48 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 34 (21% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Latvian (Lettish)    Languages: 13 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	1,344,159	60.00	-0.2
Evangelicals	157,351	7.0	1.2

Challenges for Prayer

Unprecedented unity in the churches was caused in part by challenges to biblical morality in society. The aggressive lobbying by homosexual and anti-family agendas in particular elicited joint statements and coordinated activism by the churches. But more important are the prayer and worship summits attended by the leaders of almost every denomination and confession – these meetings are the foundation for revival in Latvia. Pray that this unity might reverse the moral tide in Latvia, and that the laity might emulate their leaders to worship and work together for the Kingdom.
Missions vision in Latvia is still in its infancy, but is demonstrating impressive diversity and determination. Pray that this spark might grow into a flame to take the life-changing gospel to the less-reached in Latvia and beyond. Pray also for groups such as Bridge Builders International, the Latvian Evangelical Alliance and its CP-21 vision, which seeks to work with indigenous churches to plant new churches and reach every Latvian. Peoples of special note for prayer are:
a) Rural populations. They have far fewer opportunities to encounter the living Christ. Pray for renewal in their mainline congregations and for more teams such asYWAM that will evangelize in villages.
b) The Russian minority – mostly non-religious or Orthodox. Pray for increasing reconciliation and partnerships between believing Latvians and ethnic Russians – a painful legacy is still not entirely resolved.
c) The 7,000 Jews in Latvia, very resistant to the gospel and increasingly subjected to anti-Semitism. Pray for a loving and patient Christian witness to them.
     For an additional 4 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

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