{"id":29691,"date":"2025-05-27T08:26:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T13:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=29691"},"modified":"2025-05-27T08:26:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T13:26:59","slug":"praying-for-the-global-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/praying-for-the-global-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Praying for the Global Church"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>W<span class=\"fontstyle0\">henever I return home to India, I am always asked questions about the church in the United States\u2014 questions such as, \u201cHow many Christians are there <\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">in the city you live in?\u201d and \u201cHow is church attendance in the U.S.?\u201d In fact, I get similar questions from friends in the U.S. inquiring about Christians in my part of India. Christians from across the globe are indeed intrigued to find out the state of Christian faith and practices in other parts of the world. I hope this interest comes not only out of our curiosity but also out of our deep sense of connection with our brothers and sisters who are trying to live faithfully to God within their own contexts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Praying for the Global Church<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29702\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/church-1-850x478.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>When we start praying for the \u201cglobal church,\u201d we have to examine what and who it is we tend to pray for. My guess is that most of us are praying for those in the Southern Hemisphere\u2014the Global South, especially those countries experiencing poverty and social and political unrest. Witness the fact that many world prayer books focus on stories or problems from countries in the Global South and not in the Western world. This lopsidedness gives the impression that only the church and people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America need our prayers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">While it is important that we pray for our brothers and sisters in these contexts, I believe it sets up an unhelpful divide. This tendency to focus on praying for Christians in the Global South stems from the traditional perception that Christianity is a Western religion and that it spread globally from the West. Yet the truth is that Christianity had sprung out of Asia and spread through Asia and Africa long before it went to Western Europe (e.g., <\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">Acts 8:26-40<\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">). So in today\u2019s world, praying for the global church doesn\u2019t necessarily mean only praying for the church in India or Sierra Leone\u2014it can also mean praying for the church in the U.S. or Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Praying for Believers In Any Context<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29703\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29703\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-29703\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n-850x638.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/473754787_18440566342076372_1881517181739036800_n.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29703\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of PTS students visited India on a 2025 WMI Intercultural Learning Trip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">The need for prayer for churches throughout the world is further accented by the rapid growth of the church in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In all contexts\u2014from north to south, east to west\u2014faithful people are facing barriers, from poverty to societal apathy, from political persecution to political exploitation of their faith. No matter how privileged<\/span> <span class=\"fontstyle0\">the church might be or appear to be in a given context, all Christian believers throughout the world need support in prayer by their brothers and sisters in Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">Furthermore, we pray for the global church because Scripture instructs us to do so (<\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">1 Tim 2:1<\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">). From a biblical perspective, we know that as Christians we are all connected as one in Jesus Christ. Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church clearly states that, since we are all parts of the body of Christ, we cannot neglect some parts of the body and think they are not important or that we don\u2019t need them (<\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">1 Cor 12:12-31<\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">). For Paul, if one part of the body suffers, the entire body suffers. We need each other in order to grow and learn.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Praying Across Theological Differences<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">Praying for the global church can be difficult especially when we don\u2019t agree with the particular beliefs of a specific church. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, there are 45,000 Christian denominations in our world today (Todd M. Johnson and Cindy M. Wu, <\/span><em><span class=\"fontstyle2\">Our Global Families: Christians Embracing Common Identity in a Changing World<\/span><\/em><span class=\"fontstyle0\">, 2015, p. 56). Just imagine the number of theological differences and the varieties of ways we do church and mission. I personally find it tempting to start praying, \u201cGod, help these people see the light,\u201d which really means, \u201cGod, help these people figure out that I am right, and they are wrong.\u201d Yet the truth is that we should pray for God\u2019s truth and love to shine forth in all parts of the world even when doing so makes us uncomfortable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Praying for Specific Kindred in Christ<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-29704 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/prayer-together-850x568.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">Praying for the global church can be overwhelming, too. There is so much going on in our world that we can get lost in who and what to pray for. But trying to be specific in our prayers can be very helpful on both ends. It can be done by finding a global church partner, an individual, or a neighborhood community from a different culture or country where a mutual relationship can be established and mutual learning, sharing, and praying can be experienced by both sides.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">So, as we pray for the global church, let us remember that God is at work in different parts of the world, and together with our brothers and sisters around the world we are called<\/span> <span class=\"fontstyle0\">to participate in God\u2019s work by praying together for God\u2019s reign in it. And let us begin by praying for the global church:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span class=\"fontstyle2\">God of all nations, whose name and glory are manifested through all the diversity of cultures, races, and languages all around the world: We confess O God, that even though we know you have created everyone in your own image, oftentimes our words and actions deny this truth. Help us, O Lord, truly to see your face and hear your voice through the many faces and voices of our brothers and sisters around the world.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle2\"><em>Lord, we pray for your church throughout the world, that amid our differences we may realize we are all parts of one body. Give us the strength to love, to listen, to hear, to share our resources, and to work alongside those who think and worship you differently, knowing that there is so much we can learn from one another and that together we can make your \u201cKin-dom\u201d realized in this world. In Christ\u2019s name, we pray. Amen<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Additional Resources<\/h2>\n<p>For further reading on cultural humility in Christian mission, see <em>Freeing Congregational Mission,<\/em> authored by WMI staff:<\/p>\n<p>Book: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivpress.com\/freeing-congregational-mission\">Freeing Congregational Mission<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>To browse WMI&#8217;s current programmatic offerings, visit the WMI website:<\/p>\n<p>Visit the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/WMI\">WMI webpage<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To stay up to date on future offerings from WMI, subscribe to the bi-monthly WMI e-newsletter:<\/p>\n<p>Sign up for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/email\">WMI newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To invite the author of this post or another PTS faculty or staff member to speak, teach, or preach for your community, visit the PTS Out and About webpage (below). Specializations include a broad range of topics related to Christian Leadership, Congregational Ministry, Church and Society, Christian History, Theology, and Biblical Studies:<\/p>\n<p>Invite a PTS faculty or staff member to visit your community: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/pts-out-and-about\">PTS Out and About<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29697\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-300x450.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-850x1275.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bala-Khyllep-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>The Rev. Balajiedlang (Bala) Khyllep is acting director of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary&#8217;s World Mission Initiative. WMI nurtures partnerships with communities in a variety of global contexts, hosts a bi-annual conference, oversees certificate programs in Missional Leadership and in Migrant Ministries, and facilitates intercultural learning experiences, including the annual Valentour Research Fellowship and Intercultural Learning Trips, in which seminary students and others spend several days in a cultural context different from their own to grow in intercultural awareness, reflect with fresh perspective upon their own contexts, and learn from and with Christian communities around the world. Learn more about WMI&#8217;s work: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/WMI\">https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/WMI<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whenever I return home to India, I am always asked questions about the church in the United States\u2014 questions such as, \u201cHow many Christians are there in the city you live in?\u201d and \u201cHow is church attendance in the U.S.?\u201d In fact, I get similar questions from friends in the U.S. inquiring about Christians in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[358,4,5,7],"tags":[562,808,813,815,805,817,809,575,816,812,814,810,811,807,806,124],"series":[],"class_list":["post-29691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-the-pts-curriculum","category-ministry","category-protestant-spirituality","category-theological-reflection","tag-christian-mission","tag-christianity-in-the-global-south","tag-decolonial-mission","tag-decolonizing-christianity","tag-global-church","tag-global-north-and-south","tag-learning-from-the-global-south","tag-mission-work","tag-missionary","tag-postcolonial","tag-postcolonial-mission","tag-prayer","tag-praying-for-others","tag-wmi","tag-world-christianity","tag-world-mission-initiative"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>Praying for the Global Church - Pittsburgh Theological Seminary<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The whole Church\u2014north and south, east and west\u2014needs prayer. 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