Standing at the head of the trail that will wend through 2024, we at Outreach Canada can see clearly where we are right now, and perhaps even a step or two ahead.

But although we think we know where we’re going, very quickly the actual path disappears into the future - potentially full of twists and turns, unknowns that are unseen from where we stand, and opportunities and challenges alike, just around the corner.

None of us can know what the year ahead will bring, so would you join us in praying for Outreach Canada as we start the year?

Here are some trail markers to guide your prayers for us:

5 Ways to Pray for Outreach Canada in 2024

1. Clear Vision

Please pray for us to stay clearly focused on the call God has given us to see the nation of Canada transformed by the presence of Christ in the life of people, by making disciples of Jesus Christ and serving leaders across our country.

In a blog post written in January 2023, Craig Kraft, our then Executive Director, wrote of finding ourselves at the beginning of a year of transition, as he passed the baton of leadership to the LeaderShift team (Ray Woodard, Lorne Hunter, Rick Burdett, Lorna Johnston), and began stepping into his new role as the Director for Global Collaboration in the OC Global Alliance.

Now at the start of 2024, still very much in transition, it would be possible for us to drift from our Vision compass heading and get off course. Please pray for us to stay clearly focused on the call God has given us.

2. New Executive Director

Please pray for the OC Board as they search for the leader of God’s choosing to lead us into the future.

Any group hiking in the wilderness operates better with a leader, who can evaluate both the challenges of the trail ahead, and the capacities of the group. While the LeaderShift team is sharing that responsibility at the start of 2024, the OC Board is actively seeking a new Executive Director to lead the Outreach Canada team. Please pray for the OC Board as they search for the next Executive Director.

3. Unity and Collaboration

Please pray for a strong commitment to unity and collaboration, even when conversations are complex, and challenges create the potential for disagreement. Pray that we would be known by our love for one another and for the whole Body of Christ.

Outreach Canada is a family of ministries working together to accelerate the fulfilling of the Great Commission in Canada. We are known for our collaborative posture, both internally across our various teams, and externally with other ministries, denominations, churches, and individuals. We are ‘roped up’ together with the shared vision of serving the Canadian church and discipling our nation. Please pray for a strong commitment to unity and collaboration.

4. Health

Please pray for physical, emotional and spiritual health for us as individuals, as a team, and for our families, ministry partners and financials supporters. Please pray that we would nurture relational wholeness in our families and our teams and that we would remain financially healthy throughout the year.

Any hiking group knows well the toll that injury or illness takes on being able to move ahead along the trail. A treasured ministry value at Outreach Canada is health—physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial. Please pray for physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial health, and relational wholeness.

5. Innovation that Serves

Please pray that we would continue to be innovative in our response to the challenges ahead, in a way that serves leaders and disciples our nation.

Challenging terrain is often the impetus for hikers finding new routes or navigational techniques to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of progress. Just so in ministry. The ministry terrain in Canada and globally seems to become more complex with each passing year. In response Outreach Canada has adopted some core tactics:

• Recognize critical needs and opportunities
• Respond with innovation and relevance
• Rally the Body of Christ towards cooperative solutions.

Please pray that we would continue to be innovative in a way that serves.

Thank you for praying with us!

Lorna Johnston is the Diaspora Ministries Leader at Outreach Canada. She leads two national teams -- Simply Mobilizing Canada (SMC) and Loving Muslims Together (LMT). She works with teams of diverse and experienced leaders and ministries across Canada to alert and activate the church in Canada to the changing opportunities to engage God's mission right here in Canada. Lorna is also a member of the LeaderSHIFT team, the team leading Outreach Canada through this season of transition as the OC Board searches for the next Executive Director.