By Laura McKillip Wood
Early this year, TCM International developed an initiative to encourage and celebrate prayer and fasting movements around the world.
That initiative, called PrayerFast, seeks to expand on an event by that same name that TCM hosted last year. TCM decided to expand the effort this year by creating a global network of praying and fasting believers, as it seeks to fulfill its vision that every nation will have effective leaders of Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs) impacting their churches, cultures, and countries for Christ.
“The past commitments of God’s people to pray and fast have undergirded every major Disciple-Making Movement,” according to TCM. Because of that, TCM does not just want to talk about prayer, it wants to be a ministry that prays and helps others to pray.
“With the recent launch of our Every Nation Initiative and the pandemic accelerating our mission,” said president Tony Twist, “TCM’s board and executive leadership saw this as an opportune time to focus more intentionally on operationalizing and celebrating these practices with all our partners and friends globally.”
Prayer and fasting have always been part of the organizational culture of TCM, which historically has worked with people behind the Iron Curtain. More recently, Disciple-Making Movements have taught and encouraged Western Christians by example. Their emphasis on prayer and fasting encourages others to commit to these practices more deeply and to implement them in their daily lives.
TCM asks people who are interested in their ministry and those committed to DMMs around the world to pray and fast regularly throughout the year.
“While TCM sponsors this event, it is not a fundraiser or promotion of any specific ministry or organization,” Twist said. “We fast and pray for the Great Commission based on the Great Commandment to impact our world for Christ.”
Many ministries and individuals working with TCM are involved in PrayerFast. Partners, graduates, and students in 26 mentoring centers that serve 48 countries have committed to prayer and fasting this year, as have many supporting churches and other ministries. TCM has publicized PrayerFast in their newsletters and on their website, where people can find videos and other resources for encouragement and guidance; the site also has a prayer calendar and prayer template that enables partners to pray collectively with those around the world who are also participating in PrayerFast. Additionally, visitors to the website can sign up to receive regular emails with prayer reminders and links to help them grow in their prayer life.
RENEW.org is working with TCM on this effort; it has produced a book entitled Prayer and Fasting: Moving with the Spirit to Renew our Minds, Bodies and Churches written by David Roadcup and Michael Eagle that can supplement the resources found at TCM’s website.
The goal of all of these resources is to help Christians grow in their relationship with God, better understand what he is doing around the world, and focus on prayer and fasting for people involved in global Disciple-Making Movements.
TCM International president Tony Twist will share more about PrayerFast in the November/December issue of Christian Standard.
Laura McKillip Wood, former missionary to Ukraine, now lives in Papillion, Nebraska. She serves as an on-call chaplain at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha. She also writes the Horizons column for Christian Standard.
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