April 2019 Prayer and Praise

EasterYou will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

~ Isaiah 26:3 (New Living Translation)

As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love. Mother Teresa

As we move through this Lenten season and celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ may His love and sacrifice be a reminder that He sees our value and worth. May we also begin to see those we serve with those same eyes.

April 2019 Prayer Calendar

  • April 1 – Thank God for Linda Kunz who faithfully served NCF for 38 years. On April 1, Linda moved to a different position with InterVarsity to serve Jesus! Pray also for our NCF student chapters as they undergo leadership transitions in the last few weeks of school. Pray for a successful handoff and for excitement and vision for the new leaders.
  • April 2 – Praise Jesus for how he is working through NCF – students and nurses are studying God’s Word, some are coming to new faith in Jesus, and God’s Word is being proclaimed on campus, in hospitals, and through the Journal of Christian Nursing. Ask God to help NCF bring about his reign and rule in nursing – “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9).
  • April 3 - Thank the Lord for blessing the NCF student group at Ashland University with rising group leaders. Pray that even more members will join this group. Pray also that the fruits of the Spirit will be seen, examined, practiced, and pondered throughout the hearts of all of the University members as the NCF members walk, talk, and made decisions that impact others, just as Christ desires.
  • April 4 – Pray for many transitions occurring with NCF – that Jesus will reign and rule in NCF, in our relationships, in our work. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct each NCF staff member.
  • April 5 - Pray as we prepare materials for Nurses Week around the theme “4 Million Reasons to Celebrate.”
  • April 6 – Pray for Skip McDonald, NCF Campus Staff, who will be leading a seminar / class on mental health.
  • April 7 - Please pray with NCF’s faculty advisor at the University of Akron that emerging leadership will arise from among the students, leadership that is willing and able to rebuild this chapter.
  • April 8 – Pray for Christy Secor, NCF’s Professional Ministries Director, as she meets faith community nurses at the Westberg Conference this week. Pray for relationships to be built!
  • April 9 - Thank God for bringing highly skilled marketing and communications managers to NCF, Jessica and Leanne, who will help us more effectively communicate about the ministry, God’s Word, and reach more students, nurses, and educators with the Good News of Christ.
  • April 10 - Pray for wise and discerning planning for upcoming issues of the Journal of Christian Nursing, that God will make clear the topics and issues to address in the magazine.
  • April 11 – Pray for Georgia’s Chamberlain College of Nursing to find a time that works for their student group to meet.
  • April 12 - Give thanks for the three leaders who would like to see NCF started at Case Western Reserve University (CSRU). Pray as they continue to meet to plan out the logistics and the best way(s) to recruit nursing students for this group.
  • April 13 - Praise God for the new NCF student chapter at North Dakota State University! We are thankful for a very dedicated faculty advisor and three student leaders who successfully launched the chapter this spring.
  • April 14 - Pray Nurses Christian Fellowship would draw Christian men and women from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds to NCF as members who will partner with us in ministry.
  • April 15 – We are thankful for the diversity of the Journal of Christian Nursing team and how, despite being spread across the country in location, God is weaving together these editors' varied skills under the astute leadership of Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner.
  • April 16 - Continue to pray for Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner and her husband Richard, who suffered a severe TBI on October 12. Richard continues to recover at home with Kathy and is unable to work. Ask God to show them how he can be glorified through all this trauma, what he has for Richard now, and how to live out God’s perfect plan.
  • April 17 - Pray for our NCF student chapter faculty advisors as they encourage graduating seniors to become NCF members and stay connected to the ministry post-graduation. Pray that many will respond to that invitation and join the NCF family.
  • April 18 - The Malone University NCF group is thanking the Lord their NCF group has gone well this past year and for speakers who have shared information such as how spiritual gifts, personalities, and learning styles influence individuals.
  • April 19 - Pray for NCF student ministries as we seek to fill openings for 2019-20: for a new Student Ministries Director and for a team of National Campus Staff Ministers.
  • April 20 – Pray for the monthly meetings of Georgia’s Perimeter College that they would be times of connection, support, and encouragement.
  • April 21 – Pray for the NCFI Congress Committee as we continue to plan for the NCFI Congress in 2020. Pray for visas to be granted for delegates from other countries without difficulty and for a positive response when the call for abstracts for breakout sessions goes out. We praise God for Barb White and the Colorado Christian University faculty who are doing a stellar job with the Congress logistics.
  • April 22 - Ask the Lord to send our faculty advisor at Lorain County Community College another faculty member to help her restart this group and nursing students who desire to restart/join the group.
  • April 23 – We praise God for our South Carolina Professional Nurse Group who had a successful kick off at their first meeting! Pray for details to come together as we are looking at new groups who are making plans to begin a nurse group in Michigan, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, and Oregon.
  • April 24 – Pray for Skip McDonald who will be speaking at a new nursing school at Middle Georgia State University today. 
  • April 25 - Pray for our professional nurse group leaders and their teams for wisdom, strength, and direction. We have several nurses in our groups who are dealing with difficult situations at home, experiencing personal illness, and trying to cope and work through a sense of loss.
  • April 26 - Praise for the JCN team as they work with Kristen Mauk as she learns her new role as the senior editor of the Journal of Christian Nursing.
  • April 27 - Please pray the Lord will help the Cleveland State University NCF chapter to grow and that another faculty member will rise up to help our current faculty advisor who will be assuming increasing administrative responsibilities.
  • April 28 – We pray for the safety and physical, emotional, and spiritual protection of nurses working throughout the United States. We ask for the courage to reach out when we need help from others and to be a support for our peers, colleagues, and teams.
  • April 29 – We remember the many communities who have experienced natural disasters this past year. The scars from the hurricanes, fires, and floods do more than leave a mark on the land. Our hearts and lives are affected as well. We ask for strength, peace, and healing for all those who experienced loss as well as those whose homes and property were saved.
  • April 30 - Pray for the seniors in NCF student chapters as they approach graduation. Pray for perseverance and rootedness in Jesus during this stressful time.