Every year on the first Monday of November, Baptist women around the world gather to pray for each other and give to support projects that improve the lives of women and children. The 2007 service, prepared by women of Africa, invited us to see God’s compassion with new eyes. We shared this experience of global sisterhood with Baptist women in churches and communities across North America. Now we’re looking forward to the 2008 service, prepared by Baptist women of the South West Pacific. It calls us to see God’s care with new eyes. 

2008 DAY OF PRAYER OFFERING PROJECTS

Half of every dollar given in North American to the Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer offering supports NABWU and selected projects in North America and Guyana. The following projects will receive grants from your 2008 offerings:

YoungLives offers grace, guidance, and hope to teen moms in Washington State through weekly mentoring, a fun club, small-group Bible studies, quality childcare, and a summer camp where many of the moms make first-time commitments to Christ. The $5,000 Day of Prayer grant will pay for materials for training mentors; craft, club, and Bible study supplies; meals and some camp costs; and advertising in local media and agencies.

Young Adult Women’s Ministry, a new initiative of American Baptist Women’s Ministries of the Central Region, will receive $1,000 toward the expenses of launching a program to attract, identify, and train young leaders.

Empowering Choices starts by going into Texas prisons and training female inmates to make constructive choices after they are released. Through Bible study, role playing, work sheets, and other activities, it builds inmates’ self-esteem and self-confidence, helps them develop pre-release plans, and explores options available to them and their children. A new phase of the program provides mentoring and weekly sessions for ex-offenders once they are back in the community. A grant of $5,000 will assist these transitional services.

Matthew House-Windsor will once again receive $5,000 toward the cost of feeding the refugee claimants for whom this is their first home in Canada.

Oasis Dufferin Community Centre is located in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, one of the world’s most multicultural cities. It offers a food bank, job training, counseling, and other services to people from many countries. A $4,000 grant will assist one of its newest programs, an ESL Café where newcomers, mainly women, practise their English in small groups with tutors in a safe, comfortable setting. As relationships develop, spiritual needs are addressed.   

Christian Women’s Job Corps. Each of these sites will receive $1,000:

Help Up in Smyrna, TN, for startup expenses

Wake Forest, NC, for startup expenses

Henderson, TX, for supplies

Tupelo, MS, for supplies

Joshua Resource Center in Maryville, TN, for helping their clients prepare for and take the GED (high school equivalency) so they can gain employment

Nacogdoches, TX, for childcare costs

Huntsville, AL, for medical transcription training.

DO YOU KNOW A PROJECT THAT COULD USE SOME HELP FROM THE DAY OF PRAYER OFFERiNGS?

For NABWU’s 2009 Day of Prayer offering grants, we will  consider projects that meet the following guidelines. Successful applicants will be announced next spring.

GUIDELINES  

The project must be supportive of leadership development for Baptist women within NABWU, including work among new groups or in new areas.

Project must be for assistance of new or ongoing ministry projects by Baptist women or groups within NABWU. Women and/or children are to be the benefactors of the project. Projects involving "bricks and mortar" would generally be discouraged.

The project must receive some or additional funding from a Baptist women’s organization within NABWU or at least have an endorsement from it.

Grants to approved missions projects are usually in the $1,000 to $5,000 range.

In funding these missions projects, consideration will be given to wide geographic and member body representation within the NABWU constituency.

No project will be funded for more than two consecutive years.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for 2009 Projects are due by December 30, 2008. Forms will be available later this year from Judy Dozois, NABWU vice-president for Baptist Women's World Day of Prayer promotion, project grants and prayer partners.

THE 2008 DAY OF PRAYER PROGRAM

in PDF format is posted at www.bwawd.org in English and other languages as translations become available. You can also download additional testimonies and Bible studies, word games, recipes, and the “New Eyes” theme song.

Thank you for giving

to the Day of Prayer offering

Here are the projects that received grants from North America’s 2007 offerings:

Leadership Development for Youth Mission Outreach, Milton, VT: Help youth develop leadership through Christian mission work in Elmira, NY ( $1,000)

Matthew House, Windsor, Ontario: Provide food cost for one year for this home which provides temporary housing for refugees arriving in Windsor and help with the immigration and settlement process ($5,000)

Angel Tree Camp, Harrisburg, PA: Support a ministry designed for children who have a parent in prison. Ministry includes summer camping and an after-school  tutoring/ mentoring program ($5,000)

Little Missionary Day Care & Play Group, Demerara, Guyana: Supply nursery school equipment and furniture for an expanded facility($5,000)

Trenton, TN, CWJC*: Assist with funds for computer equipment,child care, transportation, and trained workers ($1,000)

Wichita Falls, TX , CWJC*: Help sponsor a 10-week class for job and life skills ($1,000)

Tyler, TX , CWJC*: Provide funds for courses:  Bookkeeping Basics and Financial Integrity at Work  ($1,000)

Crofton, KY, CWJC*: Provide training event for an estimated 100 women, offering encouragement, teaching life and job skills, and providing a meal for participants. Funds requested for printed invitations, materials needed for volunteers and food ($1,000)

DeRidder, LA, CWJC*: Assist with upgrade of computer lab ($1,000)

New Goshen, IN, CWJC*: Help provide job and life skills to 10 participants and match them with 10 mentors ($1,000)

*CWJC – Christian Women’s Job Corp

THE OTHER 50¢

The other half of NABWU’s Day of Prayer offerings go to the Baptist World Alliance Women's Department. Information about these grants is found in the Day of Prayer program.