Worldwide Prayer Meeting

May 1, 2024 | by Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee

Prayer Focus -

Switzerland, Austria & Hungary Territory

Oeschennensee, Berner Oberland, Switzerland

Welcome! You are invited to join with hundreds and thousands of Salvation Army officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers from around the world to stop for a few minutes from our normal routine and focus our attention and prayers on a specific part of the world. This week we are looking at the Switzerland, Austria and Hungary Territory, a part of the world marked by spectacular beauty but, like everywhere else, with its own problems and challenges. In prayer, you are not only connected with our Heavenly Father, but with this great family that comes before Him in these moments.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank You that through You I am part of a family that is much bigger than even my biological one. Through Christ, I not only have a great salvation, for which I am continually grateful, but in the moment, He became my Savior and You became my Father, the adoption through Your Spirit brought me into this family of Yours. I am not alone. It is amazing to think that if I am in a stadium or a grocery store, a school, workplace or passing down the highway, my family members are there, even if I don’t know it. When I hear of some far-off country, there are brothers and sisters of mine in those places. Many times, without knowing it, when I pray for them without knowing their names, they are praying for me without knowing mine. Someday we’ll meet when You come to reclaim this Earth and set up Your kingdom. We won’t have to guess each other’s names then or try to figure out accents of languages. We will know each other because we know You. That just makes me happy. Thank You for making me part of this family. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Background of the

Switzerland, Austria & Hungary Territory

Switzerland: A wealthy industrial country, Switzerland is home to high tech industries, traditional manufacturing, a huge tourism industry as well as being a major international banking center.

A country since 1291, its constitution guarantees freedom of religion, with the relationship between the government and churches decided on a local basis. Christianity is by far the largest religion with the non-religious being the next stated preference. Swiss Christians continue to have a high commitment to world evangelism.

The state of Christianity is a concern. The home of Calvin and other great leaders of the Reformation, today there are too few who could claim a personal relationship with Christ. Stagnation and decline have been problems for both the Catholic and the Reformed churches, while evangelicals have bucked that trend by making advances.

Austria: With a mixed economy of strong tourism, commercial agriculture and industry, Austria enjoys great stability. Until 1918 it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when it was split apart after its defeat following the First World War.

The constitution outlined the relationship between the Catholic and the Reformed Churches but in 1998 made allowance for evangelical and other religious “entities” to operate. Almost 83% of the population claim Christianity, with the non-religious being the second religious preference. In truth, though most Austrians claim to believe in God, few would know what it is to have a personal relationship with Christ. Both the Catholic and Reformed Churches are in decline, and although the evangelical churches are growing, they claim less than 1% of the population.  

Hungary: A rich agricultural land, Hungary has experienced a difficult but successful transition from the socialist economy it was under from its years of communist rule.

Originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was split apart from that in 1918 following its defeat in the First World War. After the Second World War, it became a buffer state under the control of the Soviet Union. In 1956 there was an uprising against communism that brought a heavy-handed response from the Soviets, leaving 80,000 dead and 200,000 more fled the country. When communism began to crumble, Hungary was the first former communist bloc state to abandon Marxism and institute a multi-party democracy in 1990.

Hungary embraced the Protestant Reformation so that in 1600, 90% of the country was Protestant. Christianity was severely suppressed under communist rule but has regained its footing somewhat since freedom has been restored. Nearly 88% of the population claims Christianity. There is unity among Christians and a growing number of evangelicals in Hungary. Offsetting this is a rise in occult activity, eastern mysticism, pagan witchcraft, and shamanism. There is a great need for evangelism, particularly among the Romani (Gypsy) community, which is Hungary’s largest minority and most poor.

The Salvation Army: In 1882 The Salvation Army opened in Salle de la Réformation in Geneva, Switzerland by the Maréchale, Catherine Booth and Colonel Arthur S. Clibborn. It was bitterly opposed but prevailed so that it is now recognized as an evangelical force throughout Switzerland. Although unofficial work had begun earlier, The Salvation Army in Austria began on May 27, 1927, in Vienna by Lt. Commissioner Bruno Friedrich and Captain Lydia Saak. It was officially recognized on May 8, 1952.

The work in Hungary was first commenced on April 26, 1924, by Colonel Rothstein with two female German officers. It continued until suppressed by the communists in 1950.  The work was then reestablished on November 3, 1990, by General Eva Burrows. In 2013, it was granted legal status as a church.

Facts, Stats and Leadership of the

Switzerland, Austria & Hungary Territory

• Total population to fish and disciple: 27,530,051
• 141 officers, 2 auxiliary-captains, 2,040 employees
• 206 retired officers
• 58 corps, 3 outposts
• 2,109 senior soldiers
• 1,407 adherents
• 213 junior soldiers

Leadership

Commissioner Henrik Andersen - Territorial Commander

Lieut-Colonel Daniel Imboden - Chief Secretary

Commissioner Lisbeth Andersen - Territorial President of Women's Ministries

Lieut-Colonel Heidi Imboden - Territorial Secretary of Women's Ministries

Prayer Requests for the

Switzerland, Austria & Hungary Territory

Switzerland
 

• Give thanks and pray for the start of a new strategy period, which we have entitled "Lives transformed". May Jesus transform the lives of many people in our corps and social centers!
   
• Pray for workers for the harvest. Only one cadet is being sent out this summer, and no one has signed up for officer training this year.
   

Austria

• Pray for the management team in Vienna under the leadership of Major Gerhard Wyss. A redistribution of responsibilities is planned - pray for wisdom for this.
   

• Pray for our small corps in Vienna, which is seeking new ways of reaching out to their neighborhood.
   

Hungary

• Pray for our French-speaking regional leaders who face the daily challenge of the Hungarian language, which is foreign to them. Ask for strength, motivation, and wisdom.

• Give thanks and pray for the preparations for the 100th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Hungary. The celebrations will take place from 24 - 26 May 2024 in Budapest.

USA Southern Territory

Prayer Requests

• For the family of Major Mike McDonald, who was recently Promoted to Glory
• Lt. Colonel Janice Reifer, Personnel Secretary
• Risk Management Department
• Kevin Chase, Senior Building Maintenance/Mechanic, Property
• Michael Biantuadi, Senior Computer Support Analyst, Information Technology
• Jonagh Benasuly, Senior IT System Specialist, Information Technology
• Captain Laurie Farraez, Director of Family Life Center, EBC
• Cadet Michael Guitierrez
• Captain Dominique Darby, Divisional Candidates’ Secretary, Georgia Division
• Captain Min-kee Kim, Korea Territory
• Colonel James Betts, National Chief Secretary
• Majors Tom & Julie Louden, officers, soldiers, employees, and volunteers of the Kentucky & Tennessee Division
• Emergency Disaster Services
• Rodney Smith has requested prayer for his mother who has had heart surgery and is recovering; also for him to find housing as his lease ends in June
• Anonymous prayer request for the person’s to find a place to live, mother’s back surgery and children.
• Prayer for rich and powerful people that they have not forgotten about God and if they have, that they would find their way back to Him
• Prayer request for The Salvation Army in all the territories in the world to hold steadfast and to spread the gospel wherever they are

Something to Consider

             The first century believers faced an immediate identity crisis as they sought to define exactly who they were. The very first believers were Jewish, continuing to see themselves as Jews with the full revelation of God in Christ available to them. But since not all Jews acknowledged Christ, the schism between the believing and non-believing Jews was not only apparent from the Day of Pentecost but continued to widen daily. As this split was occurring, the life of the early church was further complicated when Samaritans became believers followed closely by the entry of Gentile believers.

            The Jewish believers considered that they would continue to gather and worship at the synagogue, keep their traditions and laws, and prepare for the early return of Christ to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem. The Jewish nation would have the supremacy denied them through their history and the world would be set right. But then came the Samaritans. And the Gentiles. The beliefs and traditions did not allow for these “outsiders” to be folded in. When they spoke of things they clearly understood about the covenant, feasts, and separation from the people who now worshipped with them, they were met with blank stares or confused questions.

            For their part, the Samaritan believers were as set in their ways of worship as were the Jews. Were they to abandon their cherished beliefs and traditions?

            The Gentiles faced the biggest challenge of all. Turning from belief in many gods to a single God, finding that many of their worship traditions were no longer acceptable. Trying to do a quick study of biblical teaching even as they rejoiced in their new life in Christ, was disorienting. What do we do now? What does that mean? How are we supposed to act when someone offers us meat sacrificed to idols?

            The mix of people could easily have caused the infant church to rupture. Indeed, fanatics and false teachers were a real problem. How could the church survive, grow, and fulfill its mission? It’s not like they could take a break and figure this out. New converts were coming in daily. Persecutions started to steal away believers. Evangelists kept pushing the boundaries out further and further. It was holy confusion.

            In God’s wisdom, He knocked down the cursing, hateful Saul of Tarsus and directly confronted him about his need to lay down His sword and take up his cross. Saul became Paul. With far more boldness than he ever displayed as the hater of Christ and Christianity, he proclaimed loudly, eloquently, in weakness and in strength that the world had only one hope of a Savior: this was the Christ. With his singularly gifted mind, his fine-tuned heart and spirit, his will yielded fully to the Holy Spirit, he began to write. Those words still thunder through the centuries, instruments of God right now.

            In his journeys and his dealings with his brother Jews as well as non-Jewish believers, he experienced some of this confusion, this searching for an identity. In addition to dealing with the problems that arose in the church, Paul also addressed this identity issue with two simple but powerful words: “In Christ.”

            The concept of being in Christ was not only new to the believers, but a new one to the world. No one spoke of being “in Zeus” or “in Buddha.” Not even the Jews spoke of being “in Yahweh.” But to Paul, there was no possibility of understanding who we are as believers apart from saying we are in Christ. Listen to him define our identity using that catch phrase.

            “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

            “The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2 ESV).

            “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39 NLT).

            “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).

            “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

            Through these and many other verses Paul used in Christ to define the identity of those who are believers. Our identity is not rooted in our race, nationality, language, culture, lineage, giftedness, intelligence, prominence. Who we are is identified in Christ.

            In that last day, when you and I stand before the judgment seat of Christ and are asked what gives us the right to enter the presence of God and claim our citizenship in Heaven, our answer will be “I am in Christ.” And that will be enough. That will be enough.

Benediction

 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)