The Charltons

Thank you all so much for your prayers for us and grace-filled words to us! We are regularly edified and encouraged by you and are thinking of and praying for you daily!

 

In January I joined the Executive Team at the Prayer Furnace as the Director of Operations, overseeing primarily the Facilities, Events, and high-level administration for the ministry. It has been a big adjustment stepping into this new leadership role, but every bit of it has been very exciting! What have also been exciting are the developments in the Middle East since my time there in October/November. As many of you know, I traveled to Northern Iraq with a team from our Missions Base at the Prayer Furnace to join with believers from Assyria, Egypt, and Israel in 100 consecutive hours of prayer and worship meetings in a prophetic application of Isaiah 19:23, to minister to and share the gospel with refugees and internally displaced peoples, and to disciple and fellowship with indigenous believers and strengthen the church of Iraq. [You can read the Ministry Update that I shared following that mission HERE.]

 

My heart was deeply affected by my time in Northern Iraq, more so than any other time I have ministered overseas, and I began to pray and wonder if I might have some type of apostolic assignment in the future. Fast forward to this month, and I have again been asked to join a team on a special mission to Northern Iraq at the end of April! Many Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) in Northern Iraq are coming to Christ through dreams and evangelism, and a lot of those MBBs are desperate to be discipled as musicians and worship leaders in the Church in that region. So in late April the Mesopotamia House of Prayer will be hosting a 3 day Worship School for the indigenous believers to be trained as musicians and worship leaders, and I have been asked to be a part of the team that will be teaching and training those local believers! AND we will also be helping to lead another 24 hours of non-stop worship, prayer, and intercession; we will have multiple opportunities to do music and evangelism outreach in the refugee camps; and we will be helping to lead a youth conference for young indigenous believers!

 

So here's the bottom line: I need to raise $2000** AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so I can help to raise up the new generation of Jesus-loving worshipers in the Middle East. If you are able to partner with me, you can do that several ways:

1) Online - You can go to www.theprayerfurnace.org/donate and click "Support a Missionary" in the menu on the right. From there you can set up a one-time or recurring gift. In the memo field be sure to enter my name: "Mike Charlton".

2) By Check - You can make a check out to "FPF" and send it to my home address: 1717 Nottingham Dr, Fredericksburg, VA 22407.

 

Please consider partnering with me for this mission, and also for my continuing ministry out of Fredericksburg! If you are going to give financially toward this mission to Northern Iraq, whether online or by check, please let me know (contact info below) what your pledge will be so I can account for it in my fundraising as soon as possible. THANK YOU!

Email: mike.charlton@theprayerfurnace.org

**UPDATE: I have received approximately $1000 but still need to raise another $1000. Thank you so much to everyone who has already contributed!!!

 

BACKGROUND STORYLINE

3​ years ago, when the Islamic State invaded the city of Mosul in North Iraq, the Lord put it on the hearts of leaders from around the global prayer movement to respond by mobilizing world-wide prayer for this region. A team from the Prayer Furnace flew into N. Iraq and hosted 50 hours of prayer and worship alongside Arab and Kurdish believers, believing that God was not willing to surrender the Isaiah 19 promises for that region to the hands of the Islamic State. When we arrived we saw first hand the devastating affect that the conflict with ISIS was having on the region. Millions of displaced people were living in temporary shelters, some with only tarp to protect them from the elements and the clothes on their back their only possession. Father and Mothers had lost children and children had no way of knowing if there parents were safe. Many believers were fleeing the country and those that remained were in a state of shock. But that is not the end of the story.... During that trip, and every one since, we have seen amazing miracles, healings, and salvations, both in and outside the prayer meeting. For many of the believers of the infant church in N. Iraq it was the first time they had ever experienced the presence of God in a tangible way, and hope began to be restored in the midst of the crisis. Since that first 50 hours, local believers (both Arab and Kurdish) along with our dear friends from the Mesopotamia House of Prayer (MHOP) have been lifting up near daily prayer and worship over the region. Right now, more Muslims are coming to Jesus than any time is history! There is literally not enough laborers there to meet with the overwhelming amount of people that want to hear about the man Jesus Christ!