July 1, 1999

10th Anniversary of of our Prayer Ministry!

July 1st, 1999.

Carol and I were at the beginning of one of the most life-changing periods in our lives! God has led us to resign our pastoral position at The Woodfield Church culminating 19 years of love, sweat and tears, spend most of July with our then single daughter Jennie at her mission station in Zambia, and return to ... well, whatever was next!

A new call (assignment) from God was evident. Prayer was a driving force. Pastors, a strong focus. A national scope was becoming evident. Everything was clear except how our financial needs would be met. Looking back, we are amazed, not at God's faithfulness (we have never lacked personally nor have we had to decline an unpaid opportunity), but, frankly, amazed at the generosity of so many. Family, of course. Friends, ministry contacts, and colleagues.

Over these now ten years, we are still in awe and appreciation for:

1. Ten years of monthly contributions from donors we know who struggle to make their own ends meet.
2. Someone who would take on an extra job partly as a means to tithe from that income to bless our ministry.
3. The opportunity to serve (with pay!) as an interim Executive Director of an association of 200 congregations.
4. Contributions that end in $xx.64 ... Obviously a tithe on a gift of some kind and now shared with us.
5. The trust to serve as interim pastor of a church in a struggling but strategic Chicago neighborhood.
6. A monthly stipend (almost 9 years now) from an association of churches that allows me to lead prayer seminars at no cost to their churches.
7. The surprise of seeing an every month donor couple as I walked to my seat on an airplane about to fly me to a strategic planning meeting their gifts helped me get to!
8. A check arriving in the mail from lifelong friends who had just lost their job.
9. The surprise of an unexpected (and just in time!) stipend from a ministry organization I had voluntarily and happily served that year without compensation.
10. Special gifts: a computer, airline miles, mega-dollars for medical expenses, meals, lodging, free taxi-service to and from "ORD" (O'Hare) ...

These, and many other examples, allow us to praise God and thank you as we reach the ten year milestone of "Prayer INC" - Praying In the Name of Christ for a prayed-for-planet. God's grace plus your prayerful and financial support have allowed us to write + teach + preach + blog + lead + mentor + learn + ... more.

While we give thanks, we also wonder. What about the next ten years?

• ? - Will God grant us the health, the opportunities? the resources? to serve his Church for another ten years?
• ? - Will we see greater progress towards prayed-for-communities?
• ? - Will our hopes and dreams see greater fruition (such as challenging upcoming generations to live a life of prayer)?
• ? - Will our ministry to pastors extend to the many thousands who have yet to be invited into a Pastors' Prayer Group?

As we observe this important milestone, we invite you to mark it as well and strengthen the ministry of Prayer INC at the same time:

1. 1Write us a note an let us know how God is at work in your life (a ten year retrospective might rekindle your own thankfulness for all the Lord has done or how far he has taken you).
2. Let us know you'll continue to support us with your prayers (do we have your current email address? phil@nppn.org).
3. If you have not been a financial contributor, consider giving a gift for the next 10 months (you could click here to make an online contribution) .
4. As a regular giver (TY, TY, TY!), prayerfully consider increasing your gift by ten per cent for ten months.
5. Assist us with a technology update for our office computer and printer, or ...
6. An updated phone/PDA system for Phil.
7. Enable us to scholarship an under-payed pastor to one of our workshops or conferences.
8. Provide a copy or copies of Giving Ourselves to Prayer, new text book that includes a chapter and many discussion questions from Phil (gifts to our ministry allowed him to work on this project without any compensation).
9. Cover Phil's travel to a strategic planning meeting (almost always pay-your-own-way).
10. Ask the Lord how he could bless Prayer INC for his purposes through your generosity and creativity ...

Already you have gifted us - by reading this letter you demonstrate how much you care for us and want to bless the work God has assigned to Carol and me ... and to you, as he leads you to partner with us in the resourcing of a stealth ministry like ours (strategic but under-the-radar).

Ten times thankful!!

Phil & Carol Miglioratti
1130 Randville Drive 1D
Palatine, IL 60074