UPDATE – BREDA, NETHERLANDS – After the Breda Church of the Nazarene caught fire last Monday, the church immediately turned to Jesus, gathering for prayer that evening while smoke still rose into the sky. They mourned, shared memories, and prayed for the other small businesses that called the building home.
 
The following Sunday, worship continued. The church’s next-door neighbor, a rooftop bar, opened its doors. One of the building’s occupants—a Christian student organization—served a meal to the congregation. Hundreds of messages poured in online, lifting up prayers, with a church in Ukraine even offering to send workers to help rebuild.
 
“It’s very overwhelming and very encouraging,” says Pastor Stephen Overduin.
 
Right now, the best way to serve the congregation in Breda is prayer. Three ways to pray:
 
Pray for wisdom for church leadership as they navigate immediate needs, including finding a place to meet each Sunday.
 
Pray for the long-term vision and location of the congregation as they seek to remain in the neighborhood they feel called to serve.
 
Pray for the congregation as they are called to “go into deeper waters with Him,” Stephan says.
 
“When you have a lot, it is sometimes easier, or you don’t realize that you don’t trust Him a lot. But when things get stripped away, like with Job, what’s real comes to the surface,” Stephan says. He adds that the 23rd Psalm is the perfect prayer right now. “When you have everything you need, it’s an easy prayer,” he says. “But when you don’t, it becomes more complicated—but also more true. Because with Him, we have all that we want. All that we need. That’s my prayer for the congregation.”
 
“God’s core business is to make beautiful things out of ashes,” Stephen says. “At the same time, I feel like He is calling us to go deeper with Him. Not to be dependent on the gifts but on the Giver, and committed to Him.
 
Stay connected with the Breda church and how you can help over on their Facebook page Kerk van de Nazarener Breda.
 
– shared from Pastor Stehpen Overduin