Join Us In Prayer
December 2022
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
The advent season is a perfect time to remember the words of the Father through prophets such as Isaiah and Micah. Knowing that these men, on God’s behalf, foretold the birth of the Messiah 600+ years before Mary delivered the baby Jesus is a prompt to celebrate the greatness of our Father.
Just as God’s chosen people were awaiting “the coming of a notable person” (the literal meaning of advent), their Messiah, we who are believers in our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd wait for His second coming (our own advent). As we wait, let’s be intentional about celebrating our Wonderful Counselor (declaring His wisdom), our Mighty God (affirming His divine nature), our Everlasting Father (the One whose care continues forever), and our Prince of Peace (the leader who brings authentic, genuine peace in every situation).
May you celebrate this season — and live out our modern-day advent — with joy and gratitude for all He surrendered to be our Good Shepherd.
We are indeed the sheep of His pasture!
The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
The advent season is a perfect time to remember the words of the Father through prophets such as Isaiah and Micah. Knowing that these men, on God’s behalf, foretold the birth of the Messiah 600+ years before Mary delivered the baby Jesus is a prompt to celebrate the greatness of our Father.
Just as God’s chosen people were awaiting “the coming of a notable person” (the literal meaning of advent), their Messiah, we who are believers in our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd wait for His second coming (our own advent). As we wait, let’s be intentional about celebrating our Wonderful Counselor (declaring His wisdom), our Mighty God (affirming His divine nature), our Everlasting Father (the One whose care continues forever), and our Prince of Peace (the leader who brings authentic, genuine peace in every situation).
May you celebrate this season — and live out our modern-day advent — with joy and gratitude for all He surrendered to be our Good Shepherd.
We are indeed the sheep of His pasture!
What Happened in NOVEMBER
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf.
Micah 5:2
What's Next
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot —
yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him —
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:1-2
- December — Celebration of our Lord’s birth, the creation of a devotion for the American Heritage Girls 2023/24 year, and shepherd leadership content development.
- January 2023 — Content development, preparation for a new team member.
- February 2023 — The scheduled start date for the new Presence Point Vice President of Partner Relationships and Content Development … and boy, do we need her help! The conference in Nigeria produced several new partnership possibilities. Praise His name!
- March 2023 — The facilitation of a shepherd leadership breakout session for the CLA Outcomes Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
- April 2023 — Potential facilitation of a workshop for a variety of southern African countries for YFCI.
Join Us In Prayer
He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together…
Isaiah 11:4-6a
- Praise for the remarkable experience with the Africa Centre for Theological Studies (ACTS) in Lagos, Nigeria, and for the safe travel, refreshing rest each night, and good health during our time there.
- Praise for the 170 pastors and ministry leaders who participated in the ACTS conference and for the high level of engagement and participation they exhibited throughout our time together.
- Praise for the 45 individuals who returned for an extra day of discussion and training to help them multiply the shepherd leadership message in their respective areas of influence. “This is the missing piece of the puzzle” and “This is transformational” were common remarks.
- Praise for Caleb who was assigned to drive us while we were in Lagos. He was a Godsend in many ways! Pray for him and his family, as his job requires him to work in Lagos, hours from his wife and children based in the north of Nigeria. They currently are only together once a year.
- Praise for Holly’s time with women in ministry leadership from around the country, facilitated by Christian Leadership Alliance CEO, Tami Heim.
- Praise that God provided funding for the Amharic translation of the workshop participant materials for those in Ethiopia and for the conversations we’ve had regarding their multiplication of the shepherd leadership message.
- Continue to pray for Andrew with Tacoma Area YFC as he leads the Young Leader Program participants through the shepherd leadership materials as they begin their internship with that organization.
- Pray for miraculous provision of the $323,000 remaining in the fundraising effort for the 2023 budget year. We’re excited to watch God work!
- Pray for an ongoing partnership with HSLDA as they partner with 100,000 member families, donors, homeschool leaders, legislators, and others who have remarkable ability to multiply the shepherd leadership message.
- Pray for our new, gifted Presence Point VP and her family as she prepares to transition to a full-time role with the Presence Point team.
- Pray for Doug and Holly as they navigate the addition of team members and acclimate to the change this expansion brings. Pray they will live what they teach and demonstrate shepherding principles with the new team members and their families.
- Pray for Doug and Holly as they pray about and contemplate a move out of California.
- Pray about the possibility of the Christian Leadership Alliance adding the Leadership from the Shepherd’s Perspective workshop to their Credentialed Christian Non-Profit Leader (CCNL) program.
- Pray as Point Loma University considers implementing the online, on-demand workshop in several of their leadership-related programs.
- Pray for partners in the university/seminary/college space and for Dr. Dave Rahn who has volunteered to champion that effort.
- Pray about the possibility of facilitating a shepherd leadership conference for several southern African countries for YFCI in 2023.
- Pray about the possibility of facilitating a shepherd leadership workshop for YFCI’s world gathering, General Assembly, scheduled for the Netherlands in September 2023.
- Pray for the representative from Wycliffe USA who attended the San Antonio workshop and is considering how to implement the shepherd leadership workshop content with Wycliffe USA’s 3,000 team members.
- Praise for decisions related to the new potential partners we’ve been referred to in the last month.
- Pray for the promised funding to translate the workshop materials into the Indian languages of Hindi and Benali, Marathi, or Tegulu.
- Continue to pray for the executive leadership team of Prendiville Catholic College in Perth, Australia, as they continue to multiply the shepherding message with their students.
- Praise for partners who continue to provide their time, talent, and resources to support and spread the shepherding message.
- Pray for continued wisdom in our choices of new partners and individuals we interview for the Shepherds in Action interview series.
- Continue to pray the shepherding message will resonate with those who download the workshop content on the online, on-demand platforms of Presence Point partners African Centre for Theological Studies, RightNow Media, RightNow Media @ Work, American Heritage Girls, Christian Leadership Alliance, YFC Canada, and YFC USA.
- Praise that God is still moving in miraculous ways related to the shepherd leadership message!
- Pray for shepherd leaders to emerge in governments all over the world.
- Pray on an ongoing basis for our shepherd leadership partners in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Canada, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, DRC, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the United States, as they seek to multiply the shepherding message.
- Pray on an ongoing basis for clear direction regarding the focus of our energies in 2023… and beyond, as the Lord wills.
- Pray for continual wisdom for the Board members who lead Presence Point and for open hearts and willing spirits as we do the same on a day-to-day basis.
How Can We Pray For You?
Please allow us to partner with you for your prayer needs. You can confidentially contact us by email at Holly@PresencePoint.com
or Doug@PresencePoint.com or by texting or calling Holly at +1-661-301-3316 or Doug at +1-661-332-2622.
Shepherds-in-training,
Doug and Holly Culhane
Please allow us to partner with you for your prayer needs. You can confidentially contact us by email at Holly@PresencePoint.com or Doug@PresencePoint.com or by texting or calling Holly at +1-661-301-3316 or Doug at +1-661-332-2622.
Shepherds-in-training,
Doug and Holly Culhane