As hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war, repression and poverty cross Europe’s borders, the continent is struggling to cope. There is growing consensus that the EU’s legal framework and individual member states are poorly equipped to confront the problem. Politicians will have to act fast if they want to avoid a humanitarian emergency this winter. They should also be aware that quick solutions will not make the bigger issue go away. The migrant crisis is, in fact, about Europe’s identity. The coming weeks and months will be a test of European unity in the hardest times, with nationalist and extremist voices gaining ground and EU leaders strengthening border controls. So Europe's open door is soon to be closed in face of the tide that has overwhelmed Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia and created problems throughout Europe.

Thursday’s meeting to strengthen diplomatic progress between Angela Merkel and Benjamin Netanyahu has been postponed due to a surge in Palestinian terror attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank. (see this week’s Prayer-Alert world article) Prayer is needed for a strengthening of Israel’s relationships with Germany. In the middle of his address to the UN General Assembly Benjamin Netanyahu stood silently for 44 seconds and glared at all the representatives assembled as a protest against an absence of criticism of threats against Israel. Thursday’s cancelled consultation meeting took on a special significance. In 2008 Chancellor Merkel’s speech to the Knesset said that ‘the historical responsibility for Israel’s security is part of our raison d’état’. It would remain unchanged and continue to be one of the foundations of Germany’s foreign policy.

The sorrow of the ministry team leader who lost 11 workers and one of their children last month has been deep, but he takes heart that their faithfulness could help change the hearts of persecutors. ‘They kept on praying loudly and sharing Jesus until their last breath,’ he said. ‘They did this in front of the villagers as a testimony for others.’ He asked for prayer for surviving family members and for himself.
‘These things have been very hard on me,’ he said. ‘What wrong did those people do to deserve to die? However, what is happening is more and more people are being saved. The ministry is growing and growing. In the past we used to pray to have one person from a Muslim background come to the Lord. Now there are so many we can barely handle all the work among them.’

There has been a bit of a culture-shift at World Prayer Centre (WPC) recently. Here's an in-depth interview with the Ian Cole, the founder of the organisation and the new Director, Steve Botham on what lies ahead for WPC.

Ian, tell us about your vision for a World Prayer Centre.

Ian: I had the vision for a World Prayer Centre in 1992 and for the last 23 years, alongside my wife Pauline and many wonderful colleagues, supporters, fellow Trustees and prayer partners, have worked and continue to work to see the fulfilment of the vision. We have known for a great part of that time that this journey and every aspect of the journey had to be Heaven to earth, and that even the building itself had to be, as we have often said, an Isaac and not an Ishmael.

Steve Botham recently became the Director of WPC. What does that mean for you and Pauline?

Ian: We are so pleased that Steve has accepted the position of Director of WPC. Pauline and I have known Steve and his wife Carol for many years and Steve has been an integral member of the Trustees. His appointment has not only allowed for increased development and growth of the team and our ministry, but also enabled Pauline and I to stand back and assess where we want to put the time and energy that God gives us each day as we seek to hear from Him and be obedient to His call on our lives. Over the years, a growing part of our ministry has been to encourage prayer and those involved in the prayer movement in a number of nations through the International Prayer Council and other global organisations. We count this a great privilege and as God gives us the health and strength, we will seek to serve Him and the body of Christ in this way. By God's grace we are not retiring but we are changing pace. (I think I just heard a chuckle from Pauline's office!!)

So, where are you at with the vision for the building?

Ian: The vision for the actual World Prayer Centre still burns in our hearts. We believe God has His hand on the actual site, and that one day in God's time and in His way we will see the vision come to fruition. The scriptural foundations of the vision came as I read the story of Nehemiah where the people stood shoulder to shoulder, building the gates, the walls and the towers with trowels, swords and a trumpet blower. As we move into the next phase of our journey, the towers from where the watchman watch's and warns, take on fresh meaning and purpose for us and the whole team, not only locally and nationally but across the world.

As the new Director of WPC, tell us a bit more about your background and getting involved with WPC?

Steve: I come from a business background and was the CEO of Caret Consulting Group a well-established firm focused on leadership and change. My strengths lie in strategy, working with groups and teams, executive coaching, community development and leadership training. I am just coming up to my 40 year anniversary as a Christian and have always looked to combine my calling into the marketplace with my faith. I was on the leadership team of my church Riverside in Birmingham and have been very involved with a range of Christian projects across the city. God has opened doors - many surprising ones for me to be a watchmen and I have good contacts with leaders in the council, health, economic growth and community growth across the city.
I have always been interested in prayer and how God wants us to know his heart of compassion and his vision for change. Last year started with a period of real challenge for WPC and increasingly I felt it was time to give more support and use my strategy and change experience to help look at the future direction and calling of WPC.

How are you looking to move forward with the vision of WPC?

Steve: I have five key areas of focus:

• To grow prayer - simply put I want more people to pray - it draws us closer to God and empowers the church. We are working on the website, social media, new resources and with other organisations to grow prayer. We believe this is a key moment when Jesus is mobilising us to pray.
• Deepen prayer - there are those with a deeper prayer calling, we need to see more watchmen with grace and authority to mobilise others to pray, we need to pray into spiritual change and release blessing. These are changing times so we need to be open to learn and to go deeper.
• Build unity - WPC is a generous networking organisation and we feel that doors are being opened for us to encourage, support, and enable. Unity is about Jesus, representing Him better, serving Him more successfully and making Him number one.
• Providing day-by-day leadership - Ian and Pauline will continue to inspire us, pray with us, and engage in much of the strategic thinking. My role is to make change happen with the wonderful WPC team, our support base and our partners in the UK and working with Ian and Pauline in Europe.
• Communication - we are at a significant growth point for WPC. We need to be able to communicate quickly and mobilise prayer around fast-changing issues like the refugee crisis and all the knock-on issues this will produce. It means being more deliberate in fundraising - encouraging people to invest in moving prayer forward. It means our prayer events will be supplemented by more day-by-day communication to enable us to pray effectively in our families, neighbourhoods, cities and nations.

What are the areas that you want to grow and develop within WPC to fulfil its calling?

Steve: WPC has a watchman calling to give direction and prayer encouragement. I have been watching and looking at strategic things in my city, Birmingham, for many years. There are so many practical issues for us to pray into as God calls us to lift Him up, to bless what is good and provide spiritual protection. We have a national and a global perspective and we partner with like-minded organisations. E.g. looking at Europe, we ask "what is God doing in nations like Germany, Hungary, Greece at this time" and then looking at the deeper spiritual issues - is God testing our hearts? What are the prayer issues in this time of significant shaking?
At the core of this is more prayer and greater awareness of the issues on our doorstep as well as on the news. Jesus came to dwell amongst us. He is supreme over all things. I personally feel this is a great privilege and adventure - following in His footsteps as He shapes and enables change.

So in conclusion, there are exciting times ahead for WPC. We would so value your continued prayers for us as we press on into all that God has for us in the coming days.