|
By Patricia Silensky
One of the perks of walking with God for a while is feeling
less daunted when He knocks on your door with a call for which you seem to have
no training. That’s how I felt back in January of 2006 when asked to become the
prayer ministry coordinator of Calvary Chapel Port St. Lucie. I was honored to
be chosen, but somewhat dismayed that I had no model to follow.
|
|
|
A century ago, Bethany Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, had an
unusual season of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ—more than 1,100 in a
three year period. Possibly more remarkable was that more than 600 of those
converts were men. Bethany’s
pastor, Rev. Wilbur Chapman, equated this outpouring to a group of 200 men who
were meeting to pray before services every Sunday morning.
|
|
|
Proper Guidelines Will Fix the List
One way to help bring a balance to the needs on your prayer
lists is to regularly distribute guidelines. The guidelines are intended to
“weed out” items that bog a list down and keep people from really praying.
|
|
|
A Tool to Fuel Ministry Prayer
One of the most effective prayer guides I have run across is
the guide Shandon Baptist Church,
in Columbia, South Carolina, produces each month. Called
G.A.P.S. (Growing a Praying Shandon) [click on link to see a pdf of this guide, the guide effectively encourages kingdom
prayer for ministry needs.
|
|
|
Praying the Kingdom Needs of Your Church
As you consider how you might move your congregation toward
a more balanced prayer approach, we would like to recommend two products that
can help you. Both are by the same author: Sandra Higley the current director
of member relations for the Church Prayer Leaders Network (CPLN), and one of
the founders of Pray! magazine.
|
|
|
November 2007
