By Kaye Johns
Most churches have great intentions regarding prayer for their pastoral staff. But getting people to pray for their pastor(s) consistently is a bit more difficult. If you have a heart to pray for your pastor and a desire to identify and encourage others to pray as well, where do you start? Here is a simple plan:
Pray about it. Ask God to lead you to others with a similar desire, and to prepare their hearts to want to join you. Pray about which individuals, specifically, to ask before you contact them. You will have more success in recruiting people who already have a heart to pray this way—and the Spirit will lead you to them. Begin with a core group. Don’t worry about the numbers. Start with a small group of committed people.
You’ll want to name the group so it can be readily identified within the church. It’s important to define the group with a stated purpose, simple guidelines, and expectations. You also want to be sure that the church leaders know about your group and are willing to endorse it. Invite the people on your list to a start-up meeting. Explain your heart for praying for the pastor and ask them to join you. Explain how you will be organized, generally, but ask for their input. Some things to consider:
- What is the purpose of your group? Your purpose will be to pray for your pastor, and, if you choose, for his or her family. Keep the purpose simple, clear, and focused. If you have a larger staff, you will need to decide if you are praying primarily for the senior pastor or for all the pastors.
- How long are you asking people to commit to pray? Having a specific time frame of three months, six months, or a year provides a way for people to make a realistic initial commitment.
- How will you communicate with the group? Email is one of the most efficient ways. Create an email contact group and email people on a regular basis to keep them informed and motivated.
- What will the group be expected to pray for? Some pastors may provide prayer requests, but in the beginning it will be helpful to center the group’s prayer around Scripture.
- How often are you asking them to commit to pray—daily? Once a week? Be sure to include the words “at least” daily or once a week, or “as the Lord leads.” You want to help people set realistic commitments they can succeed in keeping.
- After your initial meeting, send out revised guidelines based on your discussion to those who attended the meeting and others who may join your group later.
Support and encourage your group. Once people have committed to pray, they will need your encouragement to stay on task over a period of time. Consider these things:
- What prayer resources will you provide? Perhaps the most important thing will be Scripture prayers or verses they can use as personal prayer prompts. When you come across other encouraging resources, be sure to share them.
- How often will you provide resources? Once a week you could send new verses or prayers. These can serve as weekly reminders to pray.
- Will you meet together periodically? Coming together will give you the opportunity to pray corporately and share prayer resources. As you conclude your first year, you might consider a more formal gathering, perhaps with the pastor. Use the occasion to thank people and provide the opportunity for them to reenlist.
- How will you keep your group committed? People need to be shown appreciation. Be intentional about affirming them on a regular basis with hand-written notes or emails. Pray for each one by name.
- Encourage praying for the pastor throughout your church membership. Offer regular invitations for new people to join your group.
- Visit small groups. Enlist the help of your primary prayer group to visit classes and Bible studies to encourage people to add your pastor to their group prayer lists and personal prayer times.
- Use the Sunday worship guide or church bulletin. Ask if you can include a weekly Scripture verse to pray for your pastor and other church leaders.
As prayer leaders in our churches, we can’t motivate people to pray for our pastor. Only God can. Our role is to provide opportunity, resources, and encouragement for those whose hearts He touches.
KAYE JOHNS and her husband Jim founded PrayerPower Ministries in 1994. Their website (prayerpowerministries.com) offers prayer training and other practical materials.
