Prayer Circles

Anchor Statement #2 for our Church, “Take time to pray for your neighbor, that you may surround them in God’s love.”  Is this the most foundational element missing from our Neighborhood in God’s Kingdom?  Intentional, community prayer?  What if the first layer of ‘success’ in church is accomplishing this task?  Statement #1 is to take time for our neighbor.  But what if before we even take time with them, we need to pray with them?

So I believe the Church needs to introduce into its structure a series of Prayer Circles.  My goal is for 90% of the Church Neighborhood to be in these Circles.  Each Circle shall contain four to seven individuals (family members MAY be in different Circles).

The Circles are encouraged to meet in person, can reach out by telephone or e-communications. 

Each Prayer Circle begins with a Leader.  The Leader will take the initiative to:

1.        Receive Prayer requests from the church and pass them along to the Circle.

2.      Monthly reach out to the Prayer Circle members to seek prayer requests in return.

3.       When applicable, reach out weekly with special prayer support of the church.

4.      Back up their Messengers when the Messengers are not available.

5.      Participate actively in the Ministry of Prayer for the Church.

6.      Report back on the activity of the Prayer Circle.

Each Prayer Circle will have two Messengers.  The Messengers shall undertake the following:

1.        Assume the role of the Leader, if the Leader is unavailable at a given moment.

2.      Pass along the Prayer requests to the Leader of another Prayer Circle.

3.       Participate actively in a Ministry of Prayer for the Church.

 Service as a Prayer Leader or a Prayer Messenger will be for four months at a time.  December 1 will mark the first Season of Prayer.  In February, we will reach out to our Prayer Leaders and Prayer Messengers to ask them to continue. 

Church membership is NOT required to participate in a Prayer Circle.  We are not going to dispatch the Nominating Committee to recruit Prayer Leaders and Prayer Messengers.  We are going to display the Prayer Circles in the Hallway outside the Choir Room. 

This Outreach is going to grow organically.  I will serve as Prayer Leader for the first Circle.  When we reach ten to twelve members, we will split into two, recruiting actively for Leaders and Messengers as we go.  And this is not an “online initiative”.  There are a large number of our Church members who do not have access to the Web.  There are shut-ins within our congregation. 

We are going to press this initiative in the Herald and at the Congregational Meeting in November, spend a month setting things into motion, and launching on December 1.

How do you get into a Prayer Circle?  Let me know, by email, by FB, by phone, in person.  Give us a week to return to you.  Want to make it faster?  Gather friends into a Circle and bring it back to me.  Appoint a Leader, appoint Messengers, and it is one step closer.

Lessons in Prayer will be provided for all who ask.