“Our church would greatly benefit from a workshop or special emphasis on prayer but we have no provision for this cost in our budget. What can we do to bring expert teaching to our people?”

Several options come to mind:

If you cannot afford to bring the “expert” to your people, take your people to the expert. Most church members are willing to pay their own way to a conference or seminar. Visit PrayerLeader.com and click on Prayer Calendar for information on CPLN prayer conferences and workshops.

Prayer Leader OnLine Interviews Dennis Conner, the co-founder of Called to Serve.

Q. What is a “Prayer Coach”? Is this merely a new title for an old role or is there a genuine, strategic difference?
In the past four years--beginning with the shocking attack on American soil (9/11/01) and continuing in today’s unsettling economy and unending war on terrorism--more and more pastors are wanting to respond to the “sense of urgency” being expressed by their church members for more meaningful prayer times.

Most pastors clearly recognize that it will take much more than a one-time sermon or one-weekend effort (prayer seminar, retreat, or conference) to effectively expand their church’s current prayer ministry into what Jesus refers to three times in the New Testament as a “house of prayer.” Such an expansion requires someone to coordinate the effort that can deepen and broaden the current prayer ministry for the church. This person has the training and experience to come alongside the pastor and church’s prayer ministry to help implement the needed transition from a church where prayer is one of a multitude of ministries available to the members, to a church where “prayer is the engine that drives the church" to quote Pastor Jim Cymbala.

Seeking to be obedient to the Lord’s mandate (His declaration of it three times--as well as it being a prophetic directive spoken in the Old Testament by Isaiah in 56:7--seems to preclude us thinking of it as an optional wish for church leadership to merely consider), some pastors/churches are seeking the help of such a “Prayer Coach.” Because the title “Prayer Coach” is new to the rapidly expanding prayer movement across America, it needs some clarification.

Turning Prayer Meetings into Adventures

Out of Our Seats; Onto the Streets!

Utilize the amazing account of Peter and John in Acts 3 as a focus (praying for and in the community) and a format (stop at various verses or phrases to pray in harmony with the scripture story).

Prayers of the People

Patterns & Models for Congregational Prayer
Faith Alive Christian Resources
$6.95

This is a resource book for those who facilitate prayer meetings but also for those who lead prayer in the context of a worship experience.

From the opening paragraph of the Introduction, this book offers a fresh perspective on public worship, even to the point of renaming the routine. The “Pastoral Prayer” takes on new meaning when it is identified as “Prayer of the People,” for example. Nine suggestions are offered for giving a public invitation to pray, a verbal cue seldom given any fresh or creative thought. Gathering prayer requests, an issue in 99% of our congregations, is also addressed. Other chapters cover the range of praying from extemporaneous to model prayers (prose, litany, bidding, outlines). Also tackled are the challenging topics of praying for justice, healing, lament and others.

Visit their website to download a sample chapter.

It Seems to Me...

...most prayer leaders I speak (and pray) with feel alone on their watch.

At a recent one-day prayer summit, I could feel the anguish in the voice of a congregational prayer leader. He faithfully invites all the church members to the place of prayer every Sunday evening, only to be met by a handful of equally faithful believers. He was tired. He sounded disappointed. His voice, calling the congregation to pray, has been ignored by most, including core leaders.

But he was there, at the place of prayer, with others who also felt as if they were alone. He was there. Sharing his weariness and his concern. Listening to others stories; some like his, a few uplifting. Sitting with Jesus. Not giving up. Being renewed in hope.

Could that be the real job description of a church prayer leader?

With you for a prayed for planet,

Pastor Phil