Prayer grows faster if there is a clear plan and committed people in place to facilitate the plan. A pastor will find that once a prayer leader is in place, he or she will function best if a prayer team is developed to come around and support that person.
But the question is, Once I have my prayer leader, how do I pick a team?
Some churches simply leave the selection up to “whoever volunteers.” This can work, but it is also risky. Prayer ministries need to have some of the best volunteers, so it is more beneficial to be proactive in considering who should be on the team and in asking people to join.
When a pastor selects a prayer leader, he or she obviously looks for someone with a strong heart for prayer. In the same way, to fill out the team some churches simply look for five people who also have hearts to pray. But a better way is to either look for the persons with the specific skills needed, or to recruit a cross section of the church.
One of the best team models I’ve observed is at Mission Hills Church in Denver, CO. This church’s ministries focus on nine areas: worship, missions/evangelism, elders, children, youth, women, men, young adults, pastoral/shepherding. Their prayer team is made up of nine individuals—one representative from each ministry area. Since Mission Hills wants prayer to permeate every area of church ministry, its prayer team can effectively coordinate efforts across ministries.
Here are two other possible ways a team can be selected and developed:
Gifting Mixes. Make sure you have a cross section of the following character types on your team: a visionary, a problem solver, a people person, and an administrator.
Job Titles. Pick people who can lead specific prayer areas. Put them in charge of ministries such as corporate prayer meetings, pastor’s prayer team, prayer chain, discipleship/training, prayer room, and so on.
This grouping is more practical if you select a team based on an understanding of people’s hearts for prayer.
However you choose to select your team, make sure you are enlisting the help of people who are both strong in their prayer lives and gifted to lead. A strong prayer team is crucial to the ministry of your church.
JONATHAN GRAF is the president of the Church Prayer Leaders Network.
