The Foundation to Building a Praying Church

I sat in a coffee shop with a cup of dark roast in my hand and a stack of resumes on the table. As a member of the pastoral search committee in my church, I faced a meticulous task. I knew I would be spending the next several hours reading through the qualifications of more than 100 candidates for our senior pastor position.

I wondered how I could possibly discern God’s direction with such a seemingly insurmountable stack. I took another sip of coffee, prayed for the Spirit’s guidance, and started reading.

I was looking for something specific—a pastor who recognized the importance of prayer as the foundation of all ministry. I read through more than half of the stack—and found no indication from any of the pastors that they valued the priority of prayer. They listed leadership skills, church growth experience, and philosophy of ministry—but nothing about prayer. I’m sure all of these pastors prayed on some level, but none of them acknowledged that their ministry flowed first and foremost out of their prayer relationship with the Lord.

Suddenly I felt a surge of hope with one resume. I began reading the testimony of a pastor who was transformed by reading the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala—and how, as a result, he began seeking the Lord as the number-one priority in his ministry. I had to put the resume down for a bit and sip more coffee. My eyes were too filled with tears to keep reading.

I felt an instant heart-connection with this man. Eventually the members of the search committee agreed. During a later interviewing process, I had a chance to pray with him and his wife, and got to appreciate him on an even deeper level. He was the real deal—a praying pastor. Out of all the resumes, he was the only one who listed prayer as a priority.

As it turned out, another candidate came to the table late in the search—with strong preaching skills and a larger ministry background. I felt disheartened that the praying pastor faded to second choice in the decision process for the rest of the committee.

Leaders Are Key

Jesus made it clear that churches are to be “praying churches” (Matt. 21:13). The pastor and other spiritual leaders play critical roles in establishing their churches as houses of prayer.
In this issue, Dave Earley writes that he researched 75 high-impact spiritual leaders and discovered their common denominator was an “extra-ordinary” prayer life. Fred Hartley challenges pastors to develop a strong prayer team of people who have influence with God, and those who have influence with people. A pastor with a dedicated prayer team that comes alongside him or her is foundational to building a praying church. Alice Smith has spent years building bridges between intercessors and pastors—and she explains how an intercessor can become a valuable asset to a spiritual leader.

God knew the longtime desire of my heart was to be in a church led by a praying pastor. In His timing, He eventually placed me in a church with a senior pastor who is a leader in the national and international prayer movement. Perhaps one day this will be true of all churches—just as Jesus said.

CAROL MADISON is editor of Prayer Connect.