On November 26, 2022, Dave Butts, an extraordinary and influential prayer leader, passed into the arms of Jesus. While we do not normally run obituaries in Prayer Connect, the magnitude of this loss personally to me and to the prayer movement warrants it.
Dave’s primary roles were as the president of Harvest Prayer Ministries and the chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee. But he also served on numerous prayer and revival ministry boards and leadership teams, some as chairman of the board. He authored or co-authored 15 books on prayer and revival and wrote prolifically on blogs and his harvestprayer.com website.
After more than two decades pastoring a local church, Dave and his wife Kim co-founded Harvest Prayer Ministries in 1993. That’s when I met them.
When I was editor of Pray! magazine, I joined the executive team of America’s National Prayer Committee. Dave, Kim, and I became fast friends. In 2004, as the Lord led me away from Pray!, we put our new ministry, the Church Prayer Leaders Network (CPLN), under Harvest. That began our 18 years of ministry together.
Together we launched PrayerShop Publishing to publish niche resources to help churches grow prayer. We taught conferences and launched websites that ministered to thousands each day. In 2011, we launched Prayer Connect.
While I focused on the nitty gritty of all that, Dave focused on his calling—to be a networker of prayer leaders and ministries. As the chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, he used that platform to help multiple prayer ministries launch and gain exposure to the broader Church. God used Dave mightily in that role!
I am going to miss my relationship with Dave the most. He was a good friend, mentor, and boss—one of the sincerest and kindest people I know. We spent long hours over a meal or a cup of coffee in his office, just talking about prayer. He would beam when he talked about the soon-coming revival and spiritual awakening.
Harvest Prayer Ministries, the Church Prayer Leaders Network, Prayer Connect, and PrayerShop Publishing will go on without Dave. But he will be sorely missed, and we will remember him fondly for many years to come.
– Jonathan Graf
Editor’s Note
While I hesitate to refer to anyone as a “prayer expert,” Dave Butts probably comes closest to fitting that description. I count Dave as a valued mentor and treasured friend.
I will especially miss him as a member of the Prayer Connect editorial team. As we bantered around our ideas about content, Dave would listen carefully and then insert a clarifying comment at just the right moment. And no matter our agreed-upon topic, Dave had already either written or spoken about it. His experience was just that vast.
Our grief in going forward without Dave is overtaken only by the joy of imagining his first moment with Jesus! And now he knows the answers to all his prayers.
– Carol Madison
