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Beginning and Growing A Great Commission Prayer Ministry
Everywhere you look signs point to this fact—God is calling His people to heartfelt prayer. As believers answer this divine call to prayer, two things begin to happen. First, God’s people begin to return to Him in revival. Second, the church begins to be reclaimed as a house of prayer for all the nations (see Mark 11:17). A Great Commission Prayer Ministry will provide a way for churches to become houses of prayer with a passion for the lost.
What is a Great Commission Prayer Ministry?
A Great Commission Prayer Ministry is a comprehensive prayer plan to assist congregations in their quest to being on mission with Christ through prayer. It will help congregations develop and grow an overall plan of action in prayer. It will help churches to effectively pray for and share Jesus with every person in their sphere of influence.
Why a Great Commission Prayer Ministry?
It is very easy for one prayer event to become the major prayer effort for a church body. As that happens, prayer simply becomes another "thing" the church does and takes its place among all other "ministries" of the church. Prayer then becomes peripheral instead of foundational. This pattern is not biblical. The biblical ideal is for prayer to be foundational to everything done in and through the church body (see Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:31; 13:1-3).
A Great Commission Prayer Ministry helps churches create a comprehensive church prayer plan that is:
Bible based- Jesus, Paul, and the early church practiced a life of prayer-permeated ministry. A Great Commission Prayer Ministry is built on biblical prayer principles. It helps churches become houses of prayer with a passion for lost people.
Contextually sensitive- Every church field has diverse cultural, social, and spiritual needs. The three strategic objectives of a Great Commission Prayer Ministry offer a basic structure to churches on which a prayer plan can be built. They are universally adaptable to any ministry context.
Comprehensive in its scope - A Great Commission Prayer Ministry allows a church to experience "total prayer saturation." It covers the personal, corporate, and kingdom elements of prayer. It assists church members as they seek to pray for and share Christ with people in their sphere of influence.
Evangelistic in its focus - A Great Commission Prayer Ministry focuses church members on prayer that relates to Christ’s redemptive work throughout the world.
Relevant in its application- By using both traditional and "cutting edge" prayer evangelism methods and approaches a Great Commission Prayer Ministry is flexible and adaptable to current trends and needs.
Creating a Great Commission Prayer Ministry in Your Church
Use the three strategic parts of the Great Commission Prayer Ministry plan as a skeleton to build a contextual prayer ministry in the church. Then plan training events, prayer emphases, conferences, etc. that will help you plan a course of action. Be sure to use the list of prayer methods and approaches to assist under each part. A sample model and a 15 step Implementation plan is also included for your assistance. Remember—you ministry must be contextual and fit your church.
A Three Part Skeleton Plan
A Great Commission Prayer Ministry should include three strategic parts. Use these three purpose statements to build you comprehensive prayer plan upon. Please refer to the "Prayer Method’s and Approaches section" for a list of various prayer approaches to use.
1. Personal Element
Renew a personal passion for Jesus through praying unceasingly (see 1 Thess. 5:17). This portion of the prayer plan highlights the personal dimension to prayer. As believers begin to practice an unceasing prayer life, prayer assumes its primary and foundational place in the center of their lives.
2. Corporate Element
Reclaim the church as a house of prayer with a passion for the lost (see Matt. 21:13; Luke 19:10). This part relates to the corporate dimension of prayer. As prayer is becomes foundational in a congregation, the focus of ministry turns toward that of the Father’s—i.e., the lost world.
3. Kingdom Element
Link congregations in focused prayer for evangelization and awakening (see Matt. 18:18-20; 2 Chron. 7:14). This part refers to the kingdom perspective of prayer. As churches become houses of prayer with a passion for the lost, they begin to see the need to look toward the worldwide harvest. Churches are therefore encouraged to consider ways to join other congregations in associational, state, national, and international prayer initiatives for evangelization and awakening (e.g., National Day of Prayer, See You at The Pole [SYATP], Campus Prayer Journey, Prayer for the Persecuted Church).
A Suggested Great Commission Prayer Ministry Plan
The following is how a comprehensive Great Commission Prayer ministry might look and be structured. Be sure to adapt to your needs and congregational context.
1. Personal Element
Renew a personal passion for Jesus through praying unceasingly (1 Thess. 5:17).
Suggested training tools to equip God’s people in biblical prayer processes:
Encourage ministry staff and church leadership to model a life of prayer.
Keep testimonies concerning answered prayer before the congregation.
Lead the corporate body in concerts of prayer and solemn assemblies.
Encourage personal prayer growth while providing devotional and inspirational reading materials for the congregation.
Challenge the congregation to increase time spent in personal and corporate prayer.
2. Corporate Element
Reclaim the church as a house of prayer with a passion for the lost (see Matt. 21:13, Luke 19:10).
Develop a church prayer room ministry that focuses on evangelistic prayer needs.
Challenge the congregation to make their homes Lighthouses of Prayer and Outreach .
Lead the church to be involved in regular Prayer Journey (walking) efforts.
Participate in International and North American Mission Prayer Journey efforts.
Organize and participate in outreach prayer survey efforts.
Begin a "prayer station" or "prayer booth" ministry in the inner city, at yard sales, carnivals, craft shows, flea markets and during county and state fairs
Begin a mid-week service that focuses on prayer for unbelievers, believers, and evangelistic mission efforts.
Develop men’s, women’s, senior adults, youth, and children’s evangelistic prayer cell groups.
Encourage "cottage" prayer meetings leading up to revivals and evangelism efforts.
3. Kingdom Element
Link congregations in focused prayer for evangelization and awakening (see Matt. 18:18-20, 2 Chron. 7:14).
Encourage congregational participation in the National Day of Prayer prayer focus.
Provide ways for youth to unite with other youth for the See You at The Pole prayer effort.
Mobilize families to participate in a Campus Prayer Journey event (the night before SYATP).
Participate in various Sunday worship prayer focuses, e.g., Prayer for the Persecuted Church, Prayer for World Evangelization Sunday, and so on.
Lead churches to join Southern Baptist International mission prayer efforts for specific people groups (presently four groups are targeted-Jews, Muslims, Hindu, and Buddhists).
Sponsor interdenominational pastors prayer groups and concerts of prayer meetings.
Encourage longer and more frequent times for corporate prayer that focuses on specific prayer needs.
How to Get Started
Use the suggested 15 steps to help you create a Great Commission Prayer Ministry in your church. Visit www.namb.net/prayer to identify resources to assist in training and in implementation of your ministry. Remember--All of this begins with prayer for God’s activity to be revealed.
Pray for and select a church prayer ministry coordinator. (For a job description visit www.namb.net/prayer or look in the appendices of Taking Prayer to the Streets: Prayer Journeys Guidebook).
Select a prayer team (which includes the prayer coordinator) that will work together with church leadership to create a Great Commission Prayer plan that is unique to your church. They will also provide evangelism and prayer training.
Ask the pastor to take the lead in promoting, teaching, modeling, and reminding the congregation of the importance of prayer.
Encourage individual prayer by using the resources available. Use this opportunity to identify and recruit intercessors through prayer revivals, prayer retreats, special prayer commitment services, and conferences.
Launch new prayer groups at work places, through the Sunday School, in small groups, and Discipleship Training. Encourage prayer groups to meet before and during the worship services.
Provide a prayer room. Include resources to help people pray specifically.
Refocus the Wednesday night prayer meeting into a time to pray for believers, unbelievers, and individual spiritual growth. Provide national and international prayer needs and opportunities through the North American Mission Board (NAMB) 1 800-554-PRAY and International Mission Board (IMB) 1 800 395-PRAY prayerlines. Download requests from www.namb.net/prayer and www. imb.net/pray.
Create prayer chains for affinity groups of people in your congregation and community. Affinity groups can be created by ethnic group, profession, or interest. Men, women, singles, youth, lawyers, construction workers, and so on can pray specifically and intentionally for others in their profession locally, nationally, and globally. Postal workers, police officers, and other service providers have found particular joy in praying for the homes on their routes.
Develop prayer lists of lost people and prospects in the community. Pray for the names in the telephone book.
Participate in the annual Week of Prayer for North American Missions and the annual Week of Prayer for International Missions.
Schedule a corporate prayer time during the worship service. Occasionally pray in groups, pray for missionaries, and make prayer a vital part of the worship service.
Schedule Prayer Journeys for on-site prayer with as many groups as possible and as often as possible.
Plan a mission trip that includes a Prayer Journey.
Partner with associational, state, and other church prayer coordinators to calendar participation in community, associational, state, national, and international prayer initiatives for evangelization and awakening (e.g., National Day of Prayer).
Prayer Methods and Approaches
A Great Commission Prayer Ministry becomes a reality as churches use various methods and training to accomplish their prayer ministry purposes. Use the following methods and approaches to aid in the building of your three part Great Commission Prayer Ministry plan.
Prayer Journeys-A comprehensive plan to involve the entire church body in on-site prayer walks, drives, and so forth. Taking Prayer to the Streets: Prayer Journeys Resource Kit teaches how to use prayer field teams and support teams that help every person in the church pray for and share Jesus with every person in the community.
Praying Your Friends to Christ/Evangelistic Prayer Training-An excellent way to teach Christians how to pray evangelistically.
Outreach Prayer Surveys-Open doors for relational evangelism through a prayer- centered visitation approach.
Concerts of Prayer-Concentrated times of corporate and individual prayer.
Prayer Revivals or Retreats-Excellent opportunities to provide prayer training, focus, and inspiration for congregations.
Intercessory Prayer Room Ministry- Provide a place where individuals can come to the church and intercede for believers, unbelievers, evangelism/mission efforts, worship services, and community concerns.
Prayer Groups/Triplets-Women’s, Men’s, youth, and children’s prayer groups provide great ways to encourage focused prayer for missions, evangelism efforts, revival, and so on.
Prayer Chains-An excellent way to link believers in unified focused prayer for crisis times in a community.
Prayer Initiatives- Involve the church body in community, national, and international prayer efforts for evangelization and awakening. Participation in the National Day of Prayer is one way to do this.
Prayer Partners-Link believers in pairs throughout the congregation for accountability and inspiration in prayer.
Great Commission Prayer Conferences and Training
Great Commission Prayer Conferences (GCPC) are scheduled by your state convention evangelism leadership in partnership with the Prayer Evangelism Unit of the North American Mission Board. They are designed to assist churches with the training and resources needed to develop a comprehensive prayer ministry for applying the Great Commission. Contact your state convention for more information about one that is scheduled near you.
Click here to view the Great Commission Prayer Strategy Booklet in pdf format. (1461KB)
Great Commission Prayer Booklet (text version - 51K)
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