A Thriving Church Is a Praying Church
I was desperate. Over a year into my ministry at Freedom Fellowship, we were dealing with several conflicts that threatened to harm the church. Growth stalled. The energy and excitement that characterized the early months had worn off. We had gone weeks without a visitor. It felt as though the church was stuck in mud, unable to find traction no matter how hard we tried. In that moment of desperation, left with no other options, I prayed.
I’m ashamed to say that my prayer life stalled in the months leading up to that moment. As a church, we were clarifying our strategies, streamlining our ministries, mobilizing our members for evangelism—the organizational aspects of the church were the strongest they had ever been. But we weren’t praying.
We prayed all the time as a church. We prayed in our small groups. We prayed on Sunday mornings. We prayed for sick dogs and hurt knees and bedridden relatives. We prayed for safe travels and mourning friends. Our prayer lists remained filled. But our prayers remained strictly personal. We sought God’s providence at the doctor’s office, but we operated the church as if our methods and strategies alone could reach the lost and make the church healthier.
Throughout the book of Acts, we see people of faith operating through prayer. They gathered together for prayer while awaiting the Holy Spirit (Acts 1). They devoted themselves to prayer shortly after Pentecost (Acts 2). They prayed for boldness to continue sharing the gospel in the face of persecution (Acts 4). And that’s just the first few pages of the book!
If we, like them, truly believe our Creator has decided to move through our prayers, then we should view prayer as more than an add-on to a small group or a smooth way to transition on Sunday mornings. We should fall to our knees and seek the supernatural power of God in our church, in our community, and in our world.
So there I was, in desperation, doing the thing I should have been doing all along. A few days later, the Lord sent us a new couple who happened to become invaluable leaders in the church. They have grown immensely, the church has benefited immeasurably, and I hope we can learn the lesson that a thriving church is, first and foremost, a praying church.
In Christ,
Britton