As a staff we are reading through the Bible in 90 days. As I was going through the Psalms I noticed how they were always encouraged to celebrate Gods goodness. Many of the Psalms were written to be used in corporate worship. It struck me that we should celebrate Gods goodness in all of the amazing ways He answered prayer this past year.
So our newly born Monday Night Leadership Team began to brainstorm about what that would look like and "The Prayer Celebration" was born. The Prayer Celebration began with us decorating the room. We put up some huge posters with the names of God on them and artistically done by one of our artist. We began by sharing with people some of the things God did among us at Experience Life this year: Over 550 first time commitments to Christ, over 250 baptisms, we shared some individual stories of answered prayer. Then we had the full band rocking the house with thanksgiving to God. In between sets we would have individuals come up and share their most exciting time of the past year. One story was the powerful way God moved at two year anniversary at the end of all services as people came up and did cardboard testimonies and we sang "All I Need". Each service left people crying at Gods goodness.
Another was praying over the skating rink where we hold services one night and sensing Gods presence so strongly. It was the first time our people praying circled around the whole rink.
After worship and more sharing we went into a time of communion where people reflected on all God has done in 2009. Finally Chris, our lead pastor came up and shared from His heart about the year. He shared his appreciation to all the people of Experience Life and those who had been a part of corporate prayer this year.
We appreciated some of our volunteers and finally gave a rousing standing ovation for the one who had made it all possible: Jesus. We closed with one more song.
It has been an incredible year. God has been faithful through the good and the touch times. I am looking forward to seeing how we grow in prayer in 2010.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Prayer the Past Few Weeks
The key constant of Monday Night Prayer this year has been the awareness we all have of the presence of God. It is a humbling thing to be in a place where everyone believes God is in the place and working in hearts and lives of the people there.
In the past few weeks we have been privileged to celebrate how God has graciously moved among us in 2009. At the first of the year, we prayed that God would give us 500 people who had committed their lives to Christ for the first time. Two weeks ago we surpassed that. We recognize that this is a God thing. It wasn't something we were smart enough to do on our own. It wasn't something we could have planned. We prayed a prayer we thought was a "Gods will" prayer and God amazingly brought the fruit. Sometimes in the last months we surpassed 200 baptisms. I tell people in prayer it is like moving from awe to awe. I can't seem to get a grasp on how God is moving on one thing and we see Him touching people again and we have to move on to that amazing thing.
We continue to grow with our prayer teams. At Monday night prayer we are now asking those people who have been through our initial prayer training to come to the front and side of the room and be available to pray for various people.
This past week (1st Monday in December) we prayed for people who felt like giving up in some area of their lives. We also prayed for those who were dry in their walk with God. This prayer time followed worship at the front end of Monday night. We had people raise their hands if this prayer request fit them and then had various people pray for them on the mike.
As 2009 is winding down, I find myself seeking God for what lies ahead in 2010. As prayer pastor I am excited. We are starting the year 2010 by bringing our prayer service to the first weekend. The services for the first weekend in 2010 will actually be a prayer service for our whole congregation. We will be doing this twice in 2010. Prayer is a priority for us.
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We are Thankful for:
Commitments to Christ 11
Interested in Baptism 1
Unique Comments:
In the past few weeks we have been privileged to celebrate how God has graciously moved among us in 2009. At the first of the year, we prayed that God would give us 500 people who had committed their lives to Christ for the first time. Two weeks ago we surpassed that. We recognize that this is a God thing. It wasn't something we were smart enough to do on our own. It wasn't something we could have planned. We prayed a prayer we thought was a "Gods will" prayer and God amazingly brought the fruit. Sometimes in the last months we surpassed 200 baptisms. I tell people in prayer it is like moving from awe to awe. I can't seem to get a grasp on how God is moving on one thing and we see Him touching people again and we have to move on to that amazing thing.
We continue to grow with our prayer teams. At Monday night prayer we are now asking those people who have been through our initial prayer training to come to the front and side of the room and be available to pray for various people.
This past week (1st Monday in December) we prayed for people who felt like giving up in some area of their lives. We also prayed for those who were dry in their walk with God. This prayer time followed worship at the front end of Monday night. We had people raise their hands if this prayer request fit them and then had various people pray for them on the mike.
As 2009 is winding down, I find myself seeking God for what lies ahead in 2010. As prayer pastor I am excited. We are starting the year 2010 by bringing our prayer service to the first weekend. The services for the first weekend in 2010 will actually be a prayer service for our whole congregation. We will be doing this twice in 2010. Prayer is a priority for us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are Thankful for:
Commitments to Christ 11
Interested in Baptism 1
Unique Comments:
Thank you for sharing His Crazy Love.
Super job - you guys rock!
This is a reminder of God's crazy true love for us!
Fulfilling!
Great! :) Great Reminder for Me!
All I can say is Thank You!
Very Uplifted!
Amazing! Got Holy Spirit goose bumps! :)
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