Design And Establish A

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Design And Establish A
Prayer Room
In Your Church
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and
thankful. Colossians 42, NIV
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Most Christians agree that prayer is fundamental
to the health and growth of a church. Yet, sadly,
many churches dont have a place set aside in
their facility specifically dedicated to
prayer. This presentation is designed to give
some ideas for developing and establishing a
prayer room in your church. For illustrative
purposes, we draw from the prayer room and prayer
ministries at Central Assembly of God in
Springfield, Missouri. Obviously, every church is
unique. Size of facility and congregation,
ministries of the church, and makeup of the
church body all enter into the equation of
creating such a room. Yet, it is our hope that
this example will provide you with ideas and
encouragement as you build the prayer ministry in
your own church.
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This presentation is directed at the leader of
prayer ministries in your church. As such, it is
important that you seek God for a unique and
clear vision of what this prayer room can and
ought to become within your congregation.
However, for general reference, we want to share
Central Assemblys stated purpose for their
prayer room The purpose of The Prayer Room _at_
Central is ultimately to carry out Centrals
vision and to create a culture of prayer. More
than a room, The Prayer Room is a place where
people can learn about prayer, experience Gods
presence, and pray together a place of strategic
significance, where you can pray for the world,
our country, and our city a place of connection
where you can pray for our staff, our church, and
other people a place of deep, sincere connection
with God.
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The Prayer Room Visibility
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A prominent sign directing people to the prayer
room can accomplish at least two goals First, it
reminds churchgoers that prayer is a central part
of how they worship God, grow as believers, and
reach the community. Giving visibility to the
prayer room helps to highlight the importance
your church places on prayer. Second, such
visibility reminds churchgoers that theres a
room devoted to prayer waiting just for them.
Their prayers are needed. After all, the best of
intentions often gets lost in the busy-ness of
life. A reminder to pray is a good thing. At
Central Assembly, the prayer sign is clearly
visible at the main entrance. There are many
ways you might accomplish this a signpost, a
framed sign, a painted arrow worked into the
décor of the wall. See what works best for your
church.
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The Prayer Room Visibility
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Try to provide clear, visible signage for the
prayer room. Its important that people in the
congregation are able to find it easily. This is
especially true in larger facilities, or when the
prayer room also functions as a classroom or
serves another purpose during Sunday or Midweek
activities. A special note on this subject If
possible, it is good to locate the room on the
main floor of the church. Some people will have
difficulty accessing the prayer room if they have
to climb stairs.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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While it is desirable that the church have a room
exclusively devoted to prayer, this is not always
practical, or even possible. As a result, the
prayer room often doubles as a class room,
nursery, or even storage room. In the case of
Central Assembly, as the photo depicts, the room
is used every week for a Sunday School class. In
such cases, it is still possible to give the room
a clear, powerful prayer focus. The following
pictures will demonstrate how even a shared room
can be uniquely focused on prayer ministry.
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Before moving on, its also important to note
that the prayer room need not be particularly
large, or even highly decorated. A small, simple
room devoted to prayer ministry will bring about
the kind of spiritual fruit in a church that only
eternity will fully reveal.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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A great way to decorate the prayer room is by
highlighting specific prayer needs and emphases
within the church. The Central Assembly prayer
room has a bulletin board featuring every member
of the pastoral staff and their families. We do
well to remember our church leadership in our
prayers regularly.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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Similarly, the board members and their families
are highlighted for prayer in the prayer room.
You might want to expand on this in your prayer
room by listing or picturing youth leaders,
childrens ministry leaders, Sunday School
teachers, or other leaders in your church. Again,
we encourage you to tailor your room to fit the
unique ministries and personality of your
congregation.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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A computer monitor highlights specific needs in
the area of missions around the world. AG World
Missions provides valuable software and equipment
to makes this possible. More information is
contained below. The World Missions Touchscreen
software enables prayer partners to have the
world at their fingertips.  A computer
touchscreen allows us to meet our missionaries
through videos, biographies and prayer requests,
which are regularly updated, and learn what God
is doing in the more that 200 countries and
territories where our missionaries live and
work.  Visit worldtouchscreen.ag.org to learn
more.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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A bulletin board is available that allows members
of the congregation to present their own prayer
needs, as well as praise reports for answered
prayer.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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A map of the world serves as a reminder to pray
for needs around the planet. You might enhance
this feature by highlighting specific world
missionaries and ministries supported by your
church. Some prayer rooms will post pictures of
the missionaries around the map, then draw lines
or string thread to their specific locations.
This can help put a face to the support your
church gives to ministries throughout the world.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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In a similar way, a map of our nation is
featured. As with the world map, you might
highlight ministries and missionaries your church
supports around the country. In addition, you
could invite members of the congregation to share
needs regarding cities or regions of the country
they call home. This is especially valuable if
you have a large college population in your
church. And, in our increasingly mobile society,
more and more of us have relocated to our current
homes from far-off corners of the country.
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The Prayer Room Ministry
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The city map allows you to highlight specific
ministries and outreaches engaged in by your
congregation throughout the community. You might
also feature a specific school, neighborhood, or
pertinent need from the community on a regular
basis. This serves the dual purpose of
encouraging prayer for your city and helping to
develop a heart and passion for the community
among your congregation.
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The Prayer Room Versatility
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Note that if your prayer room also serves as a
classroom, you can still arrange it specifically
for prayer during much of the week. If it must be
used as a classroom, seek to ensure that it is
open for prayer during the morning service. One
of the most powerful displays of prayer ministry
occurs when prayer partners seek God on behalf of
the pastor and congregation during that
hour. Also consider configuring the room in a
way that promotes intimate prayer whenever
possible. In the picture just viewed, the room is
set up for Sunday School. However, the chairs can
be placed in a circle or even lined up as an
altar in front during most of the week. In the
same way, installing lighting that can be dimmed
can be more cost effective than one might
imagine, especially if there is someone in the
church qualified to install it on a volunteer
basis.
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We again encourage you to tailor your prayer room
according to your unique congregation, facility,
and budget. The fundamental goal is to provide a
dedicated place for prayer in your church. Only
eternity will reveal the fruits of committed
prayer within your church, be they focused on
your congregation, your community, and throughout
our world.
Be sure to check out our Web site for
additional resources on establishing a prayer
room and equipping a prayer ministry, at
www.prayer.ag.org