How should we pray for church revitalization? Part 1

How should you pray for church revitalization? This is a question that every church in need of revitalization should thoughtfully consider.

FBCAE is in the midst of a major prayer emphasis. We have been calling this prayer emphasis 40 Strong. This ministry is built around 6 prayer pods and numerous individual people that have committed to pray around 7 areas of purposed prayer. Each prayer pods is comprised of 4 persons. Additionally, we have at least 16 persons who have agreed to pray at-home.

I sense that God desires for us to pray very specifically. God is a God of the specifics. In fact, the Devil isn't in the details -- our sovereign God is in the details! So, as I began to understand the power of prayer as part of the strategy of church revitalization I was led to consider...What does a revitalized church look like? What must happen for us to be considered a revitalized church?

As part of those discussions we established 7 purposed areas of prayer. I would like to explain the first three of the areas of purposed prayer. Next week I will take some time to explain the other four areas of purposed prayer.

1. Revival


We aren't praying that we have the wisdom to calendar a revival. We are praying that God does something special and supernatural. We pray that God's people repent of their sins and experience a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit among His people.

J. I. Packer defined revival as "God's quickening visitation of his people, touching their hearts and deepening his work of grace in their lives."

Stephen Olford defined revival as "the sovereign act of God, in which He restores His own backsliding people to repentance, faith and obedience."

2. Spiritual Growth of our membership...

I have long held to a personal motto of "making and maturing believers." This is language that is borrowed from the Great Commission. Sure the GC is about evangelism and spreading the message of Christ. But, their is a clear directive about teaching those that have been made into disciples and baptized. I sense the church in America is weak because we abandoned the practice of growing and maturing disciples. In the past, we were thrilled to see large crowds and the baptism of hundreds of thousands. But, it seems we never moved most of them past the waters of the baptismal pool. We didn't find them mentors, we didn't establish Bible reading plans they could follow, we didn't personally see to the fact they grew in Christ. And, today there is an absence of "spiritual giants" due to a lack of tending to the spiritual growth fields.

3. Willingness of church members to serve/give/go.

We are praying that members understand their time, talents, and treasures aren't theirs. We pray that ALL members and regular attenders will be generous with their resources -- ALL of their resources. We pray that people will go wherever God calls them. We pray that people will understand their financial resources are really a blessing from God and that we should sacrificially give to the local church and its efforts to accomplish the mission of God. And, we pray that God's people will serve in a variety of areas. The Scriptures record the fact that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. We pray that our members model the ministry of Christ and joyfully serve.

Part 2:

4. Worship
5. Specific prospects and lost individuals by name
6. Specific Ministries
7. Fulfillment of the Great Commission.