by Tony Lynn
PLYMOUTH, MI – Wanted: 300 champions of prayer. One per church. Male or female. Older teen to adult. Must have experience and the pastor’s recommendation. A person who prays and can influence others to pray. Offer your recommendation to Andrew Parsons at andrew@bscm.org or (810) 714-1955. Convenient, online orientation in October. Launch of year-long prayer emphasis in November. Twelve months of teamwork. Praying for healthy churches, increased salvations/baptisms, empowered disciples of Christ, called-influencers and more churches. Join the statewide team by applying now.
Summary of the Vision
In response to the pastors’ and churches’ interests throughout the state, we are coordinating a five-year movement, with annual initiatives, that offer opportunities for every church to increase its local health, and both its local and global impact by elevating the transforming power of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Free Resources
We are seeking prayer champions, who in response to the local pastor’s leadership, will invite the adults, teens and children of their local church to pray for the health, growth, and increase of churches throughout the state of Michigan. We will provide free, age-graded resources for the adults, teens and children, each month, for twelve months. The prayer champion, in coordination with the local pastor, will share the monthly resource in their local context as they deem most helpful.
Make a Recommendation
Pastors, do you have someone in mind as a prayer champion for the church? Enlist that person then fill out the application here. Both the pastor and prayer champion will receive confirmation and ongoing correspondence. We will need the following information.
Required Information
Name of recommended prayer champion
Prayer champion’s easy-to-contact phone number
Prayer champion’s preferred email address
Prayer champion’s local mailing address
Name of pastor making the recommendation
Pastor’s easy-to-contact phone number
Pastor’s preferred email address
Pastor’s local mailing address
Name of the local church being represented
Church’s easy-to-contact phone number
Church’s preferred email address
Church’s local mailing address
Call to Prayer
In order to continually increase the number of persons and churches involved in this year-long call to prayer, invitations to join the movement will be shared throughout the year. The details on the schedule and resources, listed below, will be made available to churches, pastors and prayer champions starting in October 2020.
Monthly, age-graded, 2-3 minute videos for adults, teens and children will be available that are suitable for churches, small groups and social media.
Monthly written proposals for prayer emphases among adults, teens and children that can be conducted, gathered or scattered, depending on trends with the pandemic.
Quarterly online gatherings where pastors and prayer champions can share updates and celebrate the progress on the year’s prayer emphasis.
Two separate one-hour, online simulcasts (winter and summer) where churches statewide will worship and pray together for the health, growth and increase of churches throughout the state of Michigan.
Annual corporate celebration, during November 2021, at the state’s annual gathering where we will celebrate the past year of prayer and add another important element to the five-year movement.
Final Plea
During 2020, health concerns overturned life as we know it. Radical recommendations were made and residents of Michigan adjusted. What if God’s people, throughout the region, felt a similar urgency when it comes to the spiritual well-being of the state’s churches and residents and we made the pursuit of the Heavenly Father’s desires our priorities during the next year and even the next five years? What might happen? Could the movement be larger than anything that we could ever construct ourselves? I hope so. It all begins with prayer. Will you join me in a united effort of prayer unlike we have ever experienced before?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tony Lynn is the State Director of Missions for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before coming on staff at the BSCM, Tony served as lead pastor for more than six years at Crosspoint Church in Monroe, Michigan. He and his wife, Jamie, also served with the International Mission Board in Africa and in Europe.