On Monday 20th July we are having a day of prayer for mission ideas and the future of our church, as we work together towards reopening for services and outreach in our community. The idea is that each person prays at some point between 8.20 am and 8.20 pm, for as long as they wish.
Then at 8.20 we will all join together for the regular 20 minutes of prayer on the 20th of each month. This is when we pray for 5 people we know who do not yet know Jesus, (or for the growth of our church, if you don't have specific people in mind).
During our 24 hours of prayer for Thy Kingdom Come, many people found it useful to know that others had signed up to pray at specific times. To give us the same sense of community, you will have an opportunity to sign up for a start time so that you will know that others are praying along with you. Of course, if you don’t want to commit to a specific start time that is fine but if you would like to, please click on the link below and this will take you to the Doodle page where you can log a time when you plan to pray.
The prayer ideas from Thy Kingdom Come are still available on the website if you would like to use them. We have also been given some ideas to pray about in a document called 'Reopening our Church Buildings for Worship', which is on the Methodist website. I have added a few of them below for us to consider in our prayers.
What has been the impact of lockdown on your church? What strengths have emerged? In what ways have you been weakened?
What changes in your community have you noticed during lockdown? What new strengths have you observed? What new needs have arisen?
Have any new dreams or visions come to light? What fruit do you long to see in your community?
What have you learned during lockdown as a church that excites you about worship?
What have you learned about evangelism and building relationships with new people?
What have you not grieved for or missed as a church during lockdown? What might you decide not to pick up again?
How have you perceived God’s presence and hiddenness?
What has lockdown taught you about the foundations of your mission as a local church?
Alison Dowsett
Mission & Outreach Team
