Pastor Jerry’s Prayer Letter - January 24, 2025

Jan 26, 2025 |

Dear Brother or Sister in Christ,

2024 is now over, so I’ve changed the name of this prayer letter from the “Vision 2024 Prayer Letter” to “Pastor Jerry’s Prayer Letter.” Regardless of what this letter is called, it’s absolutely vital that our church continues to be a praying church in the years ahead, whether that be for another 100 years, or whatever the Lord wills. We need to practice an attitude of total dependence upon God, so that we’ll keep in step with Him, and remain focused on His priorities over and above our own. Psalm 127 reminds us, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” John 15:5 teaches us that apart from Him, we can do nothing. 

Please pray for our two search committees. We are prayerfully seeking a new Facility Supervisor as well as a Pastor of Youth and Young Adults. Pray that we’ll find just the right people to fill these vital ministry roles. Pray for strength, wisdom, and endurance for the members of these search teams. Also please pray for our Trustees and Elders, including our newly elected officers who recently joined these boards this month. Pray for unity and alignment of the men and women serving together to oversee our finances and facilities, and our spiritual care and direction for the church. Pray for spiritual maturity and godliness in each decision that’s made by these two boards. Please pray the same for the other various committees and teams throughout our church. May our church be filled with godly servants in every leadership position, as well as in every area of service, from the youngest to the oldest, from up front to behind the scenes.

Pray for the ongoing ministry of GriefShare. Pray for comfort and healing for those who’ve lost a loved one. Pray for our Visitation Caregiver, Tom Halverson, and the many volunteers who serve with him in reaching out to those who are homebound, sick, or in the hospital. Pray that our church will continue to love one another well. Ask God to help us be aware of the needs and to meet them as best we can. Pray for the ministry of our Servant Team and our Meal Train and other related care ministries.

Pray for our Global Partners. Pray for their mental, physical, and spiritual health. Pray for financial provision. Pray for favor with the governing authorities who determine their paperwork approvals and other details. Pray for inroads with the various people and cultures in which they serve. Pray for language skills and the ability to get discipleship materials and Bibles in the people’s mother tongue. Pray for spiritual protection from our enemy, the devil. Pray that our Global Partners and our local church will be in step with the Lord as He builds His Church in every nation, and among all peoples. Praise God that the gates of Hades will not overcome (Matthew 16:18). Stop by the Global Partner hallway at church to learn more ways to pray.

Pray for our Trail Life ministry to boys and young men. Pray for their ice fishing event on Saturday, January 25. May these young men grow in godliness and become more and more like Jesus. Pray for our church’s Annual Celebration and Vision meeting on Sunday, January 26. Ask God to help us be truly grateful to Him for the great things He has done over the past year. Pray that we will have clear vision and direction for ministry in the year ahead. Please take time to read through the written report which will be available on Sunday, and pray for all of these ministries as you feel led. Pray for our Women’s Overflow event on Monday, January 27. Pray that it will be an encouraging and inspiring time of building each other up, and learning about the ministry of hospitality. 

Looking ahead to February, please continue to pray for our many ongoing weekly and monthly ministries. Pray for God-honoring worship, instruction, and fellowship. Pray for effective gospel outreach. Pray for plenty of good help and godly service, as we all join together in using our spiritual gifts for God’s purposes. Pray for God to fill in our current volunteer gaps in our Welcome Team and Wednesday night youth group, and any others you’re aware of. Pray for a few more folks to join our choir. Please pray for our Family Valentine’s Banquet on February 8. Pray for other specific ministry events and things on the calendar as they come to mind.

Praise God for His financial provision for our church through the generous and worship-filled giving of His people. Pray that we’ll begin 2025 strong and that we’ll fully meet our budget this year. Pray for our mortgage to be paid off soon, and ask God to give us wisdom and unity in how to steward and reallocate those dollars in the years ahead. Pray for the growing upkeep and maintenance costs of our aging facility. Pray that we’ll find effective and affordable solutions and fixes as needs arise. And pray that we’ll have the discernment and foresight to know what to work on first, and what can wait. Pray also for direction and provision for our technology needs.

Please pray for the ongoing preaching and teaching ministries of our church. Pray for the Sunday sermons, Sunday School classes, Bible studies, Life Group discussions, and more. Pray that all of these teachings would be rooted in God’s Word and protected from errors and heresy. Thinking back on our church history of KNB classes, “Know Your Bible,” let’s pray that we will be a church filled with deeply devoted followers of Jesus who know their Bible well. Pray that we will know it and obey it, and be changed by it as we live it out for God’s glory. May we be blessed by God’s Word personally, and may we be a blessing to those around us, as we live it out in their proximity. May we be like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit and prospers (Psalm 1).

Let’s continue to pray, daily, for those who are spiritually lost and have not yet chosen to follow Jesus. Pray that every one of our church ministries, and each one of us Christ-followers, will pursue opportunities to share the gospel message. Pray for readiness in us to share, and pray for readiness in others to hear and receive the Good News. Ask God to make us eager and bold in our witness. Pray that we’ll be watchful for God-ordained times and places where the gospel can be rightly explained, and then understood and received by those who need it. Pray for soft hearts and listening ears for our lost friends, relatives, neighbors, classmates, coworkers, etc. 

Pray that we’ll be a welcoming church to newcomers, and a friendly and loving church to everyone, old and new. Pray for our worship committee, worship leaders, and worship teams as we prepare for our services each week. May God be glorified as we bring Him our best efforts and as we keep our worship focused on Him alone. As always, let’s continue to pray that God will help us to become more and more the church that He would have us be.

Together for Christ, Pastor Jerry 

Becoming deeply devoted followers of Jesus together