Dear Brother or Sister in Christ,
Plans for our 100th anniversary are in full swing! Please pray that our various activities from October 10-13 will be honoring to God and a blessing to everyone connected with our church, whether newbies, long-time attenders, or beloved friends and family from days gone by. Pray for our planning team as they do the hard work of preparing and communicating. Pray that they will have the necessary energy, insight, and creativity. Please pray that the word gets out to every single person who might possibly be interested in celebrating with us. Pray that God will receive the praise and honor that He is due for 100 years of His faithfulness! Psalm 126:3 says, “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!”
Please continue praying for our Strategic Leadership Team. The initial rough draft of our mission, vision, and values has been well-received by our church family. We are currently working on a strategic discipleship pathway and we’re thinking through various strategies of how best to accomplish the things to which God has called us. Please pray for perseverance, unity, and sensitivity to God’s leading.
Pray for our 9:30 combined summer services which kick off this Sunday, May 26. Pray that we’ll be effective in getting the word out to everyone. Please pray that God will be honored by our efforts to worship together for His glory. Pray that this combined worship service will foster greater unity between those who normally attend different service hours. Pray that we will deepen in our connection as one church family who enjoys being together, including the occasional times when we need to bear with one another in love. Pray that we’ll share and learn one another’s music, and that we’ll enjoy fellowshipping with one another (even if someone sits in OUR seat!). Pray for our hard-working musicians. Pray that we’ll navigate the various instruments and voices and song preferences in a way that honors God and blesses those around us. Pray for smooth collaboration as we lift up the name of Jesus together.
Pray the words of Philippians 2:1-4 for yourself first, and then for others, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Please pray for summer Sunday School opportunities, and for plenty of help with nursery workers and Kids Church, and other volunteer needs as well. Pray for plenty of good snacks and a welcoming building for first-time visitors as well as us regulars. Pray that we’ll be a people and a place that are a blessing to all, and that we’ll genuinely reflect the heart of God by our attitudes and actions toward one another. Please pray for the summer sermon series from the Minor Prophets of Jonah, Habakkuk, Micah, and Nahum. Pray for the message preparation, delivery, and reception. May we all grow deeper in our faith this summer.
Praise God for a strong finish in so many different school-year ministries. Pray for refueling and re-energizing rest this summer for many of our volunteers. May our vacation times be refreshing, fun, and renewing in all the ways that God intends. Pray for our recent high school and college graduates as they prayerfully pursue God’s next step for them. May they receive the encouragement and direction they need. Pray for effective evangelistic outreach and discipleship this summer through events like summer youth group, kids ministry park nights, the youth challenge event, VBS, the new Wednesday morning adult Bible study on “Women of the Bible,” other Bible studies and small groups, summer Trail Life events, young adult Anchor nights, senior connection potlucks, and more.
Please continue praying through our latest Global Partner flipbooks. Also remember to pray for our three recently added Global Partner couples: two new young couples serving in North Africa, and Kwsind and Lyric Clelland serving at Mokahum.
Please pray for the people in our church who are single, those who are dating, those who are engaged or newly married, and for those of us who’ve been married for quite some time now. Pray for healthy, God-honoring contentment, and for relationships that honor the loving boundaries of God’s good design. Pray for those struggling with loneliness or difficult relationship dynamics. Pray that God will provide all that is needed in each particular, unique situation.
Let’s continue to pray fervently that God will help our church to become more and more the church that He would have us be.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, thank you for praying!
Together for Christ, Pastor Jerry
Becoming deeply devoted followers of Jesus together