10 Ways to Pray for Our Church

This might be one of the most crucial moments in our church’s history. This week we are preparing to relaunch our Sunday morning services.

For nearly 90 years, our church has held regular services on Sunday mornings. Though we have occasionally experienced brief interruptions, we have never had to relaunch after a global pandemic. This is new territory for all of us. And so, more than ever, we need to be praying for our church.

Here are 10 ways we can pray. It might be tempting to quickly read through this list. But I want to invite you to pause at each paragraph and spend a moment in prayer. And if you are able to, revisit this list throughout the week and continue to pray for our church.

1. Pray for Health and Safety.

As we relaunch our church services, we have maintaining everyone’s health and safety as a top priority. This has led us to making some changes in the church services, such as spreading out the chairs, going to two services on Sunday mornings, and refraining from congregational singing. Not all of these decisions were easy to make. Please join us in praying that these precautions will be effective, and that they will only be needed temporarily.

2. Pray for Those Who are Hurting

Nearly everyone has been impacted by Covid-19. For some, the pandemic resulted in relatively minor inconveniences. For others, their lives have been forever impacted by the virus and the surrounding circumstances. Please join us in praying for those in our church and the surrounding communities who are hurting right now.

3. Pray for People to Come Back to Church

We are hoping that everyone who calls Crossfield Baptist their home church will come back to our Sunday morning services soon. While it might have been important for everyone to self-isolate for the past few months, it is also important that we start gathering again as a church. We can see in Scripture that community is incredibly important in the life of the Believers.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as

some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another

— and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

Please join us in praying that people will be eager to gather again and that we may spur one another on toward love.

4. Pray for Those Who Will Be Staying Home

It is understandable that there will be some who cannot gather with us on Sunday morning. It is good that those who are at risk and that those who have health concerns make the wise decision to stay home. This is why we are still Live Streaming our Sunday services. May everyone who will be staying home still find ways to connect with Jesus, and with the rest of the church family.

5. Pray for Our Volunteers

Volunteers are a vital part of our church and our various ministries. During the pandemic, some of our volunteers needed to stay involved the entire time. However, some ministries stopped completely. Hopefully, those who were involved in those ministries were able to enjoy a time of rest. But soon we will need all our volunteers back and ready to serve. In fact, we will likely need more volunteers than ever before. May the Holy Spirit guide everyone in our church to become fully engaged. Both in big and small ways.

6. Pray for Refreshment

The Word of God makes it clear that everyone needs to take a Sabbath rest every week. This is not just a break from our jobs; rather, it is a time to focus on God and experience true refreshment of our souls. May this break from regular church gatherings serve as an opportunity for us to refocus on Christ and his mission. May we come back to our gatherings rested and excited to worship together.

7. Pray for Patience and Understanding

As we begin to gather again on Sunday mornings, it is clear that we are starting a “new normal.” Our Sunday morning services will look different for the first while. And some things may never go back to “normal.” Please join us in praying for patience and understanding as we slowly relaunch our church services. It is important that we do not rush this process.

8. Pray for Wisdom

We are trusting that the Holy Spirit is guiding us through the relaunch process. While we want to be cautious and follow the guidelines presented by Alberta Health, we are also optimistic about the future and trust that Jesus is still sovereign over his church. Please pray that the church leadership will be able to make wise decisions as we relaunch.

9. Pray for Unity

Now more than ever, unity in our church is vitally important. There are many concerns in the world and details about the relaunch that could distract the church. They could even divide the church. But it is important that we keep our primary focus on Jesus. May Jesus be our first love and may this lead us into greater unity.

10. Pray for God to be Glorified

Ultimately, as we relaunch the church, our hope should be that God will be glorified through everything we do. May Jesus be delighted with how we work together in this relaunch process. And may he receive all the praise and honour as we relaunch well.

Thank-you for praying for our church.