A Different Kind of Prayer List: is your church ready for Easter Visitors?

by Steve Gladen

This weekend I went to a home improvement store. I needed help from two different departments on two issues I had in my home. As I walked into the spacious warehouse, lost at where to go, I started my quest to find the right person to help me buy the right product to end my nightmare problem at home. Now I could go into a lot of details, but the bottom line is I left that store two hours later, frustrated and no closer to finding my answer than when I walked in the door. Feeling aggravated, lost and frustrated; the Lord used that situation to help me make sure what I experienced in that store, people wouldn't feel at our church.

So what do people feel in your church? Do they leave your church no better than when they walked in the door? Do you have lots of new people and yet your church doesn't grow? Do just as many people walk in the door as those that walk out the back door? Take a look at these different types of prayer tips and ask yourself where you rate in each area, 1 to 10.

You can learn a lot about a person by the kind of prayer he prays.

For leaders, there's a model prayer in the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah. Remember Nehemiah? When he first heard about the downfall of Jerusalem, he prayed for four months.

This was not just a casual prayer. It gives us a pattern for successful praying. If you want to know how to pray, you should study the book of Nehemiah - particularly this prayer.

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I really didn't want to write this article. But I know you can't talk about spiritual health without talking about this topic. In the past, when I preached about it or wrote about it, I always felt a gnawing inadequacy. If you were to chart my ministry and spiritual journey, there would be large gaps where this spiritual practice has been missing in action.

So, let me shoot straight with you. I struggle with my prayer life. 

The Power of Vulnerability

If we're not willing to make ourselves vulnerable, it's hard to expect that those we lead will feel the freedom to.

We found a couple of videos that speak well to this.

 [HT: Matt Hodgson, regional leader for Small Group Network in PA, NJ, NY] 

with Carolyn Taketa

One of the most frequently asked questions in Small Group Network Huddles is, "What curriculum are you using?"  And rightfully so!  

It is important to every Small Group practitioner that their groups are using curriculum that is engaging, yet not superficial; enjoyable, yet transformational and relevant and Biblically based. In today's global market there are plenty of studies to choose from.  However, there rarely seems to be that "perfect fit".  When reviewing curriculum one can almost always say, "I wish they would have done this differently".  So what do you do?

Well... meet Carolyn Taketa, small group veteran & expert. She'll help us think through it. 

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