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Prayer Calendar | |
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Mesa Campus
Room 151/152
NOT 1st Thursday of the month
7PM
Queen Creek Campus
Chapel SE Corner
Rittenhouse & Hawes
Prayer Intercession
Every Worship Service All Campuses
Moms In Prayer International
Mesa Campus
Room 250 Mondays 7PM
North Africa Prayer
2nd and 4th Monday
Underground Faith Prayer 1st Thursday 7PM Mesa Campus Room 254A |
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Threshold Intensive A Big Success
By Paul Covert
This past week pastors and prayer leaders from Canada, Oklahoma, and the West Valley gathered for five days to talk/consult on prayer and prayer ministry.
The days were full, but it went by fast because we were blessed to have several guest speakers. Some of those included Cal, who described what it is like to have a prayer pastor on staff and our interaction. Samson Dunn, one of the pastors who took the Threshold Intensive the last time we offered it, came from an inner city church in Maryvale to speak at the event. I like to say that Samson "drank the Kool aid." He went back to his church and totally revamped the place elevating prayer to a more important position in ministry. With just that one change the church went from 800 to 1500 in the past two years. It has been so cool to watch God work there.
We had Campus Prayer leaders, the head of our Prayer Partner Ministry as well as leaders from our Service Intercession Ministry all describing their positions and answering their questions. It was fabulous.
To read the rest of the article click here.
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New Ahwatukee Prayer Room
Takes Team Work And Prayer
To put together a meaningful, tasteful, inviting, functional, within-budget prayer room in a strip-mall-setting-turned-church-site takes team work and lots of prayer...and a couple miracles. And the new Ahwatukee campus site was blessed with all that and more.
Transformation was needed for the room that had been used for child care prior to Central's acquiring the space to become our newest Prayer Room. When the Ahwatukee Prayer Team got it, there were still 3-D coconuts and monkeys on the walls!
After painting and removal of the coconuts, Cathy Cryer, associate Prayer Pastor in Ahwatukee, was charged with getting the room pulled together. She gathered some things from the previous inhabitants that might be useful in decorating the new Prayer Room, and then went shopping.
To read the rest of the article click here. |
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Former Diamondback Shea Hillenbrand
Visits E-Men's Dinner
By Don Walker
We had an E-Men's Accountability Group quarterly dinner at Central Christian Church's Mesa Campus on Monday evening. This is a group that provides support for one another in prayer and Bible study. As a group, we encourage one another to pray daily for God's guidance and to pray at least monthly for our neighborhood and do intercessory prayer. We also hold one another accountable for exercise and prayer with our wives (or significant other).
Paul Covert leads the group and develops themes for our quarterly meetings. He invited Shea Hillenbrand to come and speak to our group for this meeting. For those of you that don't follow baseball, Shea Hillenbrand was a major league baseball player for seven years. He played for several different teams and was a first baseman for our Diamondbacks at one time. Shea had a goal as a young Little League baseball player to become a Major League player. He dedicated his life to making this happen.
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A U.S. Soldier Shares Prayer Circles In Afghanistan
A U.S. soldier stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan shared another soldier's testimony in an email to his mother in the states. It is an account of the power of prayer that started with a simple exchange of the book by Mark Batterson called the "Circle Maker."
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
"Mom, check out the email I received from a young Lt. who was here with me. The Lord placed it on my heart to give him the prayer circle book. I thought I would share his words with you..."
"Troy,
Things are so wonderful these last few days. I made it home on Friday, and surprised Daniel after school. The circle maker book has been extremely wonderful and I've been covering my wife and our son in constant prayer...."
To read the entire article, click here. |
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E-Men's & E-Women's
Accountability Groups
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." - James 5:16
Helping each other to stay pure and faithful in our walks of faith with Him and praying for each other's struggles are ways members of an "accountability group" keep each other accountable to acting in a holy way.
The E-men's and E-Women's Accountability Groups at Central Christian Church report to each other and try to help each member submit every part of their life to God's will.
They each work on the disciplines of daily prayer, Bible study, praying for their spouse, exercising, reading, and praying for their neighbors. An accountability group can act as a safeguard to overcome sins and behaviors that are out of obedience to God. If one starts to go down a wayward path, the others help to re-direct their focus back to God.
As each one commits to this accountability group and to continually submit their daily lives to Christ, God helps them to mature in their walk with Christ.
To find out more about E-Men's and E-Women's Accountability Groups, or to join one, contact Paul.Covert@CentralAZ.com. |
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A Vessel In Peril And A Woman's Prayer That Stilled A Storm
Mark 4:35-41 tells us the disciples feared for their lives while sailing across a lake during a furious storm. Fortunately for them, Jesus was aboard their vessel. When they awoke him from his sleep, he said, "Peace, be still" and the waters became calm. Are you ever tempted to think that those kinds of miracles do not happen today? Here is another story about a very recent, yet very similar event that brought an Afghan woman to faith in Christ and likely saved her and those with her, from a watery grave. Read this amazing story from assistnews.net.
San Diego Fire; Pastor Requests Prayer: Churches Offer Shelter To Fire Evacuees
At the time of this writing, horrific wildfires are raging in the San Diego, CA area. Churches in San Marcos and other areas near San Diego are stepping up to do what they can. Pastors request prayer. Read more at gospelherald.com.
A Study On The Physical Effects Of Prayer
A new study of MRI brain scans, conducted by Dr. Newberg who is director of research at Thomas Jefferson Hospital and Medical College, reveals that prayer changes things-not only spiritually, but physically as well. In a recent interview, Dr. Newberg, said "It only makes sense if God is up there and we are down here that we would have a brain that is capable of communicating to God, praying to God, doing the things that God needs us to do." Read and watch more in a report at khou.com. You can also read about this topic at wtlx.com.read and watch more
Supreme Court Upholds Prayer
The media was flooded with stories on a historic Supreme Court ruling regarding opening prayers at open town council meetings. This ruling was consistent with a previous ruling in 1983 that proclaimed that prayer is part of the nation's fabric, not a violation of the First Amendment. Read the full story at cbsnews.com. In the days following the ruling, a county commission that had previously stopped opening prayers in 2010, reinstated them. Read about it at wfmynews2.com.
Who Wrote The Serenity Prayer?
Here's one for the history buffs: It seems that there has been some dispute over the origin of the Serenity Prayer. Read more in an article by Fred Shapiro at religionnews.com.
Prayers for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls
At a time when many Americans were celebrating Mother's Day, many in Nigeria and around the globe were praying for the safety and return of the Nigerian school girls who were kidnapped by the radical Islamist group, Boko Haram. There has been extensive media coverage of the kidnappings and many of the reports highlighted the efforts of organized Christian prayer groups. In Nigeria, an organization called Renaissance Family of Nigeria asked that the Christian Association of Nigeria organize three days of prayer and fasting for the girls. Read more at leadership.ng. Here in the U.S., there have been many prayer meetings regarding the girls and their safe return, such as a meeting in a church in Dayton, Ohio. Read about it at whio.com. Watch a similar report at abc22now.com.
National Day Of Prayer Observed
All across the nation, people gathered to pray for the United States of America. Read one of the many, many news reports of local National Day of Prayer events at newsun.com.
Pray: Pregnant Woman Persecuted And Sentenced To Death For Her Christian Faith
A Sudanese court convicted a pregnant woman for refusing to deny her Christian faith. The woman faces death. Her husband told CNN, "I don't know what to do... I'm just praying." Get the full story at cnn.com. Please join her husband in prayer and continue to pray for those Christians around the globe who are persecuted for their faith.
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 Answered Prayer Sometimes Requires Obedient Action by Jeremy Story Jeremy says that prayer must be accompanied by action and gives examples of amazing prayers that required action. Click here to listen |
On Our Knees for Central
The church, like the individuals who comprise it, is in constant need of prayer. Please join us as we ask for God's guidance, help and blessing concerning the following: Read more here |
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