DAY OF PRAYER

CHRIST THE KING PRAYER GUIDE

This is the submission prompt provided to the ministry leaders this month:

As we invite our church family to go deeper, choosing a life of sacrifice to become more like Jesus, what are some ways you are doing that in each of your ministries, and how can we pray for transformation by the Spirit? How are you seeing people engage? What are they responding to in terms of teaching, classes, invitations, etc? What are some of the roadblocks you are seeing to becoming? 

CTK Staff (from Melonie Kemp, Executive Pastor)

The Church, certainly in the U.S., has been navigating a challenging season, and many of us sense it has become harder to be the Church in today’s world. Even as believers, our identities are sometimes more shaped by cultural, political, and media voices than by life with Jesus.  As a result, beneath all the activity and all the opinions, there is a quiet persistent questioning about how to be the Church in today’s world. 

I shared recently in our staff chapel that what we need most right now isn’t a clever strategy, but a clearer vision of who Jesus is. A deeper understanding of Him that exists above the noise of culture - both inside and outside of the church.

A more consistent encounter with His presence must come first. Because before we ask what we are called to do, we need to be clear about who we are following. From this place, the purpose of His Church in the world comes into greater focus. 

Please pray for our staff as we continue to work and live in these tensions:

• for wisdom and discernment as we listen to God together and pray for what comes next;
• for leaders and volunteers - especially those willing to invest relationally and spiritually;
• for a continued, deepening hunger for God that leads to spiritual transformation. Specifically, the commitment of those who long to see others transformed (not just helped situationally, but transformed);
• for protection from discouragement and fatigue; and
• for courage to engage the needs of our community with hope and faithfulness.

Connections (from Angel Finsrud, Connections Pastor)

• Pray that people who are new and coming back to faith are able to find their right next step in getting to know Jesus or becoming more like Him, and that we as a church family welcome them well into those spaces.

Worship & Creative (from Ivelice Cuenca, Worship Pastor)

• Please pray that the Lord will continue to strip away any desire for recognition and that he will replace our 'stage presence' with his Presence. Pray that the unity we show will be a reflection of the Spirit, not just a tight rehearsal, and that we will have ears to hear what God is doing in the room. If He wants to linger in a moment, please pray that we will have the courage to stay.
• I see people engage in relationships with the congregation, one another and during our backstage prayer times.
• Our team responds to teachings about becoming who God made us to be, hardships, and engaging in classes that help us go deeper.
• Common roadblocks for us are busyness and fast-paced lifestyles. Having more time where we can linger or just be helps us to slow down and gives opportunity for us to listen to God.

Adults (from Julie Burleson, Lead Adults Pastor)

• We are excited and celebrating that we are seeing people say yes to taking classes and opportunities that help them know God more so they can be transformed by him (Hearing God, various Bible studies, Making Space for Becoming Like Jesus) or work through things that may be keeping them from God (Beauty for Ashes). 
• We know that saying yes to becoming more like God is hard, and that it takes continued dedication and a community committed to walking alongside you. We also know that people have a lot of things competing for their attention, and saying yes to becoming isn’t always an easy choice. With those things in mind, we are praying for steadfastness for those who have said yes, and for the Holy Spirit to move in those who haven’t yet, knowing that it's never too late to take the opportunity to open your life to be shaped by God. We will keep offering opportunities and are prayerful that God will move. 

Young Adults (from Jake Hruza, Young Adults Pastor)

• Young adults are going deeper by studying the topic, What is the Gospel? At its core, this topic challenges the church's hypersalvation culture and asks whether making a decision to be either in or out is what Jesus actually preached as the gospel. Scripture shows us he didn't, and so to exchange our views for what Jesus actually said and did is a beautiful sacrifice and a clear path to becoming more like him.

• Please pray that the Holy Spirit will meet young adults in this study and reveal Jesus and the Father. If young adults can clearly see the Father and the Son in scripture, I believe they'll begin to grasp the kingdom as Jesus preached it, and demonstrated it.

• Young adults are showing up and having hard conversations, engaging with what they are learning, in prayer and with one another.

• Some of the roadblocks I see are pride, fear, unforgiveness, shame, insecurity, blame, idolatry. I think in young adult ministry, our greatest roadblock to becoming like Jesus is the self. It's to protect self, serve self, and promote self. It's only in laying down our own life and picking up our cross daily, that we have any chance at being with him, becoming like him, and doing what he did.

UNITED / Students (from Josh Lease, Students Pastor)

• Students are in a series on prayer right now and we are witnessing them engage in practices to grow their relationships with God. We are also preparing for our winter retreats, where we know life changing encounters will take place. Please pray for protection over each student, for the roots to go deep and be lasting, and for our volunteer team in their own formation journeys. 

Kids & Family (from Duane Weaver, Children’s Pastor)

• As we enter this season, our Sunday classes are focused on helping kids connect with Jesus and experience transformation as they get to know Jesus and His great love for them. It is our goal that the children and our volunteers experience the reality that because of Jesus, we are made new! The Gospels are not merely an ancient story disconnected from the lives of our children, but they show us a living reality that has the power to reach into each of our lives and change the very core of who they, the children, and we, the leaders, are.
• In Encounter Crews, we are seeing steady growth in the number of children joining us to grow deep in their faith as they participate in Biblical Community through their community group, and learn the foundations of their faith. We have been studying in greater depth who God is in the Bible and how we relate to him.
• In addition to praying for these outcomes to be realized, we need people to join us in helping lead the children. Lessons of faith are rarely learned didactically, but relationally, as the lessons are lived out before them in the flesh and blood of leaders who demonstrate the love and character of Jesus with them. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest send His workers into the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

Prayer (from Carrie Butler, Prayer Pastor)

• We are celebrating that 60+ people signed up to learn how to hear God better, along with a group of amazing table facilitators to help them process their experience. This is huge! It means people are hungry and want to grow in their relationships with Jesus through prayer. The Ministry Prayer Team continues to love and serve those who come forward for prayer on Sundays, while they themselves are often stepping out in faith to ask for desperate needs. A highlight from January was witnessing middle schoolers practice Breath Prayer after they learned what it means to be still with Jesus. Please pray that what people are learning and experiencing will continue, even when the doubts and fears creep in. Pray for openness to receive what God has for them, and that they would allow their hearts to be shaped in prayer.

Blessing (from Nathan Ford, Outreach Team Director)

• With the CTK Farm, we are searching for gleaning coordinators to better salvage food throughout the county and distribute even more of the Lord’s provision to Whatcom County. The invitation is for members to step up and into this leadership role. 
• With Response Teams, we’re bolstering our leadership and making some long-term plans for the people the Lord is inviting into the leadership team. The invitation seems to be to enter deeper into relationships with one another and the understanding of what Jesus is doing throughout projects.