DAY to PRAY letter
August 2025
Discernment & Preparation
Pastor Carrie Butler | CTK Network Prayer
Faithful Intercessors,
As we continue to enjoy this gorgeous summer, we are also in a season of discernment and preparation. This is the time when leaders, teams and volunteers pause to pray, listen, and discern what the Lord is inviting us into for the ministry year ahead, even as ministry is still very much happening!
God is always at work restoring, renewing, and drawing people to Himself. Our desire is to listen to him closely, discerning his voice and guidance in prayer, responding in obedience. We are not making plans for God to bless—at least we try not to! We are asking the Spirit to show us where he is working and how we can partner with him there, serving him and his purposes above our own. To be quite frank, this is hard work! Surrendering your vision, agenda, experience, understanding, hopes and even your own wiring and gifting requires a great amount of trust and sacrifice. So, we invite you to join us in asking:
- Lord, what are you calling us as a church to say “yes” to this fall?
- Where are you already moving, and how can we follow you there?
- What needs to die so something new can grow?
- How can we encourage and support each other in this work?
While you’re there, ask the Lord what He might be calling you into this fall. What might need to change in your life or schedule to say yes? What might need to die so that new life can grow in you and others? Where might he be asking you to step out in courage and faith? Who do you need around you to do this work? Proverbs 16:3 reminds us to “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” As we commit our lives to the Lord, we wait in expectation for his plans to be revealed.
As always, if you need further guidance on how to pray for our community and the world, grab one of the guides from 24-7 Prayer to cover a specific topic.
It’s an honor to pray with you, and I hope you encounter Jesus afresh today.
With you in unity,
Carrie
CHRIST THE KING PRAYER GUIDE
This is the prompt provided to the ministry leaders this month:
As you pray and prepare for fall ministry, what are a few ways you need the Lord to provide for your team, the people you serve, and what you believe the Lord is calling you to in the next season?
CTK Staff (from Melonie Kemp, Executive Pastor)
Hello Prayer Warriors!
Our staff teams are deep into fall planning mode, and we’re so excited about all that’s coming for our congregation and community this upcoming season!
Many team members are taking a bit of well-deserved summer vacation right now—mostly staycations this year (which makes perfect sense given where we live!). Would you join me in praying for the kind of rest and replenishment that truly restores them as we wrap up summer rhythms and turn toward Fall?
Meanwhile, our Blessing Team, including our Response Team and Farm Team ministries, aren’t slowing down—they’re actually running full throttle. Please pray specifically for sustainable pace, moments of rest in the midst of the work, and strength as they continue to serve with love and faithfulness.
At the same time, we have several staff members who are walking through very difficult personal circumstances. Some are battling ongoing health issues—several of them quite serious. Others are caring for family members facing dementia, brain tumors, and other forms of cancer. A few have experienced the unexpected loss of a loved one.
Thank you for continuing to lift up our staff members in prayer, especially those who are struggling. Their lives are full of joy, sorrow, and everything in between—just like many of yours. Your prayers are seen, felt, and deeply appreciated.
With gratitude,
Melonie
Connections (from Angel Finsrud, Connections Pastor)
- As the Connections Team heads into fall, we are praying for God's eyes to see those who are disconnected and for systems and plans that help those people move from disconnected to discipled. Not only experiencing connection in community, but experiencing biblical community where they have opportunities to know and be known, to serve and be served and to grow in their faith & knowledge of God.
Worship & Creative (from Anna Claire Forney, Creative Coordinator)
- Please pray that good connection and community happens on our team this Fall and that the Lord would provide vision & resources as we embark on some bigger events! We have One Church 2025 and an All-Campus Team Dinner - so please pray that the Lord would weave all of the big and small details together, and that he would be magnified.
Adults (from Julie Burleson, Lead Adults Pastor)
- We are praying that God will give us wisdom and discernment as we plan a fun and full fall, with offerings that will help our church family get connected to biblical community in ways they haven't before. We are also asking for favor, and that the Holy Spirit will go before us, moving in people's hearts and minds and guiding them toward their next step in their walk with God alongside each other. We believe that God is calling us to help people find the right people to grow in deep and meaningful relationship with, and want to be faithful to that in this next season.
Young Adults (from Jake Hruza, Young Adults Pastor)
- This fall, our young adult rhythm will have both large group settings and small group settings. The small group settings will be in the homes of our young adult mentors. Our prayer is that these in-home groups will be safe and vulnerable spaces that teach and equip our young adults to engage more in our Community Groups at CTK. Please pray that young adults experience something more than a social connection; that they experience true discipleship in a community of Jesus followers who are walking in the power and love of the Holy Spirit.
UNITED / Students (from Josh Lease, Students Pastor)
- Pray for our staff and volunteers to abide in Christ as we go into Go Camp and the school year. Pray that we are more concerned with what He is doing than our tactical plans.
- Pray for students to come expectant to Go Camp. Pray that they would all have a genuine encounter with Jesus that would lead to surrender to Him. Pray that students would experience healing and deliverance from sin patterns, lies, anxiety, and more.
- Pray for 3 male volunteers to join our middle school ministry going into the fall. We are in need of these guys to have capacity for male students next school year.
- Pray for all of our volunteer needs to be met for Go Camp and united.
- Pray for community to be solidified at Go Camp that would carry into the school year.
Kids & Family (from Duane Weaver, Children’s Pastor)
- Pray for a hunger in the lives of our children to know Jesus not only as God the Son and Savior, but as a trusted friend and companion with whom they experience all of life. For this to happen, priorities in life may need to be adjusted, not only for the children, but also for those who guide and mentor them, including parents, CTK Kids Staff, and Volunteers.
- As always, we are praying for additional volunteers to be deployed into the harvest field. With the busy Fall ministry schedule, we could use 40 new volunteers to serve 2 weekends a month, and another 14-16 serving weekly with Encounter Crews and Midweek childcare ministries.
Prayer (from Carrie Butler, Prayer Pastor)
- This has been a season of reflection, looking back over the last two years since I took the role as Prayer Pastor, and all of the ways we have been inviting people to grow in their understanding and experience of prayer. It has also been a season of asking “where do we go from here?” Because the opportunities to pray can be endless! Please pray for wisdom and discernment to capture a vision for where the Lord is leading us as a body. You can ask the Lord with me, “how do you want to make your name known through us and the way we partner with your Spirit in prayer?”
Blessing (from Nathan Ford, Outreach Team Director)
- The Blessing team as a whole is in a season of personal trials through physical pain, loss and grieving, continual difficult conversations, and unmet expectations. While each of our ministry areas feels meaningful and in full swing, the fall is definitely where the repair and internal work happens for us as it slows down significantly. Pray for our team to press into the trust and relationship of one another, knowing that we do not bear our burdens alone. Prayer that we continue to press even deeper into the available intimacy God is offering. That we do not shy away from the hard work we know is transformative.
Global Missions (from Tracy Hull, Global Missions Director)
For the Agape Restoration Home in Belize:
- Praise report - the home has officially opened and welcomed the first girls, all minors, rescued from trafficking.
- Prayer request - Pray for the girls hearts and minds, as rescue is the first of many steps in the process of healing and restoration. Pray for patience, love, compassion and endurance for the house moms, counselors and staff as they pour their hearts into the girls lives and create a safe home.