I had heard about and believed in the importance of prayer at the earliest stages of my Christian walk. But the idea of starting everything with prayer took on a whole new meaning in an experience I had in 1995. After years of feeling a stirring to go to a certain country that was very hard to get into for some short term missionary work, the doors had finally opened and I found myself in the lobby of a hotel there. I had traveled with a friend who oversaw all of the mission work our denomination was doing worldwide. I assumed that he would have a plan and schedule for us to follow for our days in country. When I asked him what the plan was for the day he said, “I thought we would just sit here and pray until the Lord gave us some direction.” Those were the last words I was expecting. I was used to planning and scheduling and organizing but I had forgotten the most important thing. Prayer must be at the start of everything. As we prayed that day the Lord answered and began an incredible string of divine appointments that I still rejoice in to this day.

Prayer is the Starting Place of Church Growth

As we begin to discuss various ideas for church growth, it has to begin in prayer. You need to earnestly seek the Lord about His heart for the people in your area and for the world. You need to ask for His direction and His guidance and His wisdom. I would suggest that one possible first step in church growth would be to either start, restart, or revive your existing prayer ministry. There is perhaps no more important a ministry in the Church than that of prayer. Everything, and I mean everything, must start with prayer. We have included a series of articles on the Church Growth Consulting site called “Establishing a Prayer Ministry” that will be helpful for you in getting an effective prayer ministry established at your church.