DEVOTION TEAM

Team Notes:

  • The "devotion team" is responsible for the following areas of ministry:

    • Intercessors,

    • Lighthouses of Prayer, and

    • Triads of Community Prayer.

    • The Faithful Format is the responsibility of the Pastor and the Chairperson of the ruling Church body.

  • If there are enough Team members, create teams of 3 for each Devotion area. That is, instead of one team being responsible for all of the areas of Devotion, have

    • one team focus on Intercessors,

    • one on Lighthouses of Prayer, and

    • one on Triads of Community Prayer.

    • The Pastor and the Chairperson already make up one team for the Faithful Format.

In Brief:

  • Contact individuals to be on the Intercessor Prayer Team. These folks may or may not actually meet together, but receive monthly updates on prayer concerns and needs. They may be home or nursing home bound. However, they are the key to the success of all of the next steps. They are providing the air cover or protection in the Invisible world so that our efforts in the Visible world may have some effect.

  • Encourage the Congregation to become a Lighthouse of Prayer - praying for 5 of their neighbors on a daily basis.

    Triads are groups of 3 that go out into the community and listen in to the concerns of those in the community. Generally this is done by going out to lunch, listening to what others are talking about, then going somewhere together to pray for those concerns. When there is more than one group, occasional meetings may be held for the Triads to share their learnings about the community.

  • The Faithful Format is the foundational process for building relationships in the Church. These are the steps we use for Small Groups, Committee Meetings, Sunday School classes, Youth Meetings or events, Choir practice, Task groups, any Team meeting. For detailed information, see the Faithful Format section of this web site.

Intercessors:

  • The purpose of finding Intercessors is the theological understanding that our struggle is not one of the Visible world, but one with the Invisible world. (Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ) So... that is where the battle must begin. The people that have the call to deal with this battle, are the Intercessors.
  • The goal for this team is to find those in your fellowship that love to pray. Ask yourself, "Who enjoys praying or who in our fellowship seems to have the ability to have their prayers answered on a regular basis." This probably tells you that this person is able to ask God what to pray for and when they sense God's direction, that is what they pray for. Since they are swimming in "God's stream" their prayers are generally answered on a regular basis.
  • Give them a list of the Steps in the Phase(I, II, III) you are currently working on, to pray for: The Devotion, Discipleship, Deployment steps. List individuals and teams that will be a part of this process. Those individuals and teams will need this prayer coverage.
  • Give them a list with the names of all the Intercessors and ask them to keep one another in prayer on a daily basis. This is a key element. We do not want to ask people to do something that would be dangerous to them, without implimenting a way for them to be protected.
  • Check in with them monthly (or every other month) either by phone or by letter to update them on the positive aspects of their prayers and on current needs. This not only gives them positive feedback, but helps them to focus their prayers for the maximum benefit.

Lighthouses of Prayer: www.hopeministries.org

  • A lighthouse of prayer is an individual, home, or group that prays for those around them (generally they choose 5 people or families to pray for), be they neighbors, work associates, school mates, etc. You pray for 5 basic areas in a persons life and you can do that individually for each person (especially if one person has some special needs) or you can pray for your whole group of people at once.
    • Lighthouses use the acronym BLESS to remember the 5 areas:
      • Body - physical needs, health, energy
      • Labor - work, income, job satisfaction
      • Emotional - inner life, joy, peace
      • Social - family relationships, friends
      • Spiritual - repentance, faith, holiness
  • As a team, practice doing this yourselves for 2 to 3 weeks before encouraging anyone else to do so.
  • After you have keep 5 neighbors or work associates in prayer for 2 to 3 weeks notice:
    • PRAYER FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS (home or work neighbors)
      • Do you know the names of people that you didn't know before?
      • Do you find your attitude toward them is different now, and in what ways?
      • Do you sense any special blessings yourself since praying intentionally for others?
      • Have any of your prayers been answered?
      • Share what you are experiencing with someone else. See if you can encourage them to join you in praying for others. Schedule a time to get together for a meal or a drink to talk about your experiences.
      • After you have recruited one other person to pray for their neighbors, begin to plan how to share this with the whole congregation.
        • Newletter article on your (or your team's) experience
        • Public witnessing to your experience in an attempt to excite & inform others (during Worship if appropriate)
    • CARE FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS
      • Find out what your neighbors may need in their lives
        • Can you do any errands for them? Help them with something?
    • SHARE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS
      • Find a way to let your neighbors know you are praying for them (or have been for the last month)
      • I passed out a Jesus video with an Alpha booklet a microwave popcorn bag and a note
      • The note let them know I was praying for them, that the resources in the bag many people had found helpful in their lives, and maybe they might have some friends they know of that could use some spiritual uplifting. (If they weren't "faithful" already they would probably watch the video or read the booklet before passing them on!)

Triads (see: www.easumbandy.com)

  • Teams of 3 go out into the community to listen: restaurants, park benches, street corners, mall, gas station, etc.
  • Listen to the concerns you hear others share with one another
  • Go back home (church) and spend some time in prayer for the concerns you heard during your time in the community
  • If other teams exist, occasionally meet together to share learnings and insights

Faithful Format