Church of God 21 Day Prayer Emphasis Continues
A 21 day prayer emphasis for the Church of God in 2016 has grown compared to last year. This year, in addition to Church of God administrative bishops leading prayer segments, leaders from a dozen or more denominations are participating.
Doug Small, coordinator of Church of God Prayer Ministries says the interest in broadening the prayer effort is a part of the, “growing sense of holy desperation in the nation as well as unity.”
On the first night of the call, the diversity reflected included well-known authors, Henry and Richard Blackaby, Southern Baptist leaders; Jeff Farmer, chairman of the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America; Tony Evans, pastor and radio personality, founder of the Urban Alternative; Gary Frost, prayer coordinator for the Mission America Coalition; Carol Madison, editor of Prayer Connect magazine and Prayer Coordinator for Pulse, a group expecting one million on the Washington Mall to ‘Reset’ the nation on July 16, 2016.
“Black and white, Pentecostal and evangelical, church and para-church, next-gen and established leaders – what a mixture,” Small said.
The call includes Canadian churches as well. Other leaders scheduled to be on the call, praying and casting vision for revival and awakening, include the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ronnie Floyd; Tom Phillips and Rod Barnett of the Billy Graham Association; Kay Horner of the Awakening Alliance and Cry Out America; James Poole of Life Action Ministries; Tom Walker of the Governor’s Prayer initiative and other national leaders.
Each night, hundreds have been joining the nation-wide prayer calls at 9:00 PM EST. The calls last for 90 minutes an include a devotional challenge by a national leader, a time of prayer for the nation, the church and the issues we face, a special next-gen prayer time, and a ‘Look What God is Doing!’ story time of revival and hope.
The devotional guide for the 21 days is “Praying with Jesus – Reset My Devotional Life,” and is available on the website, Americapray.net. The call-in number is (605) 562-3173. Each night, at 10:30 PM EST, a number of afterglows are taking place – for youth, denominations, cities and more. The Church of God is invited to a prayer afterglow led by Administrative Bishops. The special number is (641) 715-3580, Access Code 466086#.
Claude King, Southern Baptist leader is hosting the call with Doug Small. Small says, “The best coalition we could find in the spiritual and moral renewal of our nation is with our evangelical friends.” He and Claude King have made a number of missionary journeys into cities to bring the various streams of church life together. More than a dozen organizations are partnering with the call – The Awakening America Alliance, the Billy Graham Library and Festival Office, Campus Renewal, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Church of God Prayer Ministries, Coalition of Prison Evangelists, Great Commandment Network, Harvest Prayer Ministries, The Joy FM, the Mission America Coalition, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, One Cry, the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America, Prayer-Connect Magazine, the Prayer-Connect Community Leadership Network, PRAY Network, the Prayer Leadership Continuing Education Movement, the Praying Church Movement, RESET, Somebody Cares and Together 2016.
“The voices, from all these diverse movements, lifted in prayer is exhilarating,” Small says. Claude King noted, “We are seeing something that is unprecedented, evidence that God is up to something special.”
The calls continue nightly through January 31. For more information go to www.americapray.net.
