Yesterday there was a "vacationer" at our church. He and his family were there for two weeks in a row, vacationing from rural Arkansas. I could tell by his voice and by his questions that he was a pastor, but I didn't confirm that until yesterday. He was a very kind guy and we had several good but brief conversations.
The question that he asked me yesterday caught me by surprise. However, my initial answer almost surprised me even more. He asked me, "To what do you attribute your growth and recent people making professions of faith in our church campus?" Without hesitation I answered by saying "prayer".
My shock was that I'm really beginning to believe that prayer is our main source of strength! I think he was looking for newspaper adds, slick marketing, outreach, BBQ at schools. And all of those would have been good answers, but they are second tier. There is no doubt that because our campus is praying people are starting to get saved. I desire us to be a church campus dedicated to prayer, that is why I'm introducing the second prayer pillar....small group prayer!
Over the next few weeks, I'll be visiting all of our Island small groups to encourage and challenge them. One of the things that I'll be focusing on is getting our small groups praying for our campus here on Hilton Head Island and for the 26,000 people who don't have a church home. In the first church, probably in very small groups, the disciples dedicated themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42-47). We should do the same, and we will! I look forward to seeing all that God will do when our small groups begin to pray!
