Church growth is about churches putting down deep roots into God’s unconditional love while growing outward in love for their communities – so that others might experience this love too.
It’s about being fully alive in Jesus Christ and all he wants the church to be.
A prayer for breakthrough
God of love, God for all
Your purposes are more beautiful than we can possibly imagine.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit.
Help us let go of all that holds us back.
Open our lives and our churches to new seasons of humility and faith, of change and growth.
Shake us up with the good news of Jesus and show us the way.
Amen.
A prayer of praise
God of all grace,
we praise you as the root and source of every mission:
the Shepherd who knows each name,
the woman who lights a lamp and will not give up until the lost coin is found.
You go after the lost with love that will not tire.
You call us, find us, carry us home,
and rejoice over every return.
Praise to you, God of compassion and purpose,
who sends your people to search,
to care, to restore,
until all creation is gathered in your joy.
Amen.
Imaginative prayer
This imaginative prayer is from Our Church’s Future Story. It’s a way to discern where God might be leading you to focus your missional activities in the season ahead.
Pause for a moment, remember God gazing on you with great love. Ask God to guide your imagination as you pray.
Imagine Jesus gazing at the globe. Imagine how he is moved as he looks at the earth.
Imagine Jesus’ focus narrows to look at your church/community.
Gazing at the church/community, what happens in Jesus’ heart? What is the expression on his face?
As you move through the church doors, follow Jesus’ gaze. What does he see? What does he notice?
In your imagination, what time of day is it, who is present and what is happening? Who or what is Jesus drawn to?
Is there an event, a group, a particular place or individual where Jesus’ gaze lingers?
Allow yourself to sit for a moment with Jesus, noticing what he notices.
Spend some time talking with Jesus about what he has noticed and what you have noticed.
Make a note of anything and anyone God nudged you about during your time of prayer and share it with others in your church, for consideration in your growth planning discernment.
The creative prayer prompts below can also be downloaded as a PowerPoint or PDF, or you can order them as a pack of 52 creative prayer cards. Click to scroll through some options and choose one that feels right for you.
More prayer ideas
- Spend some time reminiscing about the things your church has done together over the last few years that have enabled you to meet with members of the public. Listen for divine nudges as you are speaking and listening – what might be good to try next? Thank God for all of them.
- Set up stations representing different local groups: eg young people, elderly people, newcomers, migrants, local businesses, etc. Invite people to light a candle and pray for each as they place it at the station. Afterwards, reflect on the number of candles burning for each group. Is God calling us to attend to the groups with the most, or the fewest, candles?
- During a service, break up into small groups and read one of the Bible passages below together a few times. Discuss what you think God might be saying to you through this passage. Passages that might prove helpful in evangelism include John 15.1–11, Acts 1:8, Matthew 25.31–46, John 13.34–35, Jeremiah 29:4–7, or Acts 2:43–47.
More resources for prayer and evangelism
Practising testimony and real talk
Resources for sharing your story, and learning from others
Engaging with festivals and events
What does healthy evangelism look like at a local festival?