9. Pray In Ministry

Prayer is much more effective when carried out in the context of using your gifts in ministry. The style of leadership I typically see in churches, however, is not designed to get believers involved in ministry…. Ephesians 4 says the job of leaders is to “equip” the saints so they can do ministry. In the Greek, the word translated “equip” means “to make complete.” It involves more than just teaching classes or otherwise passing along information. Leadership means explicitly pointing people to Christ, to his great promises, to the great adventure and mission to which he has called us. It involves modeling ministry, watching people do ministry and giving them feedback, and getting involved with people. It involves investing in people—making disciples—rather than either pressuring them or leaving them alone…. Prayer is much more exciting and effective when people know what the specific mission of their church is and are involved in it. When people are aware of their particular gifts as a church, of how these gifts can be used to reach out to their particular context and of how gifts and context come together effectively through guidance from the Word, prayer becomes an integral part of your church’s specific mission instead of an isolated event.