West Central  Baptist  Association

of Southern Baptist Churches

Dave Snyder      Director,  Area Missionary               online  at  www.WCBAohio.org

“Churches Helping Churches Fulfill the Great Commission”

February 15, 2008

WCBA Covenant Prayer Network  INFO

Pastor Pete Hamilton, FBC Marysville has had a burden for some time for us to be more focused in prayer. He has volunteered to help coordinate what we are calling a Covenant Prayer Network.

We are encouraging all Pastors to read over the enclosed information and covenant with us in praying at least once weekly for specific concerns posted on a Covenant Prayer Network web page. The page will be monitored and updated at least weekly. An email update reminder will go out weekly, usually on Friday, and as needed. Pastor Pete will be coordinating details as this develops. He has put together an initial brief purpose statement and some recommended guidelines found below.

The aim here is to enlist those who really desire to pray and encourage one another in specific, intentional, intercession regarding Kingdom work across the Association.

We have a launch date set for March 1. We are asking all who wish to participate to covenant together to pray at least once a week over the requests as posted. Requests will be listed for up to 30 days unless otherwise requested. Concerns will be posted by topic and by date. The guidelines below explain our suggested focus and some recommendations for this to be simple, timely, confidential, effectual, and led by the Spirit.

We are asking:

Each one who will covenant to pray weekly please register with the Association and give us your preferred email/contact information accordingly. Those without email are welcome to participate but will receive updates only monthly via USPS if requested.   But they too can check on-line anytime and pray each week. Karen Howell will serve as the database/web page coordinator, and Pastor Pete will keep up with the developments. A journal of answered prayer will also be linked to the page for an online record of how God has worked through the prayers of His people.

Please prayerfully consider who in your church would be interested and committed in this ministry of prayer week by week. Perhaps you are aware of prayer warriors beyond your church you would like to enlist. Please ask them also to contact us with their information and agreement to covenant together in 2008. The covenant can be renewed each year. A list of those involved in the network will be available on request.

Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome.

To register, please prayerfully agree to covenant together with others as outlined above and below,
and register your preferred email/contact information with the WCBA office .

Our Email is wcba@bright.net                        Our phone number is 937-596-6755

May God richly bless His work through you……...

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WCBA Covenant Prayer Network

“…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  (Eph. 6:18-19)

Purpose

              The purpose of the WCBA Covenant Prayer Network is to share prayer concerns among the churches of the association.  The focus of these prayer concerns will be the accomplishment of God’s sovereign purpose among us in all areas of shared ministry, with primary attention to Great Commission priorities such as evangelism, discipleship, church planting and leadership development.

Participation

              Participants in this prayer network must believe in the necessity of God-centered and God-directed prayer for the purpose of kingdom advance to the extent that they covenant with God and with each other to lift the shared requests to the throne of grace earnestly and consistently.

Method

              While the mechanism for sharing prayer requests may change over time, our plan is to begin via the internet, using e-mail correspondence and a web site to post and update requests on a weekly basis.  The proposed prayer network will also consist of prayer clusters in localized areas of the association, in which like-minded believers can gather periodically for the express purpose of corporate prayer times.

Guidelines

              While any viable prayer ministry will involve intercession for the health needs of fellow believers, the primary focus of this prayer network must be kingdom work.  We will call upon the Lord to grant supernatural power to break through barriers of human sin, religious tradition and the rampant secularism that permeates modern society, so that lost people are converted, believers are strengthened in their walk with the Lord, and churches impact their communities to the glory of God.

Confidentiality

              To the extent that personal or family needs of a sensitive nature are shared as prayer requests, participants in this prayer network must safeguard the shared information so that it does not become common knowledge.  Much damage could be done through the indiscriminate sharing of information with people who do not need to know.

Feedback

              As we seek to follow the Lord’s guidance in the formation and administration of this prayer network, we will remain open to feedback from anyone who might have any recommendations or cautions to share with those who oversee it.

Pastor Pete Hamilton FBC Marysville