4 ideas for enhancing your church’s prayer ministry

Terry Powell March 27, 2025

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"What's the secret to your success?"

A visitor to the London church where Charles Spurgeon pastored asked him that question as they talked prior to a worship service.

Reportedly, Spurgeon took the visitor to a room where a small group of people were on their knees, interceding for the upcoming service.

"That's the secret," admitted Spurgeon.

How can leaders of a church expedite a resurgence of prayer?

What follows are a few ways I've observed, read about, or implemented as a church associate staff member.

Let these suggestions serve as a catalyst for your own thinking, or for a brainstorming session among staff members.

#1 Church leaders modeling the integral role of prayer

Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, suggests expanding the prayer time in weekly staff meetings.

Pray for members by name on a rotating basis, several names each week, no matter how many months it takes. Then start through the roll of names again, giving updates of previous needs and requests.

After each associate staff member provides updates on his or her program responsibilities and upcoming events, pray fervently for that staff member and for the people served by the events cited.

For ministries headed by volunteers, regularly ask them for prayer requests and put those on the meeting agenda.

Yes, this requires time. But I recall what Chuck Miller said: "Prayer doesn't prepare us for ministry. Prayer is ministry!" The prophet Samuel told God's people, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you" (1 Sam. 12:23).

Our Lead Pastor and Associate Pastor promote their availability for praying with and for congregants.

At a set time every week, they meet with anyone who wants to come and pray with them. It isn't the venue or form prayer takes that matters; rather, it's the function of interceding for the flock that's a timeless part of a leader's role.

#2 Creating an appetite for prayer

Many pastors, convinced that prayer needs to be a greater priority within their churches, schedule and promote a new prayer meeting on the weekly calendar.

Often, few come. The result may be discouragement rather than a resurgence of corporate prayer.

In material he wrote on the church's prayer ministry, Jim Cymbala recommends not scheduling times for prayer until leaders try to whet an appetite for prayer within the congregation.

To accomplish this, he advocates preaching a short series on prayer, emphasizing the Bible's promises and weaving in illustrations of answered prayer.

Sowing seeds of hope from God's Word can increase members' expectations and motivation to pray, both individually and corporately.

#3 "God at work" spots in the worship service

What prayers has God answered in the lives of individuals and families within your church?

Whether the story features someone's conversion, a troubled marriage the Lord salvaged, or the Lord's comfort and sustenance after a severe personal loss, anecdotes of God's intervention work in tandem with sermons on prayer to whet members' appetite for it.

I've seen this 3–5-minute addition to a worship service, scheduled once or twice a month, instill a more positive climate within a congregation.

Given a green light by the pastor years ago, I contacted people who had encouraging experiences of answered prayer.

Not everyone felt comfortable up front, so a few said no. Others couldn't wait to testify of God's intervention and how he answered their prayers.

I met personally with each person we scheduled, gave them a strict time limit, and assisted, as needed, in formulating a brief outline of their story.

I encouraged each person to practice their testimony and time it, revising it as needed to fit into a maximum of five minutes.

They knew the pastor would come alongside them in a warm, non-threatening manner when the time limit had expired.

#4 Provide top-notch resources

Jim Cymbala wrote the Life Changing Prayer Bible Study Guide (Harper Christian Resources, 2018).

This goes along with a six-session interactive course for small groups or classes, which includes video clips for each session.

Session #6 is on the topic of this article: how a church can strengthen its prayer ministry. His full-length book Breakthrough Prayer (2003, Zondervan) proved valuable to me personally.

Paul Miller's A Praying Life: Connecting with God In A Distracting World (Navpress, 2009), has sold almost 400,000 copies and comes with endorsements from numerous respected leaders, including Paul Tripp and the late Tim Keller. A more recent book by Miller is A Praying Church: Becoming A People of Hope In A Discouraging World.

This 2023 release was named The Gospel Coalition's book of the year and awarded honorable mention for World Magazine's 2023 Book of the Year.

Recently, Miller led a weekend seminar on prayer for our local church that was well received. Discover more about his resources and availability at SeeJesus.net.

I've never forgotten a remark by David Bryant that I heard in the 1980s: "Prayer is rebellion against the status quo." May our Lord use you to mobilize rebels for your church and community!

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Dr. Terry Powell is Faculty Emeritus at Columbia International University, in S. C., where he is an Adjunct Professor in Church Ministries. Dr. Powell writes a blog on faith and depression entitled Penetrating the Darkness. He is the author of Serve Strong,which helps volunteers as well as vocational Christian workers combat discouragement, persevere through weariness, and cultivate endurance for the long haul. Learn More »

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