Plan a Prayer Walk to Start your 2014/15 School Year of Ministry!

Last year my church held a, "Prayer Walk" which gave everyone in the church the

opportunity to walk through the children's and youth areas of our church and pray for all the ministry which would take place in the coming school year. It was wonderful!

This year we are planning another, "Prayer Walk", and if you have not planned to do something similar, you still have time to plan a prayer walk of your own! I'm re-posting my post from last year which explained the prayer walk so you can see how you can plan a walk of your own.

Last night I went on a Prayer Walk at my church. What is a "Prayer Walk", you ask? Well, it is an absolutely amazing opportunity to walk through the classrooms at your church and pray for the volunteers and children who will be serving and learning in those rooms throughout the coming year! Come along with me on my, "Prayer Walk"!

It began outside the Early Childhood wing at my church where my husband and I were greeted by our children's pastor. We each received a booklet with a map to guide us on our walk and with information about each area of ministry - nursery through college age - as well as specific prayer requests for each area. We also received a carabiner which was imprinted with the words, "Guiding Children" and a card with the mission of the children's ministry on it (the card also had a hole in it so I could put it on the carabiner). 

From here we went into the Nursery area where we received another card with Matthew 19:14 and specific requests for the Nursery Ministry -"Pray for safety for children in the nursery and throughout our ministry. Pray for parents as they begin their role as guides in their children's spiritual development." 

The next stop on the walk was the Preschool Ministry where I received another card with Proverbs 22:6 and "Pray for our ministry as we support parents by providing opportunities for children to grasp fundamental Bible truths and apply them to their lives." The tables in this room were covered with colorful butcher paper and I was able to write or draw my prayer for these little ones!

On to the Elementary Children's Department where I received another card with James 1:22 on it and another prayer request; "Pray children develop a love for Scripture and put their faith into action. Pray children would love God and others - including those who may look and act different." I was able to walk around this room and stop at stations where each opportunity for children was represented: Sunday Morning, Wednesday Night, Summer Ministry, Special Needs, DivorceCare4Kids and Children's Choir so I could pray for each of these areas. Another room in the Children's Department had empty chairs with cards on them - one card for each area of ministry where we need volunteers to get involved - the cards had Matthew 9:37b, 38 and "Pray for a greater level of commitment across the ministry and more people to commit to regular, faithful service."

The walk continued on to the Middle School Ministry where I visited stations to pray for each school in the area, opportunities to engage the children throughout the year and took a stone on which a middle school student wrote her name on one side and one-word prayer request on the other; I will be praying for Ashley throughout the year!

The High School Ministry was my next stop and I prayed for the opportunities the teens will have to serve and grow throughout the year, took time to write a specific prayer for the teens and received a card with a school teens from the church attended and a name of a teen to pray for - I will be praying for Andrew!

The final destination on the Prayer Walk took me to a room where I prayed for the College Ministry and I found stations where I could pray for these young people as they make important decisions throughout the year!

The evening ended with a meal - we had been fasting for the day, so we "broke" the fast with a supper together! The idea for this event is one our Children's Pastor thought of and put together - I hope we do it each year!

The Prayer Walk was "self-guided" . . . we each received a map and followed the footprints on the floor - yes, there were footprints from one room to the next throughout the building! You could do an event like this as your Fall Ministry begins and get your church praying for your ministry to the children, youth and young adults . . . what could be a better way to start the ministry year?