What Happens When Leaders Pray


Donna Nuss - May 18, 2012

Image of Prayer 5What would happen if you get leaders from major youth ministry organizations to come together for a day of prayer?

Last week I was privileged to attend when NNYM gathered together 15 leaders in Costa Mesa, CA for a prayer consultation. Mike Higgs, founder of Sondance Inc. and Barry St. Clair, Director of Reach-Out co-led the event. Here is their summary of what happened.

The Desperate Need

We believe our nation is in desperate need of significant spiritual renewal. The chorus of those calling the American church to humility, prayer and repentance has grown in recent years, and the roar of their corporate prophetic voice is increasingly difficult to ignore. In response, 15 leaders convened on May 7 for a 21-hour Youth Ministry Prayer Consultation.

The theme for the get-together was taken from 2 Chronicles 20:12, where the Old Testament king Jehosaphat cried to God, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." We agreed that current strategies and methodologies, while certainly good ones, are insufficient for the task at hand, the fulfillment of the Great Commission among the emerging generations. While we may or may not be "losing" the battle for the souls of American youth, we believe God has much more for us. But we must adjust our current approach. And to do that, we must discover what is on God's heart so that we may join Him in His mission.

Our Prayer Consultation was a wonderful mix of passionate worship, heart-felt intercession, and insightful sharing; a few shared convictions emerged:

  • Put Christ First - Youth ministry must restore the supremacy of Christ and the fullness of His finished work on the Cross.
  • Live out the Gospel - Youth ministry must preach and incarnate a whole gospel of the Kingdom to a wounded, fatherless generation desperate for healing, deliverance, forgiveness, and Kingdom life now as well as eternal life.
  • Prioritize Prayer - Prayer is the primary strategy God has given us for fulfilling the Great Commission.
  • Be Unified - As youth ministries and youth ministers reaffirm the supremacy of Christ, embrace a whole gospel message, incarnate a crucified life, and pray as never before, unity will increase, disciple making will increase, and progress toward our goal of reaching the emerging generations will be greatly accelerated.

Beyond those four convictions, we are prayerfully considering if God may be leading us to convene a larger, Sacred Assembly-style gathering of youth leaders at some future date that could be webstreamed and thus expose those convictions to an even larger, more diverse audience of youth leaders.

Be a Part of the Team

What have you seen to be effective in praying for teenagers across the nation? As the prayer coordinator for National Network of Youth Ministries my heart is to gather intercessors to pray for our youth. If you are interested in praying for the needs of students across America and the efforts of the National Network of Youth Ministries then contact me, to become a part of the prayer team.

 

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