As we look at this week’s sign of a healthy student ministry, we want to think about being prayer-focused. When we think about student ministry, we have images of pizza parties, lock-ins and mission trips. Rarely do we think about prayer. However, if we want to have a healthy, God-honoring student ministry, prayer needs to be a major priority. Prayer indicates that God is in control and shows our dependence on Him. It is a desire to see Him work in supernatural ways in the lives of our students.
There is great value in prayer. Jesus makes it clear that prayer is important. In Matt. 6:9-13, He shows His disciples the importance of prayer by giving them a model we should all follow. My pastor, Kirk Shelton, recently shared in a message that, “Being limited to prayer is not a limitation.” There is great value and power in prayer. Our student ministries need the infusion of supernatural power that prayer can provide.
If that hasn’t been the culture in your ministry, how do you start making a change? What can you do to help your students embrace prayer? Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Encourage prayer in your church body as a whole. Your church may not have a culture of prayer. Your student ministry will reflect your church. If prayer is important there, it only makes sense that your students and workers will embrace that emphasis. Talk to your lead pastor about your concern. If your church has an invitation time, pray during that time. When someone in your church asks you to pray for them, stop and pray. Our actions indicate our beliefs.
• Make prayer a part of your weekly group meetings. How much time do you spend praying on Wednesday night? The amount of time we spend on things in our groups shouts to our students what we think is important. TJ Lewis, of Lake Church in Arlington, Texas, starts each Wednesday night with a time of focused prayer by breaking his group into smaller groups. You can learn more about his approach in our interview with him on the Student Ministry Matters podcast.
• Pray for your students. It is important for us to pray for the young men and women in our groups. Whether your group is 5 or 50, you can make a plan to pray for all of them over the course of a week. Pray for their salvation. Pray for their growth. Pray for their witness. Just remember to pray for them.
• Enlist prayer partners within your congregation. Whether your church has a culture of prayer, or you just have one or two prayer warriors in your congregation, invite them to join you in the process.
• Utilize technology. Whether it is social media, email or text, there are opportunities available to us that weren’t there several years back. Find the best way to connect with your students and have them praying for one another.
The simple truth is that we don’t pray enough. Let’s infuse our student ministries with prayer and see what God will do.
