Prayer MINISTRIES

Prayer Ministries is a vitally important part of the overall mission of the Carolina Conference. We are reminded in scripture to “pray without ceasing,” “to come boldly unto the throne of grace,” and “ask, and ye shall receive,” to name only a few components of an effective connection with Heaven (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Hebrews 4:16, and John 16:24).

When you think about it, prayer is like a mobile phone. A dead phone is like no phone at all. It’s just a block of metal, useless for anything other than a paperweight (and none of us ever say, “I NEED a paperweight.”) Yet when that phone is recharged, it can be used for communication and to access information and so much more. The power is available, but it needs to reach our phones! In the same way, each and every one of us is useless unless we are connected to God. And prayer is the conduit that connects us to His power. Therefore, Prayer Ministries is the MOST electrifying department in the Carolina Conference!

In the last two years at the Conference office, we have not only been praying for all of our churches, schools and ministries at morning worship, but we now email the pastors and teachers asking for requests. This gives us the opportunity to pray more specifically for the needs throughout the Conference, making our prayer time so much more meaningful!

The Carolina Conference Monday night prayer line is available for anyone to join. It is such a meaningful prayer family. We pray for the conference as a whole, and for each other! This family supports one another, shares encouragement, and rejoices together as we see God working in our lives.

The General Conference called on all of us to commit to 100 Days of Prayer leading up to the General Conference Session of 2020. Because of COVID-19, however, the Conference office, along with much of the country, had to close its doors, sending us all home to work. Not knowing how to proceed, we finally decided that prayer was needed now more than ever, and since the Monday night prayer line was not impacted by this safer-at-home period, it was decided to proceed with 100 Days of Prayer on the prayer line. People from across the conference, as well as department leaders in the our office, committed to leading out. Each night for the next 100 days we gathered on the phone to pray. We prayed for the church, both worldwide and locally. We prayed for each other, and any other items on our hearts. It was a powerful 100 days.

We have recently added Youth Pray. This is a Tuesday night Zoom call prayer line led by youth, for youth ages 12-18. A screened adult monitors the call and has the ability to block or silence anyone if needed. To join Youth Pray you must be personally invited or go through a registration process. We try to keep this a safe place for the youth of the Carolina Conference.

Prayer events have also been an important part of our department, and we do our best to find ways to encourage more attendance at these events. The prayer retreat in 2021 was a wonderful time of learning and fellowship. The retreat was held at Nosoca Pines Ranch, where we prayed together, learned together from guest speaker Tamyra Horst, and played together. Many families attended; it was powerful watching families praying together. It was such a beautiful weekend, and everyone left inspired to make prayer a more important, active part of their daily lives.

We have also led out in several Week of Prayer events at our elementary schools. There is perhaps nothing more exciting than watching our children get really enthusiastic about prayer. Every Week of Prayer we don’t just talk and sing, but participate in prayer together. The children are taught that prayer is a conversation between them and God! These events have been a powerful growing experience for our students.

Prayer is such an integral part of everything that is done at the Carolina Conference. This gives the Prayer Ministries Department a mandate to continually work hand in glove with other facets of the Conference, and to find ways to make sure that we as a conference are always keeping prayer front and center!

BETH GRISSOM

Director