Summer is always a challenging time for the church. People are coming and going constantly from June through August. Sometimes people drop out of church circulation for the entire time, and sometimes it is permanent. We need to prepare the church for this onslaught of disconnectedness. Leading the church to focus on the advantages of summer can lead to spiritual success and our change of attitude.

Prayer and churches

There are basically three kinds of churches as it relates to prayer.

(1) Churches that pray little. Prayer is outside the orbit of services and ministries. Only lip service is given to prayer.

(2) Churches that include prayer as a ministry among its many ministries. This church gives a place for pray-ers to belong; giving them recognition, but few comprise this group.

(3) Churches that believe that prayer must be the core feature of each ministry. This church strives to teach and involve all members to develop their personal prayer life. Ministries are birthed in prayer, bathed in prayer, and blessed by prayer.

The summer prayer emphasis challenges the disconnectedness of summer, creating a wave of prayer that could create the impetus leading to a prayer-driven church.

A vacation for God

When I was growing up, our family never went anywhere. We had no money; for years we had no car. We were content to enjoy our little corner of the world. This has not been the case for a long time. Travel is in. Our culture thinks in frequent flyer miles. Let's spread the word that a vacation is not from God but for God. Let's see what God will do through us as we travel. To support this premise, let's lift each other up on a mighty wave of prayer.

Solicit prayer requests throughout the whole church family for the summer months. Canvass the congregation via phone, "What prayer request can we help you with this summer?" The first year we launched an every-family-prayer solicitation, we had many comments like, "No church has ever called us to help with our prayer concerns before."

In our church, these prayer requests are compiled in a journal and placed in a special room accessible throughout the day for members to come and go for intercession. Prayer request forms are also placed in bulletins each week through these months so congregants can add additional items as the summer wears on. This journal is growing. Several of these journals may be placed in various locations. The items of prayer can be something like, "Pray for safety for our family as we travel from July 4-18," or "I will have surgery at City Hospital on July 10." This canvass will generate hundreds of requests and give the church a great opportunity to give members the greatest gift.

Summer prayer focus

We distribute a prayer commitment sheet with this wording:

• That God would mold our Church into a "Christ-like worshiping community through the power of prayer"
• That our church's purposes – worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism — will be our passion
• That our vacation will be a vacation for God; and that He will use us as His ambassadors as we travel
• That God, our Source, will provide financially through tithes and offerings throughout the summer
• For our special summer ministries (be specific here)
• To protect our "Quiet Time" with Jesus - For an outpouring of spiritual blessings on our church family
• That God would be adored and worshipped in all ministries
• For a beautiful spirit of unity to permeate all ministries
• That prayer will be the core feature of all ministries
• For God's protection and maximum spiritual impact in all our local public and private schools
• For unreached people groups living in the 10/40 Window

Yes, pastor, with God as my helper, I will participate in the summer prayer focus-praying for God's power in the church, by praying over the items on this list (5) days out of each week as God leads me throughout the summer. NAME_________________________________________________

When commitments are made, they are given to the pastor who promises to pray each day for them by name, that God would protect their quiet time through the summer.

A few years ago, JoAnn and I were spending time on Lake Cyprus Springs, Mt. Vernon, Texas. In the morning, we were sitting out on the porch with our prayer lists and Bible, and as I prayed through the list, I felt so connected and envisioned our members all across the country thinking and praying about their church back home. This was not just a vacation, but a vacation for God.