At every place that the NECF Malaysia team had gone to launch the campaign, the team had highlighted the struggles and needs of pastors to the lay-people. The response from both pastors and church members has confirmed that the campaign was timely and necessary.

Pastors, especially those in the rural areas, repeatedly expressed their gratitude to NECF Malaysia for initiating the prayer campaign. One pastor honestly said, "Now I know that you (NECF Malaysia) are on our side." The startling remark was not meant to be political but merely expressed the feeling of neglect within many pastors. "It is hard for us to express our needs. It is good that somebody is now speaking on our behalf," he added. In making that comment, he probably spoke for a host of pastors who feel it inappropriate to share about their needs to their congregations.

Another pastor said that NECF Malaysia took a "bold step" to initiate such a campaign. "Usually, we pastors are expected to pray for our members. Now, it’s the other way round. You are asking our members to pray for us," he explained.

Obviously, mindsets have to be changed and through the campaign, there are signs that the rift between both parties is closing, judging from the comments received from both sides. Lay-people are beginning to appreciate the struggles and sacrifices of their pastors and their need for support. With this appreciation, members are now more willing to partner their pastors in service.

Meanwhile, pastors are facing up to the fact that they cannot work alone. They need the partnership of their members and an avenue to express their struggles through a support group such as the pastors’ fellowship.

There truly is strength (not only spiritual but physical as well) in prayer as Ruth Tan, a pastor of a church in Batu Pahat, discovered. Thirty-four of her church members signed up to pray for her at the campaign launch and since then, she has become unusually energetic. "It’s really amazing that I don’t feel tired so easily these days. Also, I’ve become more sensitive to God’s promptings and can hear Him more clearly. This campaign has been a great blessing to me," she shared.

Rev. Lawrence Yap concurred. As pastors are dealing with spiritual matters, they need prayer support to safeguard them, said the Senior Pastor of Charis Christian Centre (CCC), Kuala Lumpur.

To show their seriousness towards praying for their pastors, CCC leaders launched the campaign in their church with an overnight prayer gathering in March. Rev. Lawrence hopes that the campaign will continue to create greater prayer awareness which will lead to a stronger pastor-congregation bond.

Pr Koh Earn Soo of SS Methodist Church, Petaling Jaya, agreed that pastors needed their members to pray for them. "The call to pray for leaders is timely and much needed. The pressure on leaders is great. We are not just talking about the responsibilities of the ministry but also, the temptation and seduction of the world are very real too. I believe this pressure will increase, making leaders vulnerable," he added.

NECF Malaysia’s desire is that the increased awareness of prayer will reduce the number of casualties in the ministry. But ultimately, the goal is a nationwide prayer revival. And it all started with a simple burden to pray for pastors.