Most churches, particularly those in the urban areas, record low attendance for their weekly church prayer meeting (PM). Why is this so? Do numbers matter? Should churches make it compulsory for their leaders to attend their weekly PM? Berita NECF raises these and other questions with pastor-doctor Philip Lyn, who works as a medical specialist and at the same time, pastors Skyline SIB Church in Kota Kinabalu. He also leads the Kota Kinabalu inter-church city prayer network.
Why are PMs so poorly attended?
I get the impression talking to most pastors that less than 10 percent of the Sunday crowd attend PM. I see three reasons for this. Firstly, many PMs are often boring, dull, unimaginative and terribly intimidating. Few new believers would dare come and older believers know too much to want to come. Secondly, people do not feel ministered to. Either the meeting is too large and impersonal or too sombre and discouraging. Thirdly, familiarity breeds contempt. Either the meeting is too predictable and passé or too pre-creational, that is without any form or void!
The former sends us to the proverbial Land of Nod; the latter invites frequent hijacks by overzealous personalities (usually the same ones) masquerading as intercessors. I feel the best advertisement for the PM is when it is led regularly by a pastor committed to prayer, or by a trusted leader in synch with the pastor.
What does the attendance of the PM say about the church’s spiritual state?
Just as there is no single index that adequately measures the overall health of the economy, PM attendance alone may be misleading. Other indicators of church health include Sunday worship attendance, commitment to the vision, level of giving, and depth of the Word. PM attendance however carries a strong qualitative index.
A rapidly growing PM reflects spiritual hunger, while a low turnout reflects passivity or apathy and these are usually symptoms of potential or present spiritual problems. Without prayer, big churches become mere corporations and smaller churches become clubs because there is no awe of God and no ongoing spiritual base to purposefully unify everything we do. As the Psalmist says we will merely know His acts but not His ways.
With today’s hectic lifestyle, will decentralised PMs (small prayer groups) be a better alternative to the weekly PM?
I don’t think it’s a case of either or. It should be BOTH AND. Centralised PM generates momentum in the prayer life of the church. However small group praying is more personal-need orientated and helps people to learn how to pray aloud, something that large group praying tends to lack. I am a strong believer in centralised praying because of the potential unique corporate anointing present. The mix of corporate faith, excitement and vision has a powerful carry-over effect into the Sunday service each week. The gifts of the Spirit are often more evident in corporate settings as well. In Skyline, we allow frequent breaks for small group prayer to be mixed in with the flow of the corporate prayer. This way everyone gets to pray and yet we do not lose the corporate anointing.
Should churches make it compulsory for their leaders to attend the weekly PM?
Yes. Attendance of leaders is vital to the success of the church PM. They should all be asked to come, but we need to do it in such a way that leaders have a wonderful option they can’t default from. If leaders do not attend they send a message that corporate prayer is optional, which is not. They also have no credibility to encourage others to attend. I run a short leaders meeting every week to review the Sunday service and to tie up loose ends. This is followed immediately by the mid-week prayer meeting. Ninety percent of leaders stay for the prayer meeting because they are already there (and also of course, because they want to, I hope). So that works out well.
Does your church have a strong emphasis on prayer?
We have a growing emphasis on prayer but would obviously like to see it much stronger. As a pastor I am initially more concerned about breadth rather than depth, that is, I would like to see every member mobilised to pray anytime anywhere for any need. This means developing a praying culture that is contagious. The church talks about it, gets excited about it, and does it outside set times like when we visit each other or meet for lunch etc. We also teach young Christians to pray early in their Christian life. However, I still find breadth is no adequate substitute for depth.
Developing depth is so vital. Overnight prayer, fasting, learning to pray with greater authority, faith and strong worship life are all so vital for breakthroughs in the church and personal lives. Every pastor longs for both breadth and depth in his life and his church. For Skyline I started going for breadth first. That’s a pastoral reflex. We have only begun to grow some depth this year.
Would your church consider getting a full-time worker just for the prayer ministry?
Administrative aspects of prayer (usually in larger churches) should of course be looked after by someone, perhaps a pastor or full-time worker (who has the responsibility) for prayer AMONG other duties. But I would be reluctant to call him/her a Prayer Pastor or a full-time worker for prayer. The titles reinforce the perception that prayer is for ‘professionals’ only or that serious prayer is only for gifted professionals. In other words, I’m all for a functional designation but not a title.
Share some ways your church uses to promote the weekly PM.
The midweek PM should be touted as the heartbeat of the church, which it is. During the Sunday service, we share what happened at the last PM and answered prayers. PMs should be exciting times of worship, large and small group prayers, and sharing of hearts. People should come away from the PM feeling ministered, and that we have participated in something that made thedifference. We must meet with God, then they will have no problems worshipping or praying for the church or the world’s needs.
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