Church of God General Overseer Dr. Raymond Culpepper will address prayer leaders and pastors at the Praying Church conference. The dates are March 15-16, at the Church at Liberty Square in Cartersville, Georgia.
Other speakers include Dave Butts, chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, and chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Also addressing the group will be Jon Graf, editor of the new Prayer-Connect national magazine, replacing the former publication, Pray! Jon Graf is also the leader of the interdenominational Church Prayer Leader’s Network.
The Praying Church Conference will be the launch of a unique partnership between Church of God congregations and the interdenominational Praying Church movement.
Doug Small, coordinator of the Church of God prayer effort has developed ‘Seven Markers of a Praying Church’ which are now featured on the Church Prayer Leader’s website. Small says, “These markers – a praying pastor partnered with a definitive prayer leadership team; an emphasis on at-home, daily praying; church-wide prayer gatherings and groups; the identification and mobilization of intercessors; a prayer-evangelism interface; a prayer resource center or room; and on-going teaching and training in prayer – are a movement toward changing the ‘culture’ of a church. They are not a mere program. They demand deliberate and relentless persistence.”
The goal, according to Small, is “to identify 1,000 or more state-side Church of God congregations who declare their desire to enter a process to become ‘Praying Churches’. These congregations will begin the intentional journey to bring prayer to the heart of all they do. A resource notebook will be available, in June, publication of the Praying Church handbook is anticipated.
The conference is a part of two conferences. On Friday and Saturday of the event, the National Prayer Committee and One Cry, a movement to mobilize intercessors across the nation, is sponsoring an interdenominational conference at the Church at Liberty Square. Plenary Sessions and workshops will be available to aid churches that want assistance with their prayer ministry.
For more information, contact P. Douglas Small – dougsmall@projectpray.org.