Published on: 15/07/2025
Prayer from a New Congregations point of view is about the Mission of God, the Missio Dei. God is the initiator of all things. The Trinity is a sending community, the Father sends the Son, the Father and the Son send the Spirit, the Son and the Spirit send the church.
Prayer is then fundamentally a listening exercise. What is God saying to His church about His mission? What is God saying to us? The prayer life of a Christian community must include time set aside to listen to the Holy Spirit. We must learn to hear the still small voice.
We can be confident of God speaking. God is a God of revelation. The Spirit points to the Son and the Son reveals the Father. In the Bible, God speaks to everyone who has a part to play in the coming of His kingdom and the establishing of the church. In the Old Testament this is to Abraham, Moses and the Prophets. In the Gospels this is through Jesus to the disciples and in Acts through the Holy Spirit, again to the disciples.
It’s God’s mission, we need to make time to listen to God about it.
Prayer is also about commitment. When we pray we are listening and asking about something we want to happen. By this engagement we are committing ourselves to the endeavour. In praying about mission or a specific New Congregation we are listening to God about what he wants us to do and also asking him to help us do it. This implies a commitment on our part to be involved in the outcome. Prayer lays down a marker of commitment. Finally, prayer is a community activity. In the endeavour of mission and in particular the starting of a New Congregation, a community is involved. God is community, the church is community. Mission is the responsibility of the whole community and so prayer in community is essential to the launch and guidance of missional endeavour and especially of a New Congregation. A New Congregation born out of prayer will, in its turn, pray.
If you are sensing that God is calling you to a new thing then why not have a chat with John Marsh who can help you think things through.
We also have some Small Sparks Grants available to support churches with new missional activities.