Prayer Is at the Forefront of these Movements

Commentary by Tom Campisi

From the inaugural Movement Day in Manhattan to the 50^th Annual Spiritual Life and Christian Ministries Convention in North Jersey, the power of prayer was spoken of with paramount importance.

On September 30 at Calvary Baptist Church, the New York City Leadership Center hosted Movement Day, a gathering of 800 Christian leaders from 34 states and 15 countries who are seeking to catalyze Gospel movements in their cities.

“Do your people trust that you are on your knees before God?” asked Bill Hybels, pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois and founder of the Leadership Summit. “People have to see it and sense it.”

Hybels brought the morning session to a powerful close by speaking about King Hezekiah and his passion for prayer, especially in a time of crisis.

“Hezekiah wanted the whole nation to see him surrender before God,” Hybels said. “He wanted them to know they were being led by [someone] who was on his face before God.”

Likewise, Dr. David Ireland, senior pastor of Christ Church in Montclair and Rockaway, NJ, challenged 500 leaders at the Christian Ministries Convention at Hawthorne Gospel Church in October.

“If your prayer closet is empty, you will not be effective in anything you do,” said Dr. Ireland.

Ireland pastors one of the largest churches in New Jersey and Hybels leads one of the largest in the country—yet these men, who speak all over the world, each recognize that true leadership means humbling yourself before the Lord every day.

“We can never get to the place where we have arrived, where we know it all,” said Dr. Ireland.

At Movement Day, Dr. Mac Pier, president of the New York City Leadership Center, recalled how local pastors sensed the need for united intercession when he and Rev. David Bryant launched Concerts of Prayer Greater New York in 1988.

“At our first Concerts of Prayer event, our goal was 16 churches,” he said. When 75 churches came out to pray, a fresh new move of God was under way.

Over the last 20 plus years, Concerts of Prayer Greater New York has been a catalyst for prayer, unity, outreach, and social justice with various initiatives, including The Lord’s Watch, an ongoing 24/7 prayer vigil for the region, and the Pastor’s Prayer Summit, an annual 48-hour prayer retreat for local leaders each January.

In 2007, Concerts of Prayer formed the New York City Leadership Center “to become a model of Christian leaders impacting the spiritual and social climate of an urban center.”

According to Pier, Movement Day came about as the result of research in 2009 indicating that there is a rapidly growing population of Christians in midtown Manhattan.

“We believe that if God is up to something here, he is also up to something in other cities,” said Pier.

One of the convening partners of Movement Day, Redeemer City to City, is a church planting network that has impacted New York and other metropolitan areas around the world. Rev. Tim Keller, best-selling author and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, was one of the plenary speakers.

“Something is going on in New York City and it is beyond Redeemer, denominations, or race,” he said.

Dr. Keller spoke about why it takes a city-wide Gospel movement to reach a city and the importance of an ecosystem of seven ministry networks: citywide prayer, specialist evangelism, justice and mercy initiatives, vocational faith/work initiatives, family life (community centers, schools), theological training, and an unusual amount of unity.

At the plenary session, Dr. Pier interviewed Matt Bennett, the founder and president of Christian Union, a leadership development ministry based in Princeton.

Bennett noted how the ministry has witnessed tangible results since it began to emphasize a more robust seeking God lifestyle about 18 months ago. Christian Union ministry fellows at Princeton, Harvard, and Yale pray and seek the Lord together for two hours each day before leading initiatives such as Bible courses, weekly lectures, and outreach events.

Bennett told the conference participants to be mindful of the need for heartfelt humility. “It’s not just prayer. We need to humble ourselves,” he said. “We are called to a seeking-God lifestyle…”

“As ministry leaders, we are good at coming up with strategies and programs. Our first strategy should be that we wish to seek the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

The second half of Movement Day was divided into breakout sessions in various categories such as Campus Movements, Church Planting Networks, Life-Giving Leadership, Rebuild Haiti, Prayer Movements, and Mentoring the Millennial Generation.

At New Jersey Christian Ministries annual convention, local pastors and leaders attended various breakout sessions on all aspects of church life—men’s and women’s ministry, children’s and youth ministry, music, counseling, etc.—but Rev. Ireland’s message, “Empowered through Prayer,” was a launching point.

“Prayer infuses and empowers your spiritual gift,” he said. “Prayer is the source of God’s power. Our burden for the lost is captured in the place of prayer.”

Dr. Ireland, who founded Christ Church 25 years ago, spoke about his own revelation of deeper prayer within the last five years and the difference it has made. He challenged the audience to be disciplined about setting a time and place to intercede: “You can learn to prevail in prayer.”

Dr. Ireland quoted 1st John 5:14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

“God enjoys answering our prayers,” he said.