Prayer Walking

A short course in prayerwalking

In hundreds of cities across the globe, ordinary believers are prayer-walking through the streets of their communities. They pray while walking, with eyes open for the spiritual awakening God is bringing. We define prayer-walking as "praying on-site with insight."

There is no set pattern or proven formula. Prayer-walkers have set out with every imaginable style. There’s nothing magic at all in the footsteps. God’s Spirit is simply helping us to pray with persistent spontaneity in the midst of the very settings in which we expect him to answer our prayers. We instinctively draw near to those for whom we pray.

Getting up close to the community focuses our prayer. We sharpen our prayers by concentrating on specific homes and families. But we enlarge our praying as well, crying out for entire communities to know God’s healing presence.

Quiet prayer-walks complement more high-profile praise marches and prayer rallies. Worship and warfare blend with intercession that Christ would be welcomed as Lord by many throughout the entire city.

Prayer-walks give us a simple way to continually fill our streets with prayer. Many are praying city-size prayers while ranging throughout their towns with disciplined regularity in small bands of two or three. Thus prayer-walkers keep near their neighbours in order to touch our cities with the gospel and transforming service. Quiet triumphs often follow as God changes the city day by day and house by house.

How to get started prayer-walking

Join with other believers.

Join your faith with others to help prayer flow in an engaging conversational style. Large groups sometimes fail to give everyone a chance to participate. Pairs and triplets work best. Set aside time. Allowing one or two full hours gives prayer-walkers a good chance to manage preliminaries and follow-up discussions, although much can be done in less time.

Choose an area.

Ask God to guide you. It’s best by far to learn the joys of prayer-walking in unfamiliar neighbourhoods. You’ll return quickly to your own neighbourhood with fresh vision. Centres of commerce and religion are fascinating, but there’s nothing like touching families, schools and churches in residential areas. Use elevated points to pray over a panorama.

Linger at specific sites which seem to be key.

Pray with insight. Pray for the people you see. As you do, you might find the Spirit of God recalibrating your heart with his own sensitivities. Enhance these responsive insights with research done beforehand. Use knowledge of past events and current trends to enrich intercession. Above all, pray Scripture.

Focus on God.

Make God’s promises rather than Satan’s schemes the highlight of your prayer. Your discernment of evil powers may at times exceed God’s specific guidance to engage them in direct combat. Consider the simplicity of first making direct appeal to the throne of God before attempting to pick street fights with demonic powers. Seek a restraining order from heaven upon evil so that God’s empowered people may bring forth God’s intended blessings on the city Regather and report. Share what you have experienced and prayed. Expressing something of your insights and faith will encourage others–as well as yourself. Set plans for further prayer-walking.

Coordinate efforts.

Enlist other praying people to join with friends to cover special areas. Give leadership by forming and mixing prayer bands. Seek to collect written notes recording which areas have been covered and what kinds of prayers have been prayed. Pool your insights to ascertain whether God is prompting a repeated focus on particular areas. Eventually aim to cover your entire town or city, unless God guides otherwise.

Attempt to keep every prayer pertinent to the specific community you pass through. As you do, you will find prayers naturally progress to the nation and to the world.

Themes for prayer-walking

Use a theme passage of Scripture. Unless God guides you to use another, try 1 Timothy 2:1-10. Many have found it to be a useful launching point for prayer-walking. Verse 8 speaks of the important territorial dimension to prayer connected with God’s desire that all people be saved,"I want the men in every place to pray"(italics added).

Copy this and other passages in a format easy to read aloud several times during your walk.

Each of the following prayer points emerges from this passage.

Concerning Christ:
Proclaim him afresh to be the one Mediator and the ransom for all. Name him Lord of the neighbourhood and of the lives you see.

Concerning leaders:
Pray for people responsible in any position of authority — for teachers, police, administrators and parents.

Concerning peace:
Cry out for the godliness and holiness of God’s people to increase into substantial peace. Pray for new churches to be established.

Concerning truth:
Declare openly the bedrock reality that there is one God. Celebrate the faithful revelation of his truth to all peoples through ordinary people (1 Tim.2:8). Pray that the eyes of minds would cease to be blinded by Satan so that they could come to a knowledge of the truth.

Concerning the gospel:
Praise God for his heart’s desire that all people be saved. Ask that heaven would designate this year as a "proper time" for the testimony of Christ to be given afresh with simple power (1 Tim.2:6), Name specific people.

Concerning the blessing of God:
Thanksgivings are to be made on behalf of all people. Give God the explicit thanks he deserves for the goodness he constantly bestows on the homes you pass by. Ask to see the city with his eyes, that you might sense what is good and pleasing in his sight as well as what things grieve him deeply. Ask God to bring forth an enduring spiritual awakening.

Concerning the church:
Ask for healing in relationships, that there be no wrath or dissension among God’s people. Ask that God would make his people, men and women alike, expressive in worship with the substance of radiant, relational holiness. Ask that our worship would be adorned with the confirming power of saints doing good in our communities.

Excerpt from “Prayerwalking” by Steve Hawthorne and Graham Kendrick (Creation House)

Strategy for Prayer

“TRANSFORMING MELBOURNE”

A Strategy to Maintain our Momentum in Prayer

The following points are suggested:

1. 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting for Melbourne every year
– Preparation meetings 2 weeks ahead to instruct on prayer and fasting, and to consider our focus for the 40 days ahead
– Give clear direction/ warnings/ accountability for Fasting
– Church leaders publicly launch “Love Melbourne 2001”
Prayer and Fasting” on Ash Wednesday with report on this year.

2. Weekly Combined prayer meetings in each local city

3. Occasional gatherings of all Christians to pray and worship in the centre of Melbourne

4. Invite all Christians to the top of the Rialto every 6 months to Pray over the City (The next: 9am Sat. 5th August)
The Pastors will meet there on alternate 6 months (The next will be 9am Sat. 6th May, Sat. 4th Nov.) THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POST-PONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

5. Some people will fast on Thursdays till 5pm Suggest each person ask the Holy Spirit to give a focus for this eg the unchurched / drug problem/ getting closer to God, etc

6. Mapping physical, social and spiritual strongholds in each Area of the city and target these in prayer
To be described by Tom White at Prayer Seminar 16, 17 May

7. Details of this mapping and answers to prayer to be published on Love Melbourne website

8. Intercessors for Melbourne provide training for prayer

9. Everyone’s insights and suggestions are welcome.

For more Info & to offer your ideas, support and answers to prayer: Email us at: office@transformingmelbourne.org

OR Contact: Intercessors for Melbourne: Phone: 9716 2886

Revivals in Melbourne

Revival In Melbourne!! (Research continuing in this area).

Over 100 years ago Revival came to Melbourne

10,000 a night at the Royal Exhibition Building May 1902

Did You Know There Was A Revival In Melbourne 100 Years Ago?

In 1898 a petition with 15,300 signatures was sent to D.L.Moody in USA asking him to come and lead a crusade. He died before he could come, but in 1902, R.A. Torrey came and led a crusade at the Exhibition Building. With the population of Melbourne then 500,000, over 250,000 people came every week!
8000 people came to Christ!

The Secret

All the Evangelical Churches in Melbourne were working together.
They held 1700 weekly prayer groups across Melbourne!
They appointed 45 evangelists to preach in every area of the city.

"The Vital Elements: Unity And Prayer"

From: "Evangelical Christianity in Australia" Stuart Piggin (Oxford)

The Many Revivals In Melbourne

1843
1859 Started at Brighton
1879
1902 The Great Revival – with R.A. Torrey and Charles Alexander
1926 Sunshine Revival
1959 Billy Graham Crusade was the largest, most successful evangelistic campaign in human history. 719,000 attended in Melbourne with 26,440 inquirers "More prayer has been made for the Melbourne and Sydney crusades than for any single event in the whole history of the Christian Church" Billy Graham 1958

How Did The Gospel Influence The Shape Of Australian Society?

The answer is TRANSFORMATION. Our secular historians have always said 'rubbish'. But in 1988, our bicentennial year, a number of Christian historians demanded that the Christian contribution to Australian history be examined seriously instead of dismissed as negligible.

One such historian has demonstrated that Christianity has made 'a magnificent and almost dominant' contribution to the shaping of Australian society. He argues that the 'reform of a convict colony was a social miracle, the product of the evangelical gospel' and that universal education, trade unionism, and federation were all 'at heart evangelical achievements'. Yet another speaks of the transforming power of the cross on a society 'where the convict stain was dyed deep', achieved not only through the preaching of the Gospel, but through the many institutions established by Christians such as Mechanics Institutes, savings banks, libraries, and temperance and benevolent societies. Yet a third historian, a Presbyterian from Scotland, disturbed by the absence of studies of the impact of vital Christianity on Australia's development, conducted his own enquiries and came up with an interesting list of institutions on which Christian influence was critical: schools, newspapers ('an honest press'), the fight against monopolies, and the securing of rights and representation.

Revival in Melbourne in our time? Will you invest in unity & prayer to see it happen?

Melbourne’s Christian Heritage

The early contribution of the Christian Churches to Victoria

1. The Church pioneered all social welfare across Melbourne. Initially governments did not consider these were state issues. A large network of charitable organisations, covering groups as varied as free medical clinics for the poor, migrant homes, orphanages, care for the blind, aged and mentally ill.

These included:, Caroline Chisholm and Wesleyan Migrant Homes, the Benevolent Society, Society for the Protection of Women and Children, RSPCA, etc

The Methodist Home for Children (on the current location of Westfield Southland) cared for children from 1859 to 1952. The Church began the "Benevolent Fund" for emergency aid for the poor, now financed by the government.

2. The Church pioneered education in Melbourne Church schools preceded state schools, and were larger until State Aid was abolished in 1872.

Varied educational institutions, such as primary and secondary schools, university colleges, technical colleges like William Angliss, Emily McPherson and the Workers College (now R.M.I.T.), free kindergartens, teachers colleges, libraries, the Mechanics Institutes and Mutual Improvement Societies were all set up by Churches.

3. The first hospitals were established by the Church, Christian citizens and religious orders.This includes many of the major hospitals, e.g. Royal Women's Hospital, the Homeopathic Hospital, Austin Hospital, Epworth, Queen Victoria (which started in a Church Sunday school hall. Now amalgamated with Prince Henry's to become Monash Medical Centre), as well as hospitals still provided by the Church – St Vincent's, Mercy, St John of God, Bethesda, Cabrini

4. Ministers and priests gave civic leadership across a wide range of community organisations. Mechanics Institutes was begun in Scots Church by Christians to provide education and training for workers across Victoria. Many Christians provided funding and leadership in sports, musical and cultural clubs.

5. Christians took the lead in dealing with issues such as housing. Charles Strong was involved in lobbying for low-cost housing, and was actually involved in providing it, as was Os Barnett. Strong became an early member of the Housing Commission.

6. "The Argus" and "The Age"- were founded by active Christians and had leading clergy as writers.

7. Churches made a major contribution to music in Melbourne through their choirs

8. Christian volunteers and orders provided free workers for vital community support

Religious congregations and orders provided skilled staff for schools, homes and various charities run by the Roman Catholic Church. Similarly there were sisterhoods and deaconesses working among Protestant groups.

9. Victoria's tradition of philanthropic gifts and foundations owe much to the generosity and vision of church members and adherents. Victoria still provides a major part of such trust income for Australia.

10. Overseas aid and development organisations like World Vision and CAA were Christian initiatives.

11. Members of Churches played a central role in establishing the community standards of business and professional ethics, a tradition of public and community service and integrity in government and governance.

12. The Churches played a vital part in the socialisation of youth, establishing boundaries of decency and fair conditions of employment

Clergy and Christians were leaders in the early union movement and support of workers rights. The work ethic, which is often derided, has actually played an important role in Melbourne's prosperity. It owes much to the teaching of the Churches on the dignity of work.

13. The foundations of Australian Law and Government are based on the Bible and Christian teaching

These are distinctive, and contrast with the teachings of other religions and the secular humanist philosophies

14. Church members have played a huge role in giving the uniquely Christian character to our civic life and community

(One only has to live in countries overseas to see how vital this is.) Similarly, the Churches played some role in establishing the religious freedom and liberty of conscience, which are so vital for a democratic society.

Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey wrote ("The Story of Victoria" 1984 Methuen Haines):

"In the 1860s Victoria went through a religious awakening. This wild, rush about, brawling society of the 1850s almost knelt in the aisles in the 1860s." (page 112)

"From the late 1850s to perhaps 1890 .. probably four out of every five Victorians attended church with some regularity. ¡K Christianity flavoured the views of those who rarely attended church." (page 113)

"The churches strengthened society in many ways. They encouraged the sense of responsibility. …. The churches were foremost in providing education, though in part they were educational agents of the state. Churches gave some other services now provided by the welfare state. The priests and parsons were the busiest social workers; they visited the sick and lonely, and soothed the dying. Many churches provided relief to the poor, to the bewildered immigrant who had just landed, and to the sailor. …. Many social movements which at first seem to lie outside the churches gained impetus from versions of Christianity. The dynamic trade unionist, William Guthrie Spence, was partly an evangelist.." (page 116)

"The churches from the gold-rushes onwards, made Victoria rather a distinctive society compared to England and most of the other Australian colonies. The non-conformists and other evangelicals were especially strong here, and their views flavoured social-life, politics, work and business." (page 120)

This is just the start of outlining the Christian history of our city. Research has begun into the enormous contribution of the Church to social welfare and community life in Melbourne today.

People and resources are needed to complete this vital task so we can rightly protect the unique position of the church in Melbourne. In March 2002 this unique position is under serious threat.

Rob Isaachsen – Melbourne Pastors Network March 2002

Melbourne Pastors Network

Fostering unity between all pastors of every denomination of the Church in Melbourne through building relationships and praying together.

Vision: One Church in our City

One Church with many diverse congregations and fellowships
Valuing each other's different styles and strengths
Rejoicing in all we have in common in Jesus Christ
Praying and working together as the one Body of Christ
Humbly serving Him and each other in love
With a united witness and vision to reach the city for Jesus
That God will get the glory and build His Kingdom

Jesus' prayer

"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me." John 17:22,23

Network Coordinator

The Rev. Rob Isaachsen is acting as full-time Coordinator of the Network, was Vicar of an Anglican church for 19 years, with experience in many traditions. His role is to promote the Vision of unity among pastors, and coordinate activities. This is a ministry of service and support to pastors, not a position of authority. In this he is accountable to a number of senior pastors of different churches. His ministry is financed by contributions from churches and Christians across the city.

The Melbourne Pastors Network

Gathering Representatives

Regular contact with Pastors representing 30 different denominations and traditions of the Church and each of the 31 local cities of Melbourne to build relationships, to worship and pray together and to share our journeys. Those involved include Catholic, Brethren, Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Anglican, Christian Reformed, Coptic Orthodox, Salvation Army, Presbyterian, Weslyan Methodist, C.R.C, Uniting, Apostolic, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Churches of Christ, A.O.G., C.O.C., Christian City Church, Chinese Churches, Aboriginal Evangelical Fellowship & God Squad.

Encouraging Local Pastors to Meet & Pray

Fostering pastors praying and building relationships in each area of the city. Encouraging a vision for "The One Church to Pastor the Whole City"

Occasional Regional and Citywide Gatherings Organising

The annual Melbourne Pastors Prayer Summit:
Pastors from many denominations spending 4 days seeking God together
Pastors Consultations: Looking together at vital issues facing the Church

Establishing a Network for Communication

"Melbourne Christian Events Calendar" and "Ministries Directory"(Information available on the MPN "Home Page" on the Internet) Forming a "Pastors & Leaders Email Network" for communication.

Building Relationships, Fostering Reconciliation

Supporting/ involvement in the "Multi-Cultural Ministries Network", "AD 2000 Network", "Melbourne Intercessors Network". "24/6" Business Ministry Network, Supporting Aboriginal pastors in ministering to their people. etc

Promoting the Vision of the Unity of the Church

There is only one Body of Christ !!

One Team with One Task: to Seek and to Save the lost

The Church in Melbourne

One Church :

With many diverse congregations and fellowships
Acknowledging the Risen Christ as Lord and Saviour
Rejoicing in all we have in common in Him
Valuing each other's different styles and strengths
Praying and working together as the one Body of Christ
Humbly serving Him and each other in love
United in witness and vision to reach the city for Jesus
That God will get the glory and build His Kingdom

Why did Jesus Pray for Unity? IT IS HIS LAST, MOST PASSIONATE PRAYER
IT IS GOD’S STRATEGY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW HIS SON

The Call:

The scriptures could not make it more plain that God desires His people to be in unity!
Jesus came to bring a ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18,19)
He gives us (His people) this ministry of bringing reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18)
He came to bring peace with God and one another (Ephes. 2:11-22))
He calls us to love one another as He has loved us (total commitment) (Jn 15:12)
He says loving God and others is the basis of all the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 22:40)
He has only ONE CHURCH (Ephes. 4:5), ONE BODY (1 Cor.12)
His plan is that together we are to be His Bride (Ephes. 5:25-27)
He prays that we might be ONE (Jn. 17:23)
He calls us to love, honour, serve, forgive, prefer "One Another" (Jn.13:34; 5:44, Gal.5:13,etc)

The Question:

Will the world ever know who He is, if we ourselves are divided

Imagine.. "One Church in the City"

Local Pastors and Ministers

Sharing their lives, faith journeys and ministry visions, Valuing each other's gifts, ministries and styles, Relating in love and commitment, Pastoring each other, Being mutually accountable and supportive, Visiting and preaching in each other's churches, Spending time in prayer for each other, their churches and their community.

Individal Churches in an area

Having a common vision to reach and pastor their whole community together, and planning, praying and working together to do it Honouring The Church of their area above themselves:

Being known first as part of (eg) "The Church of Bayside" and secondly as "St John's Anglican" or "Beachside AOG".
Worshiping together several times a year,
Seeing every other church as a vital part of the Church in the area
Joining together in outreach and community care,
Praying for each other during worship,
Supporting each other in finance, resources and manpower,
Developing deliberate united links with civic authorities and media,
Recognising and drawing on each other's ministry strengths,
Doing nothing individually that could be done together.
Demonstrating the power of the Cross in the way they relate together.
Being a team for the Kingdom in their area.

Melbourne Pastors Network

Fostering unity between all pastors of every denomination of the Church in Melbourne through building relationships and praying together.

Transformation Videos

"Transformation"- Video stirs an eagerness for Revival

A video depicting the transformation of four cities when Christians began to pray has been distributed around the world. "Transformations" describes how cities in Colombia, the United States, Guatemala, and Kenya were changed by the power of God. The 60-minute video, released in 1999, demonstrates how "informed, sustained prayer can change a community," spokesman Alistair Petrie told "Religion Today"

….Distribution of the video "has absolutely exploded," Petrie said. More than 80,000 copies, about 75,000 more than expected, have been sold since its release last June, he said. Almost all sales have come by word of mouth. "People hear about it third- or fourth-hand and decide they have to see it," he said. Sentinel offices in Lynwood and Canada receive requests for the video daily.

…The film has been seen by an estimated 25 million people in 150 countries, Petrie said. It has been shown on television in some countries, and 40 international ministries use it. It is being translated into 25 languages, including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Hebrew

….The video is a tool for churches to change their communities, Petrie said. It depicts how churches identified the cultural, historical, and other influences that blocked revival, then "prayed against them," he said. It "helps churches see their communities through the eyes of the Lord."

…Spiritual revival in the four cities has reached all levels of society, the video shows. In Almolonga, Guatemala, rates of alcoholism and crime dropped dramatically and the once-poor town began prospering economically after churches began praying. The crime rate also has dropped in Cali, Colombia, where more than 60,000 people come to all-night prayer meetings twice a year, the video says

….Christians in more than 700 cities have started prayer groups since watching the video, Petrie said. Churches in Cape Town, South Africa, are holding all-night prayer meetings with as many as 2,500 people. Pastors in dozens of U.S. communities are meeting to pray for their cities after watching it, he said

….Government officials are embracing the video's message that prayer can change a city. The mayor of Cape Town showed it to his municipal leaders, Petrie said, and the mayor of Pretoria, South Africa, received 100 copies and promised to distribute them to other leaders. The mayor of London, Ontario, Canada, said her city needed the blessings depicted in the video, as did the Mormon mayor of Boise, Idaho, the Sentinel Group said

….A New Mexico sheriff sent a letter and a video to 90 churches asking them to pray for their community. Michael Davidson of San Juan County asked the churches to "enter into partnership" with his office to defeat pornography, drugs, and domestic violence. Twenty-five pastors held a news conference backing his call, news reports said

….The strong response is an indication of people's desire to see revival pervade their communities, Petrie said. Most such spiritual movements last only about three years and "never leave the church," he said. The media, government, and schools are rarely affected and destructive social conditions such as poverty, crime, and drug abuse remain unchanged, he said

….That will change when people develop a longing for God's presence in their cities, Petrie said. He and Sentinel Group founder George Otis, Jr., hold seminars in churches, teaching Christians to find "spiritual pathologies" to discover what blocks revival in their cities, he said. Change comes when people "come to the end of their own answers and begin to ask God for the answers," he said.

Since then, a new "TRANSFORMATIONS II" video has been produced showing a number of other nations and cities where God has brought significant transformation of communities.

So – Why not Melbourne, Victoria??

Let's claim Melbourne – one local city at a time through earnest, persistent, informed, united prayer. For more information or a copy of the Video "Transformations" ($30 posted) contact Transforming Melbourne

Transforming El Paso, Texas, USA

Law enforcement officers in El Paso, Texas, are being offered some heavenly protection when they report for duty. Hundreds have signed up for the backup of a personal prayer partner through the "Shield A Badge" program run by local churches as part of a concerted effort to impact the city for God. The names of officers who want to be part of the project are passed on to volunteers who agree to pray for them every day.

"Because of their jobs officers are in a certain amount of danger, and we want to pray for protection for them," said Barney Field, director of El Paso for Jesus (EPFJ), the organisation that coordinates a wide-range of collaborative projects by approximately 100 churches in the city. "They can face temptations in their jobs, too. Some guys are having problems with their marriages. It's good to know that every day somebody is asking God to look after you. We tell them that it is non-denominational and that no one will go to your house and preach at you. You don't even need to know who your partner is."

Sheriff Leo Samaniego said that he lets his officers know about the program and estimated that several hundred had signed up. He has enthusiastically endorsed the simple program. Samaniego believes it has helped play a part in reducing crime in the area.

Samaniego said that one deputy had an amazing escape when he stopped a car in the early hours one morning. As he struggled with a man armed with a knife, another person put a gun to the side of his head, but it misfired. "I told him somebody was watching after him, because that doesn't happen too often. Even though no one was praying for him in particular, I think that he got some of the blessing anyway," Samaniego said.

The sheriff also said that crime has dropped in El Paso by approximately 33 percent since 1996. "No one can tell me why. Some people say it is the economy, but that doesn't make any difference to juveniles," Samaniego said. "Most of the time they just commit crimes because they feel like it. I think [the prayer] does have an impact."

Similar prayer partner projects are in place for community leaders and local schools. Prayer is an important part of the EPFJ movement, Field said. A pastors prayer meeting has been held for more than 80 consecutive months. "People are realising that one church won't reach the city by itself," he said.

The falling crime rate is not the only statistic to encourage EPFJ participants. Divorce has decreased by 30 percent since 1996, when churches adopted the Marriage Savers program that includes premarital screening and counselling.

Local pastors persuaded the editor of the local newspaper to replace the daily horoscope with a daily Bible reading in 1997. The next year the paper featured a pro-family story each day. Last year the publication promoted good neighborliness.

Transforming Katy, Texas, USA

The Church of Katy doesn't have an address, but you will find it at various locations around the west Houston suburb–under signs that declare it to be everything from Assemblies of God to Southern Baptist. Pastors in the community are at the forefront of the growing "city transformation" movement that is seeing leaders put aside their differences to work together in new ways to impact their cities for God.

"We have chosen to put many of the things that are near and dear to us personally aside so that we can come together as brothers and sisters who have a common calling, which is the spiritual welfare of this community," said Charles Wisdom, senior pastor of First Baptist Church and recently designated "elder" of the Church of Katy. Going beyond traditional ministerial fellowships, the "city transformation" movement is bringing pastors together to pray, plan and work beyond the scope of their own walls. Around 25 leaders from local churches meet together each week in Katy. "There's a deep love and commitment to one another," Wisdom said. "We really want to see the other guy flourish and his church do well." That spirit of cooperation is replacing the previous "competition and turf protection," he said.

Similar combined efforts are cropping up in cities across America according to Jack Dennison, president of Citireach International and a missions strategist who is helping coach 20 such projects.

Whereas previous attempts at building unity centred on events–after which participating churches usually went back to doing their own thing–the new moves were being based in relationships. "The Scriptures tell us that there is a spiritual power that is released in the midst of unity," Dennison said. "There's a great spiritual effectiveness when the body of Christ is linked together and functioning as a healthy body–in all its diversity and heritage–than when it functions in a dismembered way."

Congregations that are part of a "city church" can maximise their resources and avoid duplication of effort, instead of competing for "dollars, territory, people," said Jon Sharpe, who heads Reach Seattle, the group coordinating citywide efforts there. Next month they start City Discovery Tours that will take congregational groups on visits to urban ministries to get a better feel for the parts of their city that they don't routinely visit.

At Mission Houston, another significant citywide project, Jim Herrington said: "We believe that God has a strategy for the transformation of the city, and that He will only reveal it when there's real, substantive unity that is based in relationships. It's not about cooperating once on a project. It's a whole new way of life for the church."

Dennison said that initiatives like those in Houston and Seattle were rediscovering a Bible truth. "In our isolation we have lost our capacity to affect real change [in society] because each group and individual is living much like Israel did at the time of the judges, with each one doing what is right in his own eyes," he said. "But when you look at the New Testament, you see that the church in a city was seen as one church in many congregations."

Source: Charisma News Service

Transforming Nottingham UK

Police are asking Christians to pray — and the crime rate is dropping at a housing complex in Nottingham, England. Organizers of the Prayerwatch outreach in the Arnold housing complex have reported a 10 percent drop in crime over two years, against national trends, according to Ecumenical News International. The outreach has proved so popular that a second complex is being included. "Police who aren't even Christian are keen to pass on requests for help through prayer," said John Robinson, a Nottingham City Council official and evangelical Christian.

…Prayerwatch was started by police officer Alan Stuart and gained widespread support among churches. Police ask for prayers for specific incidents, but withhold the names of those involved. Christians have prayed for incidents of theft, vandalism, and taunting of old people, said Stephen Hackney, pastor of Clifton Church Fellowship, part of the Assemblies of God.

…Prayer requests are dealt with in the regular services and by individuals at home. Social action also plays a part, because Prayerwatch has made Christians more aware of problems in their community and "more hands-on" in solving them, Robinson said.

…"We believe in the process and the importance of prayer," Robinson said. "Some of those outside may have their doubts, of course, but they're inclined to say: 'Well it can't do any harm.' So everybody's got to be a winner."