Fun facts
prayer ministry
Prayer Ministry Staff ( 8 / 31 / 2016 ) Cindy Marrell , Tom Olsson
Calvary ’ s Prayer team includes over 20 groups of people that commit to pray for specific needs such as missions , church ministries and congregant prayer requests . Beginning in early summer , we also had 18 teams prayer walking through Calvin and nine neighborhoods around Calvin .
One of the huge blessings from this past year has been the leading of God to bring Cindy Marrell on staff part-time . Cindy shares , “ On top of that , He has blessed my family ’ s business abundantly , something we just didn ’ t see coming . One source of jobs is from a program that benefits low-income home owners with renovation funds . We were leaning to new construction work as there are less surprises . So it really was out of obedience to God and faith in Him that we took the work in these older homes . And God has made both the new construction and renovation profitable !”
We are grateful for the ways God has answered prayer in our own lives and the lives of many Calvary attendees over the past year . We look forward to seeing how He will grow this ministry in the next year .
Fun facts
• Elders prayed over individuals , families , groups over 150 times
• Averaged nine people in need of prayer on the first Tuesday evening prayer time with the elders .
• The Elders have prayed in hospitals , homes and even an office when needed .
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prayer garden dedication
On Palm Sunday , March 20 , we had the opportunity to dedicate our new Prayer Garden , a significant moment in the history of our church . In our 2010 sermon series , A Beautiful Life , we looked at the story in John 12 of Mary , a woman so grateful for the miraculous work God has done in her life , that she anoints His feet with expensive perfume . Jesus ’ welcoming response to this extravagant gift is a reminder to us that the most important thing in life is to experience the presence of God and give Him worship in return . At the time of that sermon , we wondered what it would look like for us to corporately express this kind of outlandish worship to God .
The Prayer Garden is the extravagant gift that we were ultimately led to give God . As a church we understand that the prayers of His people are a beautiful aroma , the most pleasing gift we can offer Him . Thus on March 20 , we asked God to fill the Prayer Garden with His presence , to come into that place in a powerful way . Together we knelt before God , acknowledging His grace and rescue in our lives , and offered the prayer garden to Him wholeheartedly and gladly .
The Prayer Garden is one of the first elements of our Grace Beyond building project to be completed .