CONNECTIONS WITH THE BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION
I
tell the folks at the Billy Graham Headquarters , that to
4 come and do their morning devotions gives me ‘ bragging rights .’ Almost every month , it was my privilege to be with them and share on prayer , including the morning after the elections – and I felt that God had given me a word for them that day and for the nation . Last year , it was also my privilege to do a series , a kind of ‘ revival ’ of messages on prayer for a week . I am so grateful for their affirmation and continuing invitations .
It has also been my honor to consult with the Rapid Response division and the Festival / Celebration teams , and speak into the lives of those working with Samaritan ’ s Purse .
Trivia : My South Stanly High school ‘ prophecy ’ – a spoof on the future of graduates - said something to the effect that one day I would be working with the Billy Graham folks ! o
Prayer Leader Continuing Education
The first prayer leadership coaching training was held in Kannapolis in May 2015 . More than thirty pastors and leaders attended the 2-day training .
A certification program has been launched to create benchmarks for minimal training in conceptualizing the church as a house of prayer . The goal is to train trainers . The effort continued in 2016 with additional training for the International Pentecostal Holiness demonination , as well as , another interdenominational training in August .
The special training is a part of the Prayer Leader ’ s Continuing Education program ( PLCE ), a 43 month process aimed at coming alongside local church pastors and prayer leaders with resources and encouragement in the effort to transform their congregations into houses of prayer .
Small says , “ We have had the large prayer training conferences , and they were helpful . But what is most needed is grass-roots , ongoing , training that brings incremental change to the culture of our congregations .” The unique quarterly education process involves meetings of multiple congregations – even across denominational lines to consider how they might bring prayer to the heart of all they do ! Each quarterly 2-hour and 15 minute session is designed to focus on teaching-training via video and discussion guides , helpful principles of prayer and prayer leadership , then fresh practical tools and resources , and a talk-it-over and take-it-home segment .
Training can be implemented top-down with the support of a denominational office or bottom-up , a local congregation implementing the training alone or with others . It could be a means of uniting churches across denominational lines in a city . o
www . projectpray . org / prayer-trainer-program