Prayer Ministry Report

The Prayer Ministry Department serves to highlight and strength the significance of prayer in our churches and personally in the life of each member throughout our conference.

In Matthew 21:13 Jesus reminded the worshippers and merchants that His temple was a place of prayer.  He said to them: "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer...  With that focus, we began the quadrennium and selected the theme “A Foundation of Prayer”.  This was a theme that resonated as we attempted to strengthen and/or set the foundation of prayer across the conference.

Our aim was to nurture an attitude and discipline of prayer in every member, in every church, throughout our territory. We believed that spiritual effectiveness in ministry was impossible without prayer.  As such, prayer must be the foundation of all our ministries and initiatives.

And so, over the quadrennium, we partnered with members, local church leaders, NEC departmental leaders, and NEC executive leadership to implement meaningful prayer initiatives.  We began the term by hosting Meet & Greet—Listening Sessions for each of the 10 NEC areas:

• Bronx-Manhattan
• Brooklyn North
• Brooklyn South & Staten Island
• HUD-CAP
• Long Island
• New England North
• New England South
• Queens
• Rockland-Westchester
• Western New York

These listening sessions allowed me to introduce myself to the local leadership and to establish the foundation for active prayer councils in each area.  Our strategy was not to always plan at the conference level, but to allow our local churches and leaders to engage their membership and communities.  

With our theme in mind, it was imperative that our local church and leaders be the catalyst for the movement of prayer throughout the conference.  And praise God, it was an approach that allowed me to participate in 610 prayer encounters and teaching moments throughout the quadrennium which included:

• NEC Quarterly Days of Prayer and Fasting
• Prayer Emphasis Weeks
• Prayer Conferences
• Day of Prayer—Sabbath worship experiences
• ·Nights of Prayer
• Wednesday night prayer meetings
• Prayer Breakfasts
• Prayer Lines
• General Conference Ten Days of Prayer
• National Day of Prayer (first Thursday in May)
• Prayer training sessions
• Prayer Retreats
• Prayer Book Clubs
• Health Expos
• Prayer Summits
• Pentecost 2025

It is with a heart full of gratitude that I thank you and the Northeastern Conference for this opportunity to serve.  While it is not the end, we are living in the time of the end.  As such, much prayer is necessary to complete the work that will usher in Christ’s second coming.

We are appreciative of your support as we continue to labor to enrich the prayer lives of all constituents across our conference.  And as we move forward, I pray that we will all allow prayer to be the foundation of everything we say, plan, and do.