Recently a number of people have asked me how they can pray for us (as leaders) and for the church. Here are five things to pray for, which should also give you a flavour of our heart for the church:
1. Spiritual growth
Our primary desire for the church is that she would become more beautiful like Christ. Christ’s desire is that we would become his holy and spotless bride. Pray for our church that we would grow together in radical obedience to Christ, learning what it looks like to give every part of our lives to him. For some of us, this will mean coming to the settled conviction that Christ's ways are better than anything the world has to offer.
2. Healthy relationships
When I think about what the church should look like, I’m always drawn back to the description of the early church in Acts 2.42–47. It’s a picture of believers living in deep devotion to one another, with relationships characterised by loving and intentional sacrifice. They’re even selling possessions to financially provide for those in need. Pray for our church family, that we would model the love of Christ to one another and that we would have this same intentional and sacrificial posture towards each other.
3. New life
We have the incredible ongoing privilege of meeting a good number of secular Londoners who want to explore the Christian faith. The most recent Salt Course has been well attended with 20-25 guests each week. We know that no one comes to faith except by God’s miraculous work in their lives. Pray for our Salt Course guests and those we’re meeting 1-to-1, that they would find a living faith in Christ. And pray for those who’ve recently become Christians, that they would have healthy and rapid growth in their newfound faith.
4. Leaders
Pray for the elders, the wider leadership team, the deacons, life group leaders and those who organise our Sunday services. Pray that we would serve and lead in a sacrificial way, with love for Christ and love for the church as our driving motive. As the church has gone through a season of growth, we’re also feeling the need for more leaders! Ask God to raise up more leaders in every part of the life of the church, including the new staff role we’ve just announced (here).
5. Hunger for God
Perhaps most importantly, please pray for all of us (including yourself!), that God would grow our hunger for him. That we would be a people who are pursuing Him, who desire to hear his voice and to shape our lives around his purposes. Pray that we would be filled with the Spirit, full of his love and have an unrelenting and passionate worship of Christ.