Purpose of the Church Prayer

a prayer focused on strengthening the mission purpose of your local church

(this prayer uses the mission statement of Epicentre Church as the three prayer points)

Encounter God > Make Disciples > Change the World

1. Encounter God

Pray for your church people and staff to have fresh and deep encounters with Jesus, that lead to genuine transformation.

“Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord a question would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. When Moses would go out to the tent, everyone would get up and stand at the entrances to their tents. They would watch Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses would go into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down. It would stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. The people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent. Then all of them would stand and worship at the entrances to their tents. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face like one would speak to a friend…" - Exodus 33:7-11a NIRV

“Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people.’ But you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know your name. I know all about you. And I am pleased with you.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me more about yourself. Then I can know you. And I can continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “I will go with you. And I will give you rest.” - Exodus 33:12-14 NIRV

Then Moses said to him, “If you don’t go with us, don’t send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and your people? You must go with us. How else will we be different from all the other people on the face of the earth?” The Lord said to Moses, “I will do exactly what you have asked. I am pleased with you. And I know your name. I know all about you.” - Exodus 33:15-17 NIRV

“Come, all you who are thirsty. Come and drink the water I offer to you. You who do not have any money, come. Buy and eat the grain I give you. Come and buy wine and milk. You will not have to pay anything for it. Why spend money on what is not food? Why work for what does not satisfy you? Listen carefully to me. Then you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the richest food there is. Listen and come to me. Pay attention to me. Then you will live. I will make a covenant with you that will last forever. I will give you my unfailing love I promised to David.” - Isaiah 55:1-3

2. Make Disciples

Pray for a growing and thriving discipleship culture to be established at your church, and that many will desire to be discipled and also step into discipling others.

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” - 2 Timothy 2:2 NIV

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31-32

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. - Matthew 16:24-27 NIV

“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” - John 15:10-17 NIV

The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then. - Matthew 19:25-30 NLT

Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” - Matthew 4:19

“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” - Luke 6:40 NIV

3. Change The World

Pray that your church people will step into whatever spheres of influence God has placed them in and be ambassadors of Christ and agents of change, to impact their world for Christ, both locally and globally.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” - Luke 10:2 NIV

But I promise you this—"the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be filled with power. And you will be my witnesses and messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces—even to the remotest places on earth!” - Acts 1:8 TPT

"Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 TPT

"19 God was bringing the world back to himself through Christ. He did not hold people’s sins against them. God has trusted us with the message that people may be brought back to him. 20 So we are Christ’s official messengers and ambassadors. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do. Come back to God! Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us." - 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 NIRV