PRAYER CHAINS

Prayer chains are among the most common of prayer activities among congregations. The idea is simple: when there are prayer needs in the congregation, rather than wait until Sunday, get praying on them now by spreading the concerns by way of the telephone or text message. It's simple, and almost everyone has the time to do it. But how does it work?

(1) Ask around.

See if there isn't a prayer chain already. If there is, join it, and talk to its coordinator/leader about its expansion.

Most active churchgoers already know what a prayer chain is, though most of them have never been part of one. Tell the people in the worship services, Bible studies and small groups that you're starting one.

while there needs to be at least a few people who have a mature faith, it's also a good idea to seek a few newcomers as well. Invite the folks who drop their children off for Sunday School and then leave (that's right -- stand out there among the cars -- but be careful or you might need prayers for healing ! ). Or, invite someone who is receiving services from the church.

(2) Create prayer-chain 'trees' -- a paper outline of who will pass the prayer requests to whom, with names and phone numbers. Each 'branch' should have at least three and no more than 10 people on it; when there's more, create a new branch. This tree, with numbers, is to be given to each member of the chain.

(3) The coordinator/leader calls the first person on each branch with the message. The first one on the branch passes it to the next; if that person is unavailable, try the next one on that branch until you talk to an actual person and pass the requests along, who should pass it on to the next person on the branch. When passing along the requests, specifically say "I'm calling for the prayer chain, and these are our current requests :". Then give the message. Then end the call with a goodbye or God bless.

(4) NO CHATTING, and NO ADDING DETAILS beyond those passed along. PERIOD. Chatting and added details are the stuff of rumors, and a prayer chain must never become a rumor mill. It's true of male and female, young and old alike: the more talk, the more gossip. If you know (or think you know) further details, keep them to yourself no matter how strong the urge is to share them. It's the coordinator/leader's responsibility to speak to the person being prayed for about what to tell the prayer chain, when there is question. If it's not in the message, assume there's a reason it's not. Stick strictly to the message. Also, no word should be spread on or off the chain about who asked for the prayer; that, too, is private information. Such tight limits may sound un-friendly, but experience shows that it's extremely important.

If you've got a group of people who are 'highly-wired' (have email and use it once a day or more), then email can be a good way to chain them together, by way of a formal newsgroup or by just a cc list. This has a potential advantage in that it can more easily involve former members in distant places and time zones. For those who use PDAs and wireless phones, the 'stat' (emergency) prayers can be done through phone calls, texting, and Twitter. Twitter has shown itself especially useful for quick, arrow-type prayers, pass-alongs (when the arrow prayer is passed on to others, who pass it on to still others) and immediate situations (such as auto accidents and critical illnesses).