A Prayer For Our New Campus

PCC is launching a new church plant this year in the Stroudsburg / East Stroudsburg area. That means we are going multisite. We will continue to be one church but will meet in two locations: Mt. Pocono and Stroudsburg/E.Stroudsburg.

Here are some specific things you can pray for as we prepare for this bold initiative for the glory of God. Thank you for your partnership in prayer.

Leadership

Pray for God to raise up Godly leadership to lead this new campus: specifically for a campus pastor, a kids ministry director and a worship leader. These leaders will in a large degree determine the success of this endeavor.

Laborers

Pray for God to raise up hundreds of volunteers who will be willing to serve and sacrifice for the cause of Christ at this new campus. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few ... So pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers.

Location

Pray for God to go before us and open up the doors for a facility where we can meet, worship, pray, grow and introduce people to the transformative power of Jesus . Ideally, we would like to rent a permanent facility. We are also exploring portable options such as meeting in a school or theater. We need God to direct us and give us favor with a facility.

Lost

Pray for God to give us a great harvest of souls for this new church plant. After all, this is what the church is all about ... people. Please agree with us in prayer for an avalanche of unchurched people to collide with love of Christ in this new church and forever be changed.

Spiritual Emphasis Month

This January we kick off our annual Spiritual Emphasis month here at PCC. (That's not to say we don't emphasize spirituality the other eleven months.) Rather, we dedicate ourselves to seeking the Lord in a season of 21 days of fasting and prayer at the start of the year.

Here are a few benefits of Spiritual Emphasis Month:

1) Clarity - Extended seasons of fasting and prayer help to eliminate distractions and unnecessary activity. This yields greater clarity and focus for important future decisions and direction.

2) Unity - Prayer binds the hearts of people together. The church or family that prays together, stays together. United we stand but divided we fall. Prayer unites.

3) Humility - The spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting are incredibly humbling. You quickly realize just how little control you have in life ... whether its with a fork or an act of faith. God blesses the humble.

4) Productivity - Fasting and prayer brings a supernatural level of success and productiveness into your life that otherwise would be lacking. God grands success to those that seek him.

For This Reason I Bow

Great people are people of great prayer. Great prayer leads to great power. And great prayer always begins with great posture.

Paul prays in Ephesians 3:14-21, "For this reason I bow."

To bow or to kneel or to get low is the true posture of prayer. It's the practice of humbling ones body as well as ones spirit before the Lord. Humility captures the attention of God. It's a declaration of dependence. It's says, "God if you don't show up and help me I am undone." This kind of prayer flies in the face of self-sufficiency. It's power made perfect in weakness.

It's what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22 when it says he "knelt down" to pray and he prayed even "more earnestly."

What would our homes, churches, and schools look like if we made ourselves low before the Lord and prayed even more earnestly as Jesus did in the garden.

Perhaps you could pray this prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3:14-20

Jesus give me STRENGTH. (Eph. 3:16-17)

• i can't do ministry on my own
• i can't do life on my own
• i can't do your will on my own

Jesus give me SCOPE. (Eph. 3:18)

• to understand the depth of your love for all people
• to comprehend the cruelty and compassion of the cross
• to put aside my personal preferences and get a vision for the lost

Jesus give me the SPIRIT. (Eph. 3:19)

• fill me with the fullness of the Spirit
• to go beyond belief and receive the Spirit of Christ (Acts 19:2)
• that Your power and presence may be with me

The result of this prayerful posture of body and soul is an immeasurable move of God in our day and generation.