How to Pray for Fulkerson Park

The elders of Fulkerson Park have put together the following as a guide to praying together now and in the immediate future. Please join us in asking our Father to help us, “as a worshiping community” to “treasure the glory of Christ in the world.”

1. For our congregation, pray . . .

• For spiritual renewal, a deeper hunger for God’s word, a greater love for Jesus, and a higher commitment to the kingdom of God.

• For a genuine love for people, a commitment to sharing the gospel with others, and growth in word-deed ministry in our community.

• For continued unity in the body, deeper and stronger relationships with one another, and a more vibrant witness to the reality of Christ among us in our community.

2. For our leaders, pray . . .

• For wisdom and courage to give effective leadership to our church in pastoral care, casting vision, equipping the saints, and making disciples.

• For humility and sensitivity in discerning and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of the flock.

• For blessing on our new initiatives in leadership development and for the Lord to continue to raise up men to serve as shepherds and servants to the flock (elders and deacons), as well as men and women to give fresh leadership to men’s, women’s, and children’s ministries.

3. For our ministries, pray . . .

• For corporate gatherings for worship: pray that our worship gatherings would be both God-centered, calling our congregation to worship God by treasuring the glory of Christ in the gospel, and missional, as we intentionally seek to welcome outsiders and newcomers in hopes that they will embrace the gospel and come to Christ.

• For children’s ministry: pray that we would have a higher commitment to providing quality biblical instruction and spiritual care to our children in a safe, well-staffed ministry environment and would nurture children who are spiritually mature and will have a high-level impact on the world for the glory of God.

• For discipleship and education: pray that we would have wisdom to design and implement a comprehensive plan for the spiritual formation and discipleship of new believers and the ongoing spiritual formation and equipping of mature believers through small groups, Sunday School, and other teaching and training venues.

• For local outreach: pray that we would increase in the effectiveness of service in our community in nursing homes, at Berrien County Jail, through our mercy ministries and in supporting the Pregnancy Care Center; and that we would discern the Lord’s will regarding opportunities to reach out to Notre Dame students and in the Fulkerson Park neighborhood.

• For missions: pray that we would provide better prayer support for our missionaries and that God would give wisdom as we continue to expand our missions budget and look for opportunities to treasure the glory of Christ in the world, especially among unreached people groups.

4. For the future, pray . . .

• For our leaders to have wisdom in 2008-2012 in developing clear and accomplishable goals for the future in making campus improvements, adding additional staff, developing new ministries, and giving better oversight and care to our congregation and current ministries.

• For adequate resources, in terms of leaders, finances, volunteers, and staff, to move forward as a congregation in the next three to five years.