Story

Sandra is driving home from work on the same route she takes every morning and evening when she comes upon a sign, “May I Pray For You?” hanging off the side of a red canopy tent.

Pulling her car over that Tuesday evening, she was greeted by three volunteers from Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church under the canopy in an empty corner parking lot.  Sandra was at a place in her life where she lacked peace given difficulties she was experiencing in her home life.  She needed encouragement and direction.  Two of the volunteers put their arms around her shoulder and they huddled together for prayer there on the corner of the busy intersection.

After praying, with tears in her eyes, Sandra shared, “Thank you so much for praying for me.  I’ve been given new hope and feel so encouraged now.  God knew I needed your prayer tent to be here today!”

Sandra is one of hundreds who have received prayers from the “May I Pray For You” Prayer Tent Ministry.  There are countless others, who everyday and everywhere, stand in such great need for someone to show them the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit by praying for them.  These in need will respond when we are willing and available!

Are you willing?  Are you available to be used by God in this way?  There is nothing more powerful and impactful in the life of someone whom you can pray with and for.  

Let us share with you how simple it really is to begin your own “May I Pray For You” prayer tent ministry!

Impact

By power of the Holy Spirit, you can literally help transform your community by setting up a “May I Pray For You” Prayer Tent. This ministry will not only help you discover your community’s needs, but will allow you to have a powerful outreach with the gospel of Christ. Praying with a person at your prayer tent gives God an open door to touch a person’s life.

“We want to be the body of Christ,” said Pastor Bobby Jones, who heads up his group of prayer warriors.  “Inside the church walls we come together to strengthen each other, but the fields beyond the walls of our church are “white unto harvest. We want our community to know we are here and going to be here for them!”  Pastor Bobby knows prayer changes everything and that people don’t often enough consider prayer until they see it’s available to them.

As people visit the prayer tent, they will often share some kind of spiritual need.

A prayer tent like this is a powerful opportunity for outreach and evangelism that is not aggressive, but friendly and inviting! 

If you would like to receive a Prayer Tent Information Package and/or learn how you can support the

Prayer Tent Ministry, please click here.

FAQs:

What is a prayer tent?

A prayer tent is a simple, easy to set up 10’x10′ canopy tent placed in a public setting for followers of Jesus to pray for and with those who stop by with need.

It’s an area clearly designated and staffed with trained volunteers from your church or otherwise faith-based group.  

Nothing elaborate, just a designated and scheduled place in the same area where your outreach is occurring. You may want to have a table and several chairs so people can feel comfortable.

Where can you use a prayer tent?

The amazing versatility of this prayer tent is that it can be used wherever you are wanting to do faith outreach in your community!

For example,

  • Church grounds
  • Busy street corner with lots of traffic and high visibility
  • Community gatherings, organized events, block parties, seasonal festivals, etc.

How do we staff the prayer tent?

Recruit volunteers who have willing hearts and a burden to minister to the needs of others; particularly those who love to pray for and with others.

Recruiting people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and able to cooperate with the Holy Spirit through their spiritual gifts will bear fruit. These more often have the gentleness and humility of the Spirit to know how to express those gifts with love and genuine compassion.

You’ll want volunteers who are good listeners and comfortable listening to the stories of other people and who demonstrate gifts of compassion and mercy.  Tip: The prayer tent is not the place for the overly aggressive evangelist or the constant talker who doesn’t listen.

What do we do at the prayer tent?

As people visit the prayer tent, they will often share some kind of personal spiritual need.

When a visitor comes to your prayer tent, a simple welcome greeting is appropriate.

Then, a question like, “How can we pray for you?” will often be sufficient to get the conversation going.

Listen for the need and then take the time to pray with the person right there under the prayer tent.

You can expect that God will open up your heart as well as theirs and that the Holy Spirit will touch their lives.

After praying, there are a variety of other things you might want to do:

  • Share information about other community services that might help like food banks, shelters, medical clinics, etc.
  • Talk more about the person’s spiritual journey and what they might want to do to grow.
  • Share information about your church and your worship services.
  • Gather contact information for follow up,  if appropriate.
  • Give out tracts, bibles, etc.

It’s recommended that your team keep a notebook where they can put topics for prayer.  After a while, you might see some themes that God might be calling your church to meet.

How Can I get more information?

For more helpful and practical information, please click here.