From Mid-Michigan to the Ends of the Earth -- The Power of Intercessory Prayer
Printed in white on a 6-by-65-foot black wall are the names of 7,200 unreached people groups from around the world. This wall of the unreached is an intercessory prayer tool at Christian Celebration Center in Midland, Michigan. Christian Celebration Center (CCC) is an Assemblies of God church with a powerful commitment to support local, national, and international missions through giving and prayer. Pat Rusch has served as CCC’s assistant and missions pastor since 2005.
During his first week as missions pastor, Rusch reviewed missionary newsletters from the 100 missionaries Christian Celebration Center supported at the time. Realizing that the time required to read each newsletter and pray for each missionary was too much for him alone, Rusch and the CCC leadership designed a structure to provide the missionaries CCC supported with more individualized prayer.
When CCC financially supported a missionary, they prayed for the missionary and his or her country. If the church did not financially support a missionary, they generally did not pray for that missionary or that nation. Christian Celebration Center’s prayer coverage only went as far as their missionary support.
Rusch felt convicted as the Holy Spirit revealed he had underutilized the unlimited resource of intercessory prayer. This conversation with God eventually led to Rusch organizing monthly prayer meetings.
“It doesn’t take a big church and tons of money to pray for the nations intentionally and strategically,” he says.
GLOBAL PRAYER INITIATIVE
One Monday a month, CCC hosts a Global Prayer Initiative.
“We prepare people to shift from what they have been doing all day to a holy purpose and tuck themselves into the authority of Christ,” says Rusch. “We’re about to do something that’s not in our own power. It’s only by the power of the Spirit. To make that shift, we put on the armor of God.”
CCC currently supports more than 230 missionaries. During what they call flag time, attendees hold flags from a particular country and pray, by name, for the missionaries who minister in that country.
Later, attendees divide into teams representing the five AGWM geographic regions: Africa, Latin America Caribbean, Europe, Eurasia, Asia Pacific, along with U.S. and local missions. Each team has a director responsible for managing the team, interviewing missionaries who are seeking support, maintaining relationships with the missionaries CCC supports, and managing the church’s missionary budget for his or her respective geographic region. Each director also connects with AG World Missions area and regional directors about needs, special projects, and missionary support. Team members prays for specific missionaries in their region and stay connected with them.
For the service, CCC places 12-by-15-foot regional maps on the floor for each team. The teams gather at their corresponding maps and spend 20 minutes praying for requests received from their missionaries that week.
“Every month we receive between 400 and 600 requests,” says Rusch.
Each month, groups also pray for the Lord to call workers to the nations. Often, groups pray at the wall of unreached people groups.
“One time, we did a walk of the call. Attendees put themselves in an intercessory mindset, thinking, God is going to call somebody from a particular country to go to unreached people groups. With that thought, they walked from the country they were standing on to the unreached wall,” explains Rusch. “They stopped at an unreached people group and interceded for somebody in the sending country to get a Macedonian Call to go to an unreached people group.”
The collective service concludes with prayer for missionary guests. Surrounded by the church’s geographical regional director and other attendees, someone holds the missionary guest’s national flag overhead. Other attendees gather around the missionaries and lay hands on them and pray. After prayer, the church gives each missionary a check from Sunday’s missions offering.
“Our people are extremely generous. People are cheering, celebrating, and crying. It’s a great way to end our time together,” says Rusch.
NOT JUST ADULTS
The Global Prayer Initiative meetings aren’t just for adults. Rusch partnered with CCC’s children’s pastor to create a kid’s version of the Global Prayer Initiative. Running simultaneously with the adult Global Prayer Initiative, more than 50 kids and volunteers attend.
“The kids come in and get a passport stamp for whatever country we focused on that weekend. At one station kids learn about that country’s culture. At another station they pray for the missionaries,” says Rusch. “They’ll have their own flag. If we have missionary kids there, Christian Celebration Center’s kids gather around the missionary kids, hold the flag over their heads, and pray for them.”
Since 2010, CCC has spent more than 13,000 culmalative hours in intercessory prayer for the nations.
PRAYERS MATTER
These Global Prayer Initiative meetings have produced countless testimonies. One missionary in Peru was traveling on a domestic flight when mid-flight, the plane began to nosedive. The missionary remembered thinking, This is going to be it and started to pray along with the other passengers. Across time zones, the Global Prayer Initiative flag time was taking place.
“It felt as if a big angel took his hands and put them around the plane and gently lifted it back up and stabilized it. We landed safely,” says the missionary.
The next day, the missionary’s wife emailed Rusch, telling him about the miraculous occurrence. This testimony not only encouraged those who gather at the Global Prayer Initiative but also believers around the world who intercede for missionaries.
“I’m not saying it all happened because of a little group of people at this church in mid-Michigan,” says Rusch. “I believe the Holy Spirit tugged on the hearts of thousands of intercessors all over the world at that moment and we had a part in it.”
This was only one example of hundreds of testimonies of God’s miraculous work through intercessory prayer, and stands as proof that prayer for the nations is a powerful tool. The Lord listens and answers the prayers of His people. CCC has received reports of answered prayers for healing, safety, and travel-related issues, and numerous other requests.
The main goal of these meetings is to connect with the heart of the Father, according to Rusch. Seeking out what the Father wants to do and then engaging in it –– praying that His purposes come to pass.
“We don’t become the creators of the fruit of prayer; we become the conduit through which the Holy Spirit can pour His ideas, His passion, His purposes through us, and we pray accordingly,” says Rusch. “When it comes to prayer, especially global prayer, the most important thing is to connect with the heart of the Father and be faithful to pray that His purposes prevail.”
REACHING THE WORLD
Global intercession is a responsibility and privilege as believers. Although Christ-followers may not have personal access to all the world, they can reach the world through intercession.
“The Great Commission is all people everywhere. As impossible as that sounds, it isn’t, if you take intercessory prayer into account,” says Rusch.
Although Christian Celebration Center has an unwavering commitment to interceding for the nations, Rusch admits he has not always had a heart for missions. At that time he asked the congregation to pray that he and the church would cultivate a burden for missions.
“The more I exposed myself to missions, the more of a heart I got for it,” Rusch says.
The Lord also ignited the church’s heart for missions. “God will change anyone’s heart, if they’re willing,” Rusch says.
God is shifting the hearts of ministry leaders and others to gain a passion for His work across the nations. Prayer can shift the atmosphere, change trajectories, and impact the lives of both the recipient of prayer, and the one praying –– in mid-Michigan and around the world.