“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:25
Hebrews 10:25 is a verse that is perhaps most infamously used too much as a means of “reminding” churchgoers to attend their church services and events, no matter what. And yet, many churches have had to change their perspective on what an “active churchgoer” looks like; from weekly attenders to those who attend twice a month, in most cases.
Now, this verse holds a new level of significance for believers around the world as churches have been forced to close to protect their congregants from the spread of COVID-19. Christians who once took for granted the ability to gather with other believers on a regular basis, are now feeling isolated in their homes and anxious for the opportunity to be with fellow believers again.
But being physically apart doesn’t mean that you can’t be in community together. And an essential part of community is the ability to pray corporately, as a church. Thankfully, digital tools are available to enable churches to still meet in online spaces. Building an online prayer community doesn’t happen overnight, but once you’ve established the channels, it’s a matter of consistency of usage and promotion to show your people just how they can share their prayers and needs, as well as lift their fellow believers in prayer.
Creating an Online Prayer Space
The first thing you need to do, is actually create the space where visitors can submit their requests and see the requests of others. There are a variety of channels you can use for something like this:
Virtual Prayer Group
You could set up a virtual meeting room through Zoom or Google Hangouts where a group of believers could join in and have conversations around their prayer requests with each other and pray together.
Creating a Facebook Group
If your churchgoers are active on Facebook, it can be a great opportunity to create a Facebook Group specifically for them. This gives them a space where they can have conversations with each other, including prayer requests and needs in a platform they’re already using and familiar with.
Building a Website Prayer Page
CloverSites customers can create a prayer page for their site with the exclusive prayer layout in Greenhouse. When you build a Prayer page on your CloverSites website, it provides a public space where anyone can come and share their requests and indicate that they’re praying for others. Your team has the ability to moderate requests and approve them before posting.
Setting Up a Prayer Chain
Set up a group text or messaging system for those in your prayer ministry at your church. Designate a primary contact for any prayer requests and put them in charge of sending out any mass communications needed to the prayer chain. You can use software like Clover People to keep a group in your database and send out text and email messages whenever an urgent prayer request comes through.
Next Steps
You can use any of these methods to start facilitating an online prayer community for your church now. If you’re looking to strengthen your church’s online presence, you can take a free demo of CloverSites websites today and see how easy it is to build a beautiful church website that can meet your people where they are. Try CloverSites today!