Together in Prayer

This September, we’re joining with Baptist churches across Aotearoa New Zealand in something both simple and powerful: prayer!

As one family of churches, we’ll be praying for God’s transforming work in our communities, our nation and our world. Together, we’ll be anchored around four transformative themes: Radical, Repentance, Renewal and Revival. Throughout the month, we’ll use responsive prayers in our services and make space to listen for what the Holy Spirit might be saying to us– as individual churches and as a wider movement.

As followers of Jesus, prayer is foundational to both our individual lives and our life together as the Church. And there is something particularly encouraging about knowing we’re not praying alone! When churches across the motu gather around a shared practice, we experience something of our connection, our unity and our shared hope.

Prayer happens in so many different ways and places within our faith community. Over the past month, we’ve been leaning into communal prayer in our services as we’ve prayed for the generations among us. This September gives us a wonderful opportunity to continue that experience as well as to join our voices with congregations right around the country.

While each church has its own local mission, we are also part of a wider Baptist family that shares a desire to seek God, listen well and encourage one another.

So, let’s lean in! Let’s pray with expectation. Let’s make room to listen as we seek to answer: “What is the Holy Spirit saying to Papanui Baptist Church, and to our wider Baptist movement, as we come together to pray?”

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…”
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

Colleen