Where are thou church?

Pastors. Local church volunteers and leaders. Let me speak tersely for a moment.

I've had conversations with church leaders about how to open the flood of prayer at their churches, and I'm often met with apprehension. Here's push back we hear:

• "We can't just open prayer up. Who’s going to pray for everyone?”

• “Our prayer team is 4 people. We’ll have to train a bunch of new people to pray.”

• “How is prayer going to help me grow my church?”

What?

One out of ten people in your church is in active crisis. And you're worried about volunteer bandwidth and whether or not your church can grow through prayer?

You have the ability to open the floodgates of prayer. To encourage people to enter a digital secret place and pour their hearts out to God—and you won't do it because the upfront cost to develop your prayer culture doesn’t seem worth it?

I Get It. I Really Do.

Look, I was a campus pastor. I needed to be laser-focused on my campus. It's hard to make sense of random prayers coming in from across the city, let alone the rest of the internet. The ROI isn't clear. I can't track conversion rates to Sunday service attendance. And yes, the prayer team is too small—it's currently five people, most at retirement age.

I also have reverence for these prayers and want to steward them well.

But let me give you a fresh lens to think about this problem.

What If This Is the Answer to Your Prayers?

Imagine you do open the floodgates of prayer. You receive 100+ prayer requests in a matter of days. More prayers than your team can handle.

This is what's called a good problem to have. Quite honestly, it's probably an answered prayer.

You and your team have been praying about how to go beyond the walls of the church. How to cultivate digital discipleship. How to engage your digital audience besides uploading Sunday sermons to YouTube and calling it a win for your digital church.

Which, by the way—funny how we're totally okay throwing a sermon online, hoping it goes viral. But the moment it comes to prayer, we turn away. Why? Because the intercessory work is harder?

The Holy Spirit Doesn't Need Your Infrastructure

Look, I know you're doing your best. I know you lose sleep over the people in your church. I know you entered ministry to help people find Jesus, not to manage volunteer schedules.

But here's what I also know: The Holy Spirit doesn't need your infrastructure to work.

What if instead of seeing 100 prayer requests as overwhelming, you saw them as:

• 100 people who still believe your church cares

• 100 people who haven't given up on God's people

• 100 divine appointments you didn't have to create

Start Small, Think Big

Start small. Open the floodgates for one week. Tell your church: "Our hearts want o know what you’re going through. We WILL pray for every single one prayer request we receive."

Watch what happens when people realize someone—anyone—is listening.

The early church didn't wait until they had enough disciples to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. That ragtag bunch just started with what they had.

Look at us now.

Be the Church the World Needs

Be a church that opens its arms. Let the culture know: "We're not afraid of your pain. We're not too busy for your crisis. We believe God still moves."

That's the church the world is desperate to find.

So yes, open the floodgates. Let them flood. Let your systems break. Let your volunteers get overwhelmed.

Because somewhere tonight at 2 AM, someone's typing a prayer that could save their life.

Will your church be there to receive it?