Congregational Excellence Prayer Team [link removed] November 1, 2019, All Saints’ Day
The Rest of the Story
Many of you have responded to the story about Penny at the New Room Conference last month. If you are new to the team or happened to miss it, you can find it here: [link removed] [link removed]
In that update, I mentioned how we first prayed for people who had neck pain. I joined others who were praying for a woman just one table over. Melanie Smollen, our new Missional Strategist for Congregational Excellence, just happened to be sitting next to this woman and also prayed for her. A couple of weeks later, Melanie shared that this woman had a powerful experience of God. Amazingly, she remembered her name, Sheri Rohrer, and the church where she serves as a United Methodist pastor.
At that point, I had to find out what really happened. A quick google search revealed the phone number of the church, and I made the call just hoping Sheri wouldn’t hang up on this weird person calling her about God. I explained I had been at New Room in Jack Deere’s pre-conference session and had been one of the people who prayed for her neck pain. I also brought up how Melanie had talked to her and remembered her name and church.
I said, “Melanie mentioned that something significant happened. I just wondered what that experience was like for you.”
She was more than happy to share. “It was an amazing experience!” she said. “As people prayed for me, I felt a warm, almost burning sensation go down my neck and upper back. It wasn’t painful, but soothing. And it took away my pain! I have had neck and back pain for years. Although I love coming to New Room, I hate the thought of sitting all day at a conference. It is very painful for me. But that day, God took away all my pain. I couldn’t believe it! I called my husband and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this!’ It was incredible. I could turn my neck and there was no pain. And I felt this overwhelming peace. It was one of those times when Scripture comes alive. I was really experiencing a peace that was beyond understanding.
“I will say that this glorious gift from God came just for that day. The next day my neck and back pain returned. But I had such peace and joy that God would give me that gift, even just for a day. It’s been a long journey. I started having neck and back pain in 2011. It was related to stress at my work and things from my past. I was in such pain I was incapacitated and in bed for a month. I finally received some intensive, wholistic treatment that relieved the pain, but didn’t take it all away.
“At this point, after much struggle, anger and some depression about it, I have come to accept that God may not take away this pain, but rather use it to make me dependent on Him. It reminds me that I cannot be a workaholic, which I otherwise am. I have to quit and put the church and the world in God’s hands. Instead of overworking, which makes my pain worse, I need to rest and worship Him. That is the kind of leader my church needs anyway.
“What was so beautiful about that day at New Room is to know how much God loves me and cares about me. It helps me to know that there will be a day when all my pain is gone. It gives me hope. So, thank you so much for praying for me along with all the others that day. I am so grateful.”
We then prayed for each other and hung up. It was a pretty cool. And that’s the rest of the story…for now. ;)
Praying with you to see the Holy Spirit do miraculous things,
Roger Ross
P.S. Want to know the latest prayer need? Text KINGDOM to 573-227-6557, and you will receive a weekly Prayer Text. Thanks!
Praying daily for the grace needed to start new places for new people
and transform existing churches across Missouri.
Feel free to pray for a different area each day. Thanks for your prayers!
SUNDAY: Let’s pray together: Lord, multiply your Kingdom through us.
MONDAY: PRAISE GOD for multiplication growth in our Prayer Team! We are grateful for 914 people praying daily & weekly (by text), representing over 327 churches. Let’s humbly ask the Holy Spirit to lead a total of 1,000 pray-ers to the Team in 2019. (More prayer releases more power!)
TUESDAY: Sow in prayer the seeds for a Great Awakening in our churches, communities and nation. Pray for the 11 churches in Missouri entering our new Multiplying Kingdom Impact (MKI) consultation process. Ask the Lord Jesus to reveal new insights and ways of being that transform each church.
WEDNESDAY: Thank the Holy Spirit for continuing to move powerfully among the people in our Planting Academy who attended the New Room Conference in September. Petition the Holy Spirit to teach us how to live and minister in his gifts and power.
THURSDAY: Hold before the Lord these churches that are starting something new in 2019-20: Woods Chapel Raytown site restarted on March 3 and Eureka UMC 2nd site in the Spring of 2020. Good Shepherd UMC in the Spring of 2020. Church of the Shepherd UMC in the Spring of 2020. North Cross UMC is discerning their next steps regarding a 2nd site.
FRIDAY: Seek God’s will to reveal clear next steps for the United Methodist Church around the world and for our Missouri Conference. Pray: Lord, give us a kind spirit of cooperation to create a new future.
SATURDAY: PRAISE GOD for our new FT Missional Strategist, Melanie Smollen who started November 1! Find out more about Melanie here: [link removed] [link removed] Also, thank God for our CE staff team of Melanie, Geoff Posegate, Tammy Calcote and Roger Ross. As we move further into fall, please… Invite the Holy Spirit to move in each of the “How to Connect New People to Christ” workshops being offered in each of our 9 Districts. As of October 30, 12 of 27 workshops have taken place.
Ask God to spiritually prepare each of our 9 District Innovation Teams to lead these workshops, and for pastors and lay leaders to be inspired to engage in a 6-week study in their church on the book Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders.
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