Every church planter needs a group of people praying for him, his family, and the new church. There will be spiritual opposition to this advancement of the Kingdom. Count on it.

I help all of my planters set up a prayer team system to recruit people and keep them informed of praises & prayer requests. The hardest part of the whole system is the discipline required to remain consistent. It’s easy to let this slide when things get busy, but that is exactly when you need more prayer!

I subscribe to each of my planters’ prayer newsletters. The following are actual opening lines to prayer newsletters. Don’t let this be you:

• “Well, guys and gals it has been awhile since I have sent out an update…”
• “Sorry we are a little behind in our prayer update as it has been a little crazier than expected…”
• “Hey! We’re back. Sorry about being out of touch for a couple of weeks…”
• “First, let me apologize for not updating everyone on what God has been doing for the last 4 months!” [emphasis mine]
• “I WANT TO BEGIN BY SAYING I AM SORRY!  It has been awhile since you have heard from me and I apologize for not being in touch…”

This ‘letting it fall through the cracks’ is so common, it actually surprises me when a planter keeps the updates consistent throughout the pre-launch period. So set reminders, block it out on your calendar, getcha someone to kick you in the pants to remind you – whatever it takes. Because if you think sending regular prayer requests to your team is hard, you should try planting a church without anyone praying for you (caution: may cause injury).

What are you doing to keep up communication with your prayer team?