Congregational Resource Guide Article: Share and Prayer Triplets

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Launching A Spiritual Strategic Journey With 100 Days of Share and Prayer Triplets

Overview

Prayer is a vital part of the ministry of congregations. It is a major part of the fuel that provides energy and empowerment to congregations. Prayer movements in congregations seldom happen without some forethought or intentional action.

More than a decade ago I was introduced to a vehicle for organizing a short-term movement, which was simply presented as 100 days of share and prayer triplets. This article sets forth some principles and methods of conducting a share and prayer movement in your congregation.

Why Launch a Spiritual Strategic Journey With 100 Days of Share and Prayer Triplets?

Launching a spiritual strategic journey is a great opportunity to initiate a renewed emphasis on in-depth dialogue among congregational participants. At times it appears that people connected with congregations have lost the ability to communicate and dialogue at an in-depth level. Too much conversation is shallow and does not produce close and mature fellowship within faith communities.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey is a great time for congregations as faith communities to commit to and covenant with one another that the interpersonal conflicts and congregational fights that have characterized many congregations during the previous two milleniums will not be allowed to characterize the new millennium. Beginning the new millennium with 100 days of share and prayer triplets is one way to seal this commitment.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey provides a new beginning for interpersonal relationships in congregations. With an increase in the diversity of many congregations, too many people connected with congregations do not know one another, do not understand each others’ cultural perspectives, do not comprehend the generational differences, and fail to realize the diversity of religious practices and backgrounds that people bring with them to worship each week.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey provides a renewed opportunity to honor the Triune God. God is the focus of our worship. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion and guide. It is a fantastic idea to mark a new beginning by seeking to renew and strengthen our primary relationship with the Triune God.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey marks a new beginning. It is appropriate to anchor a new beginning with a spiritual process that involves a large percentage of the active people in your congregation.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey will bring significant changes and will require people to transition to new understandings. Some changes may threaten the spiritual or cultural comfort of people connected with congregations. Prayer is a way for people to deal spiritually and emotionally with the changes by which they are impacted, and the resulting sense of loss they are experiencing.
Launching a spiritual strategic journey provides a great opportunity to begin new Kingdom initiatives. Share and prayer triplets are a great way to build person-to-person, and household-to-household ownership of any new initiative.

What Should Be Your Expectations of the Results?

While 100 days of share and prayer triplets may not necessarily produce miracles in your congregation, it can sharpen the relational and spiritual sensitivity of many people connected with your congregation.
Share and prayer triplets can build relationships between people who have not had the opportunity to get to know one another. People of different age generations, tenure in their connection with the congregation, denominational and church backgrounds, and theological perspectives can build understanding of the faith journeys of other people.
Unfortunately many people in a congregation may never have learned how to pray for another person. This will provide an opportunity for them to experience the spiritual and emotional joy of praying unselfishly for others.
God answers prayer. Your congregation and the people connected with it may benefit greatly from answered prayer. Hopefully they will see the power of prayer and use it more often--especially in a servant way that benefits others.

How to Launch a Spiritual Strategic Journey With 100 Days of Share and Prayer Triplets

The concept of 100 days of share and prayer triplets is simple and straightforward.

First, people are challenged to come together in triplets 10 times for 100 minutes each time over a period of 100 days.

Second, the triplets are asked to spend their time sharing their personal hopes, hurts, and dreams, and sharing their affirmations, challenges, and vision for their congregation.

Third, the triplets are asked to pray out loud for one another and their congregation.

Fourth, the triplets are asked to share with the congregation the progress being made in their triplets.

Fifth, the congregation supports and unites around significance of the triplets through corporate worship and celebration.

Formation of the Share and Prayer Triplets: A leadership group in the congregation should take the initiative to form the share and prayer triplets. This may be the congregational staff, the deacons or elders, a congregational care team, a prayer ministry team, or a special group in the congregation.

Persons seen as participants in the leadership of the congregation should be specifically approached and asked to form a triplet. For this effort to be effective in impacting the entire congregation, a number of adults equal to one-half of the average weekly attendance by adults in congregational worship experiences needs to be involved in a triplet.

For example, if 150 adults are present on average in weekly worship experiences then the goal would be to have 75 adults to participate in a triplet, which would require 25 triplets to be formed.

Those persons asked to form a triplet should use the following guidelines in inviting people to be a part of a triplet.

First, they should not be members of their household, close friends, or close relatives.

Second, they should be people of a different age group, length of time connected with the congregation, and perspective on the life and ministry of the congregation.

Third, they should be willing to enter into a no-exit relationship. This means that each person will agree to stay actively connected to the triplet for the 100 days, even though there may be some challenging moments as the triplets seek deal with significant and meaningful issues.

Sharing in the Triplets: Triplet participants should share their personal hopes, hurts, and dreams, and their affirmation, challenges, and vision for their congregation. To initiate this they may need to engage in some trust building activities where they share their life story and spiritual journey with one another.

These trust building activities could be initiated in a large group setting where all the triplets come together for the first time and receive orientation and coaching. The pastor, staff ministers, and members of the leadership team should lead this orientation and coaching.

Praying in the Triplets: Triplet participants should pray out loud for one another and their congregation. Praying out loud is extremely important. This adds value to the ability of prayer to bless one another. Participants should lift one another up in prayer. The congregation and its health and Kingdom progress should be a subject of prayer.

Triplets could keep a journal of the key issues for which they are praying on an ongoing basis. Such a journal should include any statement of covenant and confidentiality the triplet establishes.

Sharing with the Congregation: A consistent and regular method should be used for the triplet participants to share with the congregation the progress being made in their triplet. One method is to ask a participant from a triplet to take three or four minutes in each worship service to share the joy of what is happening in their triplet.

A second way would be to have a triplet participant to write a short article about their triplet that could be placed in the church’s newsletter or on its web site. Third, would be for triplets to share prayer requests, particularly related to the congregation, that could be placed on a churchwide prayer list for use by other triplets, or by the congregation at times they gather in small, medium, or large groups.

Congregational Support for the Triplets: The congregation should support and rally around the significance of the triplets through corporate worship and celebration. One way to do this is to have the worship themes tied to the suggested agenda for the triplets. This would reinforce what the triplets are talking about, and connect to the triplet movement people connected with the congregation who are not in a triplet.

At the end of the 100 days of prayer a corporate worship celebration should be conducted to rejoice concerning answered prayer and new relationships, and the congregation’s renewed sense of community.