A Summer of Prayer

Summers are always an interesting season for the church. In our context we have a lot of small groups that take the summer off from regular meetings as families travel and have children's sporting events. It is simply following the natural rhythm of our culture to slow down and take a break. While I think rest is good and we should be flexible, our young adult ministry keeps meeting through the summer (though in different settings) and I am blessed by the number of young adult small groups that plan to keep meeting through the months of summer.

Last year for our weekly gathering we moved to a local park and did three months we called "Note to Self Summer." We read daily from Joe Thorn's Note to Self on preaching the gospel to ourselves and each other. It was an important series for us as it set our goal as a ministry clearly before our young adults - we will preach the gospel to ourselves and each other, nothing else.

This summer the gospel remains central to how we function in community as we focus on prayer by  reading and sharing devotions from The Valley of Vision over thirteen weeks. Again we will be benefiting from Joe Thorn's work as we follow a plan he put together. The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers and they are rich in theology and reliance on the grace of Christ. I am expectant of a significant move of God in our young adults and our church as we spend the summer in prayer. It is our summer in the valley. We get underway on June 1 and will finish in August. Will you spend the summer in prayer with us?