“2012 is a crucial year for the UK,” says Yan Nicholls, team leader of ‘Forever” - the Olympic outreach coordination team for Youth With A Mission.

“We have such a God-given opportunity to see people’s lives changed – both the lives of people from the nations visiting these shores for the Olympics, and also the lives of UK residents. One of the aims of the Olympic outreach has always been to bless communities in the UK, to see positive change. That blessing will come as we do what God asks us to do with regards to outreach. But it starts by us seeking God for His plan for this nation during this time.”

To enable this change, the Forever team has launched “Brick by Brick” - an online prayer calendar that enables you to pray for the United Kingdom throughout 2012.

“This is such an exciting moment,” says Hayley Bullen, Prayer Coordinator for the Forever team. “It’s the first step in fulfilling one of the key things I’ve felt God has said about 2012.”

“For all that we are trying to do next year, in terms of the Olympic outreach – none of it matters if we are not seeking God, being faithfully obedient to what he’s saying and surrounding the whole event and year in prayer. To have the whole of YWAM joining together in prayer for the UK in this Olympic year – that’s significant.”

Brick by Brick came together over a couple of years as God directed the team to consider the impact of constant small waves of prayer and prayer as a foundation for the Olympic outreach events. Out of this, several prayer tools have been developed, including this 24/7 prayer initiative.

“It’s nothing new within YWAM and many other Christian organisations to pray 24/7,” resumes Hayley. “But I believe that a global cultural and spiritual event such as the Olympics, when the nations gather in one place and where people are watching and engaging from all around the globe, is a unique opportunity to reach them and the host nation.

So Brick by Brick is a tool to enable people to join together to cover every minute, every hour and every day of 2012 in prayer directed towards blessing Britain. “This is not something I can do by myself!” jokes Hayley. “Praying 24/7 throughout 2012 will only happen as many people work together to cover the time. Actually, it’s only 8,784 hours in the whole year, which doesn’t sound so much!”

Anyone can get involved in Brick by Brick. Hayley continues: “Although we hope to have YWAMers from all over the world praying, we’d love to see the Church as a whole taking up the challenge. In the end, whoever you are, wherever you are from, whatever your denomination, the invitation is there to join us to pray in this Olympic period.”

You can register and begin to book your prayer slots immediately. To view the calendar and sign up, visit www.forever2012.com/brickbybrick/ now. Let’s get praying!

The bigger picture

Brick by brick is part of the bigger picture of prayer during this season of outreach. The past month has seen some major changes to the Prayer pages of the Forever website, including the addition of prayer resources, online prayer walks, forthcoming prayer events, and a monthly prayer calendar.

Visit www.forever2012.com/prayer-support/ to find out more.