The Invitation, January 12, 2023
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted much of our world but one area impacted in particular has been the attendance of in-person churchgoers. According to a 2022 Pew Research study, 33% of people in the USA who used to attend church regularly before the pandemic have not returned to in-person services after the pandemic. We are seeing similar effects in other countries as well. Whether it is fear of returning to in-person meetings or that people got used to either not attending church or only attending virtually, a lot of churches are seeing a big drop in numbers. As a result, some may have to close their doors permanently. Please take a moment right now to pray for a fresh revival in the church and please also pray with us on January 12, our prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation.
- Pray for God to raise up more church leaders. According to surveys done by several denominations, many churches are experiencing a shortage of pastors. As an example, here in Scotland, many churches all over the country are needing to combine and sell their buildings because there aren’t enough ministers to lead the congregations. Please pray for provision for churches to keep their buildings and that God would stir the hearts of more young people to train as ministers and pastors so that these next generations would have well trained, godly leaders.
- Pray for continued growth in community outreach. One of the good things to come out of the pandemic has been that the church in general increased their involvement in their communities. And particularly for YWAM, it shifted our perspective on missions and gave us the opportunity to partner more with the local church because international travel was so limited. Please pray that just because travel restrictions have been lifted now, that won’t stop the local outreaches from taking place.
- Pray for those who have not returned to church. Fellowship with other Christians is so important but we don’t just want to see a change in attendance, we want to see the church passionate about God and pursuing Him wholeheartedly. Please pray for those who are no longer attending church and have not returned since the lockdowns have lifted, whether that’s due to fear or other reasons. And please pray that churches worldwide would experience a fresh revival in this new year.
Take Action
If you know of anyone who hasn’t returned to your church after the pandemic and you haven’t talked to them already, why not try and reach out to them today? It’s very easy to think someone else has probably done it but often that means no one has.
Join the Invitation
Sign up for prayer emails and find translations in many languages at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please contact us at [email protected] to let us know how you prayed, to recommend a prayer topic, or to request an advance copy of the prayer guide.
