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HOPE in Your Church

As a pastor or ministry leader in a local church, God has provided an opportunity and positioned you to have a significant impact on the spiritual development of His bride. Part of every church leaders calling is to partner with Christ in building His house of prayer!

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"Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? ”

Mark 11:17 (NASB)

 

We want to serve you as you seek to build a house of prayer in your local church and as you give leadership to helping others do the same in their own households. The good news is, it’s not complicated to get started building a house of prayer. A house of prayer is simply a consistent gathering of praying Christians who encounter the manifest presence of Christ...anywhere, anytime, with anyone. Keep in mind that this is God’s house of prayer, and He is inviting you into it and to join Him in stewarding it. He is already out in front of you. Just open the door, invite Him in, and get started. 

We're Here to Help!

Are you ready to commit to the building process? We want to serve you! Think of us like contractors, here to help guide you and your local church in the process of building houses of prayer in every home. We have several ways we can help mentor, train, and equip the families in your church.

Live Events

We offer live events both onsite and online. A Night of HOPE is an online gathering specifically for your church family to encounter Christ together and kick-off the building process.

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A Weekend of HOPE is a 2-3 day onsite gathering designed to give focused attention, personalized mentorship, biblical teaching, and Christ-encountering prayer at your church. The weekend is led by a seasoned member of our team alongside you and your team. 

ABBA

Do you want to build a kids and youth ministry focused around Presence instead of programs? ABBA is a ministry targeting the next generation to help lead them to the arms of the Father. We teach biblical truths on prayer and intimacy with God in a fun, dynamic, worshipful environment. 

Biblical Basis

Jesus came to restore God’s house of prayer. Even at the end of His ministry Jesus zealously cleaned out the house of prayer and declared, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations,” (Mark 11:17). He was quoting the 1,000 year-old prophetic word of Isaiah “I will… make them joyful in my house of prayer… for my house shall be a house of prayer for all the peoples,” (Isaiah 56:7).   

 

Jesus frequently gathered His own disciples to form their own house of prayer. While they rarely met in a house, they explicitly gathered for God-encountering prayer. See Luke 9:28.

 

The Book of Acts contains many houses of prayer, including the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:2; 11:14), the house of Lydia (Acts 16:15), the house of the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:31), and the house of Crispus (Acts 18:8).

 

Jesus further established the house of prayer by promising His manifest presence to His disciples: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20).

 

The apostle Paul planted many house churches, and all of them were houses of prayer (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2.).

Get Started

1. Pray. Ask your loving Father for help and guidance. You can expect God to meet with you because He has already promised, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8 (ESV). If you are meeting with a small group, He has further promised you, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” Matthew 18:20.

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2. Pick a time, date, and frequency. Most houses of prayer will meet once each week, some a couple of days each week, or even every weekday.

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3. Start small. It is more important that you start and gather in your house of prayer consistently, than you try to pray long. In other words, as you build your house of prayer, habit is more important than longevity. As you begin, you may want to start with 10-15 minutes of prayer. If you desire to go longer, God will certainly fill your time with increased joy and increased blessing. 

Many Shapes & Sizes

While each house of prayer has similarities, no two houses of prayer are identical. You will certainly learn from other models, but your house of prayer will be unique. Different stages of home life require different strategies. 

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  • Single adults. If you have a roommate, you’ve got a core to start with. If not, you can gather your house of prayer by phone, freeconferencecall.com, Zoom, or some other platform.

  • Newly married. Most couples never learn to pray together before they are married. Therefore, this is a perfect time to begin.

  • Families with small children. This is perhaps the most challenging season of life to build a house of prayer. Smile. Relax. Keep it fluid. Keep it short. Keep it real. But be consistent at least one day a week, if not three to five days.

  • Families with school-age children. For some families, this becomes even more complex. Smile. Again, keep it short. Keep it real. And do your best to keep it relevant. Activate older children to lead the younger children.

  • Families with high school students. Every family needs to find their own cadence. You can’t fight the complexity of your schedules, but you want to be consistent, even if you are consistently inconsistent. You will soon discover that regardless of how much effort is required, the rewards are worth it! 

  • Single parents. For those who are raising children alone, it can feel overwhelming at times. Don’t make your house of prayer more complicated than it needs to be. Learn to activate your children to lead.

  •  Empty-nesters. This is unquestionably the easiest time of life to not only establish your house of prayer, but to develop and mature it. 

  • Older adults. While you are physically unable to do some of the things you used to do, prayer is not one of them. Do not allow the enemy to tell you that you are past your prime. This is when your prayer life can thrive. If you live alone, schedule a time with at least one friend with whom you will pray consistently each week either in person or on the phone. 

How to Go Deeper

The best way to strengthen your house of prayer and gain prayer muscle is to use the Lord's prayer pattern as the structure for your prayer time at least once a week. No matter how big or small your house of prayer is, this pattern will work for you, and it is the way Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. We recommend following this seven-part pattern as follows:

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  1. Relationship "Our Father"

  2. Worship "Hallowed be your name"

  3. Lordship "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"

  4. Sonship "give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts"

  5. Fellowship "as we forgive our debtors"

  6. Leadership "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"

  7. Ownership "for yours is the kingdom, power, and glory forever."

Is your church building HOPE?

If you're local church has already begun helping families build a house of prayer, let us know. Join a network of thousands of churches around the world who are doing the same, and begin receiving regular encouragement and tools to continue building from our team of pastors and revivalists who want to mentor and serve you and your church.

 

By signing up you will receive a 7 part series called "Blueprints for Building HOPE in the Local Church" along with monthly encouragement from your friends at HOPE. Become part of a movement to rebuild family prayer and reclaim generations for Christ!

We're thankful to serve you as you build HOPE!

TESTIMONIES OF HOPE

RON BAUM

“My wife and I are convinced that the College of Prayer has discovered the best method to reach the final unreached people on earth.” 

PASTOR HIRAM SOSTRE

"Learning to pray in the College of Prayer has changed my leadership, my ministry, my marriage, and my family.” 

PASTOR JAMES CARLSON

I got sick and tired of leadership conferences. I needed prayer mentoring and God’s presence and I found it in the College of Prayer.” 

Can't make it to an event? Listen to our newest Podcast.

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