On the Sunday evening before Labor Day weekend, we hold a special worship service that's focused on praying for students, teachers/staff, and parents as they prepare for "Back to School." We've done this for the past several years. The congregation is given a list of all the students as well as teachers who are members of our congregation. They are also given the names of the administrators of the local schools (Christian and public). Last year we had a small enough group where the group that was being prayed for sat in an inner circle and the rest of us sat in an outer circle and offered prayers for each group. Before the prayer time, each group was given an opportunity to share specific prayer requests. Our group was a little bigger this year so we had the group that was being prayed for sit in chairs up front and share prayer requests. I led the prayer and then allowed time for others to offer prayers. Since it was an evening worship, the number of parents and younger students was quite low and the overall attendance was about 1/4 of the congregation. I'd love to do a similar format where more of the congregation could be present. It's a powerful time and each year, students, parents and teachers as well as congregation members comment on how much of a blessing the evening was for them.
Posted in: Back to School With a Blessing
On the Sunday evening before Labor Day weekend, we hold a special worship service that's focused on praying for students, teachers/staff, and parents as they prepare for "Back to School." We've done this for the past several years. The congregation is given a list of all the students as well as teachers who are members of our congregation. They are also given the names of the administrators of the local schools (Christian and public). Last year we had a small enough group where the group that was being prayed for sat in an inner circle and the rest of us sat in an outer circle and offered prayers for each group. Before the prayer time, each group was given an opportunity to share specific prayer requests. Our group was a little bigger this year so we had the group that was being prayed for sit in chairs up front and share prayer requests. I led the prayer and then allowed time for others to offer prayers. Since it was an evening worship, the number of parents and younger students was quite low and the overall attendance was about 1/4 of the congregation. I'd love to do a similar format where more of the congregation could be present. It's a powerful time and each year, students, parents and teachers as well as congregation members comment on how much of a blessing the evening was for them.