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ARC (Association of Related Churches) helps pastors and leaders launch a diverse set of churches around the world. And no matter where ARC churches are located or what their ultimate mission is, they all share one thing: They’re based, at their core, in prayer.

The first lesson ARC leaders always teach new ARC church planters is that they’ve got to win the battle, fight the battle, sustain the battle, and discover the calling—all in prayer.

To do so, ARC church planters must establish a culture of prayer. Michael Miller of Upper Room in Dallas shares insights into how they can do exactly that.

Define What Prayer Is

The word “prayer” can mean different things to different people. To Miller, it’s a very elastic term. So, it was very important for him to define what prayer was in the early days of his new church plant.

“To define prayer was really important in the early days for me. When I say the word prayer, my community knows what I mean,” says Miller, an ARC church leader. “When people in the Upper Room hear prayer, it’s synonymous with the word relationship.”

That relationship, he says, is between members of his church and Jesus. 

While Miller says he always had an idea of what prayer was for him, he didn’t know at first what it meant for an entire congregation. 

Be Disciplined

If you want to establish a culture of prayer as planters of ARC churches, you must be disciplined. In other words, you must be disciplined in the fact that prayer is an everyday part of what you do.

“When you do that, prayer will become more than an activity. It will become a culture for your entire ministry,” says Miller.

A huge part of establishing that culture is ensuring that Jesus is present as part of it. There are various models of prayer an ARC church planter can employ—what matters is that it engages people with Jesus.

Create Core Values Around Jesus

One of the biggest challenges Miller says he faced in the early days of launching Upper Room was reaching people in his congregation the right way. He recalls a time when he talked to Jesus. At the time, Miller felt he was the wrong person to lead a church, because he wasn’t ministering to the people.

The Lord spoke to him and said He didn’t call Miller to minister to the people—instead, Miller first had to minister to Him.

And so, that’s what he does. The core value of prayer for Upper Room is to make sure that members are encountering Jesus on a regular basis. 

Daily encounters with Jesus—accomplished by etching out daily scheduled times in the Upper Room prayer room—are essential to creating that culture of prayer.

About ARC (Association of Related Churches)

ARC (Association of Related Churches) represents a collaborative network comprising independent congregations from various denominations, networks, and backgrounds. Its primary mission is to provide essential support and resources to church planters and pastors, enabling them to effectively share the teachings of Jesus Christ. ARC’s operational approach revolves around empowering and equipping church leaders, thus helping them foster the widespread dissemination of Christ’s life-changing message. Established in 2000, ARC has evolved into a worldwide entity and has played a pivotal role in facilitating the establishment of over 1,000 new churches globally.

Published By: Aize Perez