Posted: 5/27/05
Church sees ministries launched,
sustained by consistent prayer
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
SAN ANTONIO–At First Baptist Church of San Antonio, prayer is like making a cake. Each ingredient is critical to the final product.
People bring different perspectives and petitions to the congregation's prayer ministry, said Marte Kellogg, the congregation's prayer coordinator.
“Each person has a shape,” she said. “If everyone doesn't pray, the prayer is incomplete.”
The church is developing a prayer ministry that includes every member and works in conjunction with the congregation's other ministries.
“My vision is that every ministry of the church is birthed out of prayer, but it would also be sustained by prayer,” Kellogg said.
While support groups meet at the church during the week, a prayer team of church members prays for them in another room. Support group leaders report relationships are building faster than before and people are more willing to talk about their issues, Kellogg said. These actions have been keys in making the support groups more effective. Leaders have asked for a larger prayer team to accompany up-coming support groups.
Kellogg also started praying each morning at 9 a.m., and others have joined her. They gather at the church and petition God for the needs around them.
For several years, Pastor Don Guthrie has emphasized a need to pray, and he has led the church to connect with other praying Christians.
The congregation recently launched www.praysa.org, a web site designed to raise awareness of San Antonio-area prayer gatherings and events. First Baptist Church also joined with other Christians through events related to the Global Day of Prayer, when the congregation emphasized prayer in its Sunday morning service and then held a special prayer service that afternoon in its sanctuary.
Kellogg hopes the interest in prayer continues growing. The results al-ready are showing themselves, she said. They can be even greater if more people were to get involved.
“The heart of the church is changing,” she said. “You can see it in their attitudes.”
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