BCM Sharing Christ

Engage24 Prayer Emphasis

2013-04-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Are you in the beginning stages of planning for the new school year? Hopefully, you already know about Engage24 and are planning to join us in engaging your campus with the Gospel on 10/10/13 (if not, you can check out more about it at www.engage24.org). But...have you thought about having an intentional prayer emphasis leading up to this day focused on verbally sharing the Gospel on campus?

One idea you might want to consider is hosting a "Rooftop" experience. This could be the day before or even weeks ahead of time as a way to help encourage participation and prepare students' hearts for a time of sharing. Whenever you plan to do it, here are a few pointers to help make it a great addition to your Engage24 emphasis:

Join together at the highest point on or near campus so that everyone can look out and be able to visually pray over the entire campus.
Consider having a defined time for this event so that students know what to expect (this could also be helpful if you invite others from the community).
Invite local pastors and college ministers to join you in this time of prayer for the campus.
You could open or close with a song if you would like to include something that might help draw everyone in and create a unified focus (God of This City by Chris Tomlin has worked well for other groups in similiar experiences).

There you go! It's not rocket science...find a place that overlooks campus and pray. However you do it, I hope you will join us in asking God to move mightily on 10/10/13!

Got any other prayer ideas? Be sure to leave them as comments on this post!

Students Share Their Faith During Engage24

2012-11-12T19:37:00.004-08:00

ARLINGTON – Oct. 11 started out like any other day for Amy. She went from college class to class. Then a Christian classmate asked to go for a cup of coffee.

Amy admits she was relieved to be invited to coffee because she had questions swirling in her head that day, and she wanted to ask her classmate about them.

“You see, I was kind of happy she asked because there was something I desperately needed her perspective on,” Amy wrote in an email to the Engage24 leadership, and who asked to not share her real name or location.

About a year ago, Amy had an abortion and was condemned by her mother. She was carrying an immense amount of pain, guilt and disappointment from this situation. She shared her story with her classmate, expecting also to receive judgment. But that didn’t happen.

“She surprised me,” Amy wrote about her classmate. “...She smiled, grabbed my hands and told me all about how and why everyone is messed up - most importantly, how and why everyone still has a hope. She told me it was the gospel and that it meant that regardless of who and where I was, I was loved.”

The conversation between Amy and her classmate is just one of thousands that took place on Oct. 11 through Engage24, a 24-hour period where college students connected to Baptist Collegiate Ministries around the nation and Canada made an effort intentionally to engage their campus with the gospel. The goal was to see every Christ-following student share the gospel with one person that day.

Though Amy did not make a decision to follow Christ that day, she has been openly seeking answers and learning more about Christ since her encounter.

“Your Engage24 really gave me something tangible, and it has been the first piece of life I’ve seen in a while,” Amy shard. “I’ve even begun to see new strength, and it is helping me begin to do things like rebuild my relationship with my mother.”

In the United States and Canada, there are more than 17 million college students. Leaders with the Baptist Collegiate Network, an organization comprised of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries in the U.S. and Canada, had a heart for each of these students to hear about the hope of Christ. In Oct. 2011, these leaders began to pray about involving more college students in evangelism efforts on college campuses and their hearts were drawn to promote a one-day effort for sharing their faith.

“Our heart was to somehow move evangelism forward on a national level and communicate to all the college students in the U.S. and Canada that we want them to be out sharing their faith,” said Christi Brazile Matthews, associate director of the BSM at University of Texas at Arlington and evangelism committee member for the Baptist Collegiate Network.

Through the effort, more than 2,700 students across the nation and Canada reported that they shared the gospel more than 9,300 times and saw 96 students choose to begin a relationship with Christ.

“We just have been absolutely been blown away with what God has done,” Matthew said.

Ways that Engage24 was carried out were left up to the individual collegiate ministries. Some held evangelism trainings the weeks prior to the effort while others held service or campus events in order to engage students with the gospel.

John Shaffner with the BCM at the University of Arkansas shared that his group planned a campus revival around Engage24 and saw 39 students choose to follow Christ.

“Students have been connecting with and praying for lost friends this semester and this was the week to take it to the next level and share the gospel,” Shaffner said. “We planned REVIVE with the hope that this would be a harvest event, a place where students could personally invite those they have been praying for and investing in. Souls were saved and lives were changed.”

Richard Parsons, a business management major at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, said that he met a college student while the BSM students also were hosting a solarium card table. He found that Engage24 not only gave him an opportunity to share the hope of Christ with non-Christians but also to encourage Christians who have been struggling in their walk.

“We exchanged contact info and had a deep talk. He was really depressed,” he said. “We were going try to meet up last night, but he was tired and we ended up texting. It seems he's getting back on the right track again. It's great to see how we were trying to connect and make an impact with non-believers, and yet we were making an impact for the struggling believers, as well!"

At the University of Texas at Arlington Baptist Student Ministry, Matthews and other leaders held evangelism training each hour of the day on Oct. 11, equipping students to share their faith. The group also gave away free coffee and more than 600 donuts that day, giving students an opportunity to connect with others on campus and begin gospel conversations. Matthews mentioned that through the effort, she was able to explain the gospel to students four different times that day.

“There are students in the BSM who have grown up in church but had never shared their faith until Engage24,” Matthews said. “I think because it was a national day, they felt encouraged to be bold and take part in sharing their faith.”

Beyond spreading the gospel to students who may have never heard, Engage24 is the start to helping students make evangelism a daily part of their life, Matthews said.

“I hope that this helps them to have a lifestyle of evangelism, that they will look at their everyday personal lives they are living as a chance to share Christ, that they won’t see this as a one-day event but a lifestyle of sharing Christ with friends and family,” Matthews said.

Make plans to join the next Engage24 on Oct. 10, 2013. For more information, visit www.Engage24.org.

Kaitlin Warrington, Texas Baptists Communications

2012-07-11T07:54:00.002-07:00

Engage24: Rob's Story from Collegiate Church Collaborative on Vimeo.
Engage24 is an initiative designed to engage college students across the United States & Canada with the gospel message. The concept is simple: We are challenging all Christian students to share their faith with one person on October 11, 2012 or 10/11/12.

For more information about Engage24, please check out website engage24.org.

The Engage24 project is sponsored by BCNet (Baptist Collegiate Ministry Network), a collaborative network of Southern Baptist collegiate leaders focused on reaching, discipling, and multiplying believers on and around college campuses. Funding for BCNet is provided by collegiate programs of Southern Baptist State Conventions, LifeWay Christian Resources, and the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE

2011-07-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Each August, as new students make their way onto our campuses, anticipation grows as we consider the question, “Who will I meet today whose life can be impacted by my life and ministry?” An appropriate question, as we certainly do what we do in the belief that we will be used of God to make a difference in the lives of others.

But let me offer an alternate question: “Who will I meet today whom God will use to have an impact on me?”

The first question implies that ministry is a one-way street, that we are offering a service for the benefit of others. And this is of course demonstrates the biblical teaching to value the interests of others more than our own. We should not approach others primarily for what they can do for us. But the idea of the “divine appointment” can work both ways.

Out of these divine encounters, lifelong friendships are going to emerge. You may see the person in front of you right now as an anxious freshman, both excited and unsure of her new chapter in life, but in time she will grow into a mature adult, and your relationship will evolve from that of a campus minister-student to that of adult friends. Just as is true with our own children, the context of our relationship with our students over time will be as adults.

Lately I’ve thought about this a lot. I’ve thought about those to whom I extended a hand from beside a snow-cone table and who in time became followers of Christ and even the leaders in our ministry. Along with the many activities I did with my students, mostly we just did life together. Mission trips, retreats, weekly worship and Bible studies, but also lots of laughter, tears, times of challenge and celebration. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s why we do what we do. But I’ve also thought about the ways they ministered to me and my family, how they loved our little boys as though they were their own, and how they affirmed and challenged me when I most needed it.

And the four years on campus were not the end of it. There were the weddings, the reunions, the celebration of new life and the passing of old, and the markers of life transition regarding careers and homes and health that make up reality for all of us. It has been rich and rewarding to see connections begun many years ago continue into the present.

I want to believe that I was used to make a difference in the life of every student with whom I crossed paths during my years on the campus. I certainly hope that is true. But now as a veteran, I know for certain that those students made a difference in mine. My life is a mosaic of every relationship God has blessed me with over the years, including every one of those students.

And I think about that first encounter at an outreach table, a Survival Weekend, or an open house event. Who knew?

So as you go into this new school year, with all the logistical details and frantic activity of these first few weeks, as you meet so many new students and the focus is on “right now,” you may want to keep this longer perspective in mind. As you stand beside that snow-cone table and extend your own hand, you may be shaking the hand of a person whose life will forever impact your own. Who knows?

BY ROBERT TURNER

Building Relationships

2010-07-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

We have been building relationships with several Muslim students. One evening while hanging out with these students, two of them began to ask questions about Christianity. This conversation has been ongoing with them. This month we have been able to see fruit from our efforts. It was a great day to be able to baptize Ershad on February 14, 2010 We are still in the process of building these relationships. I would ask that you continue to pray for us in this matter.

Scott Belmore – University of Louisiana – Lafayette

The Soul-arium Train? A Slightly Different Approach to Evangelism Strategy.

2010-02-23T09:42:00.000-08:00

This October the evangelism team of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Network sat down to tackle the issue of evangelistic effectiveness in BCM circles. We knew that several BCMs are knocking the ball out of the park evangelistically. We also knew (and this may sting a bit for some), that many BCMs aren’t tackling evangelism quite as well as they could.

As the evangelism team pinged discussion to and fro in our war room, we threw out all kinds of ideas about what we could do to help collegians become more effective in their evangelism. It was tough and it got messy…but at the end of the day we arrived at an idea, or better said, a question:

“What one concept could we champion that would help every BCM student engage people with the gospel?”

As the committee fussed, discussed, and warred together, we realized that the greatest challenge in motivating or influencing Christian students to share the gospel is simply helping them to engage people in evangelistic conversation. Most Christians know the gospel well (and yes this is somewhat of a self-evident statement), but so many college students are challenged when it comes to sharing it. So we arrived at our goal—we want to help students to engage lost people with the gospel more effectively.

Enter Soularium. Developed by some Hippies in the northeast, Soularium is an evangelistic engagement tool that uses pictures to segue regular conversation into spiritual dialogue, and ultimately, to a gospel presentation. The Soularium creators explain further:

“Soularium provides 50 images and a few simple questions to allow you to enter and explore the lives of people around you…[it] allows you to come alongside another person on their journey by exploring where they’ve been, where they are now, and where they’re headed. Asking questions and genuinely listening can open a door to significant spiritual conversation about Jesus.”

As we thought about Soularium and its application, we began to realize that because of its simplicity, Soularium can be used in a variety of ways and in many different contexts. Further, just by using the dialogical approach of image and questions, college students are really able to engage more deeply and relationally into the lives of the persons with whom they share.

Soularium is by no means a “silver bullet” of evangelism, nor is it intended to replace successful evangelism tools and methods currently in use. What it is intended to do is increase the engagement of your students into the lives of non-believers, and ultimately, to bring more people in to the only relationship that can save.

As the person explains why certain pictures resonate with him or her, a dialogue opens that can allow the sharer to see into the life of a person’s soul.

If you’re interested in learning more about Soularium, check out the Soularium website at http://www.campuscrusade.com/WSN/soul.htm. If the price scares you a bit we’ve got good news. Through a cooperative program partnership with the North American Mission Board (NAMB), we are able to get you Soularium kits at deeply (Marianas trench-like) discounted prices. For more information, contact Ethel Stewart (estewart@namb.net) at NAMB.

Enjoy your ride on the Soularium train.

The Soul-arium Train? A Slightly Different Approach to Evangelism Strategy.

2010-02-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

“What one concept could we champion that would help every BCM student engage people with the gospel?”

As the committee fussed, discussed, and warred together, we realized that the greatest challenge in motivating or influencing Christian students to share the gospel is simply helping them to engage people in evangelistic conversation. Most Christians know the gospel well (and yes this is somewhat of a self-evident statement), but so many college students are challenged when it comes to sharing it. So we arrived at our goal—we want to help students to engage lost people with the gospel more effectively.

As the person explains why certain pictures resonate with him or her, a dialogue opens that can allow the sharer to see into the life of a person’s soul.

Enjoy your ride on the Soularium train.

A New Apologetics Resource

2009-09-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Bart Ehrman is probably the most influential skeptical New Testament scholar in North America. He teaches at UNC (Chapel Hill). In September 2008 Mike Licona, Apologetics Coordinator for NAMB, spoke at the NC student evangelism conference. After a breakout, a student approached him and said that one of her professors was having them read one of Ehrman’s books, and it was killing her faith. She looked somewhat desperate and asked if there was anything out there that answered Ehrman. Licona was fortunate to have a DVD of his debate with Ehrman and gave it to her. He spoke with her BCM director this past spring, and the student is once again strong in her faith thanks to help from the DVD.

Here is a new resource for you to use: www.4truth.net/ehrman
This is a professionally produced interview with Mike Licona on Ehrman. There are four short video segments that can be streamed or downloaded in high-definition. Also included are discussion questions for each segment which can be downloaded. Please check it out

Mike Licona
Apologetics Coordinator
North American Mission Board
770.410.6346
Free Resources at www.4truth.net

Evangelism Sermon Review of Harold Bullock's "Evangelism-the Process"

2009-02-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

By: Eddy Pearson, Christian Challenge/ Baptist Collegiate Minister and Jedi-Master

Evangelistic fruit grows on a relationship tree. What we see through programs like EE and CWT is that a prior relationship has been built and people have been prepared for the gospel.

Major problems in Evangelism: Efficiency and effectiveness

Bullock’s evangelism strategy or steps to bring people to Christ that he has found effective:

1] You meet new people who do not know Jesus [work, health club, clubs on campus, etc.]

Set appointments. Remember that you are not paid to be an evangelist at work on in class. Schedule a lunch or study time. Identify yourself with Christ from the beginning and be honest about who you are as a person. You come from a Christ oriented world view. The seed that goes in the ground is the word of God. You plow and plant the seed.

2] Invite people to a time [dinner, lunch, golf, shopping …] with other Christians or people pressing on to know the Lord.

3] Get them to an informal group event [sporting games like intramurals, Agape meals, game nights, etc.]

4] Get them to a formal group event [a spiritual event with a group identity. [I.E. bible study, large group meetings, retreats] The threat level is high threat because they happen inside buildings with a door. Imagine that you attend a Hari Krishna meeting with 200-400 other Hari Krishna’s would be a high threat to you.

Six and Sevens

Harold found that people who came to Christ after 1-2 contacts typically fall away. Yet, 6-7 gospel sharing times see people come to faith in Christ and they stick.

You can see a flow occurring with these steps. We like to see the gospel shared 6-7 times btw. steps one through four. You want individuals to see 6 or 7 people’s perspective on the gospel and how they live the gospel out.

Luke. 14: 25-27

Investigative Bible Study by Jim Peterson’s book has a good IBS/IEG

The gospel is more like agriculture than it is Industry. The more you plant and tend, the more you harvest.

Peter Drucker says, “Efficiency is doing things right, effectiveness is doing the right things.”

Christians approach evangelism like “sorties”, where we meet and go to the enemy territory and make a few strikes and go back to the castle. Jesus was gladly received by sinners. We need to be involved in non-Christian turf areas.

Evangelism takes effort. Personal inconvenience is a part of the process and you will have to rework your schedule.

We can invite every one to an emphasis event or night, for example, and you will see that most do not attend.

Where are you at in steps 1-4? What is your range within steps 1-4?

Questions:

An intriguing talk to listen to and I recommend it peers across the nation in collegiate ministry. A question I have is where do we see the process of evangelism in scripture?

How do you know whether it is the 4th-5th or 6th time that the gospel is being shared?

Please give any feedback and I have some ideas, but let’s see what others believe about the process.

If you'd like to listen to the sermon click the link:

Go to: http://discipleshiplibrary.com, Click topics, Click evangelism , Click Harold Bullock’s “Evangelism - the Process”

Reaching Students Reaching Students Through Love/Hate

2007-10-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

The local BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) at Francis Marion University sponsored an event called Love Hate that was an evangelistic tool for sharing the gospel via an open discussion forum where students could talk about the important issues they face during their college years.

The event lasted for a week starting on Wednesday, March 21st and ended with a big group meeting on Tuesday, March 27th. BCMers spent the first part of the Love/Hate week posting flyers around campus, putting up white boards on which people could write about what they loved/hated on various topics (including school, friends, family, Christianity, and religion), and wearing t-shirts with the Love/Hate slogan printed on them.

Heather-Grace Brown and Joedy Cook, two BCMers, said that they were able to talk with a student who is an atheist. Heather-Grace said, “He started asking us some hard questions, and even asking us why Christianity was better than Buddhism and other religions. We were able to share our faith, and tell him that Christianity was better because of Jesus. Another thing that he told us was that he did not want to serve God because he thought that God was selfish. He said that God only wanted His followers to worship Him, and never wanted them to do something for their fellow man. At that point we were able to tell him that, yes, we are called to worship God, but we worship God through a lot of the things we do. He had told us previously that he thought the Love/Hate thing was really cool, and it really helped a lot of people at the school. We were able to tell him that through things like Love/Hate, we not only help others, but those kinds of things are, in a huge way, how we worship God.”

Before the big event on Tuesday, BCM students reviewed the comments and invited other Christian students to write apologies about the things that people “hated” about Christianity. On the night of the big event, the students who had written the apologies stood up in the crowd and read their apologies in public. Jessie Rasnake, FMU senior nursing student, apologized for not being a good witness of Christ’s life. She said, “I’m sorry that most times in life I don’t follow Christ’s example for how we should live life because I choose to do it my way and continue to profess His name to the fullest and tell others to use Him as an example when I don’t always follow His example myself. I’m so sorry.” Jessie says that she wrote her apology in response to one of the statements on the Love/Hate boards that said, “I hate that you Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jessie says, “It was the harshest one I saw, and the bad part is that I knew that I had caused statements like that in some part. I just felt so humbled to know that I sin and who am I to ask someone to follow a Christ that I don’t follow myself. Who am I to tell someone they are missing out on something so great when I don’t live like it’s that great?”

There have been many open doors to sharing the gospel with students, and even a professor, because of this event. One girl accepted Christ the night of the service and another rededicated her life to Christ. One professor who said he had grown up as a Christian but had fallen away from church, had lots of questions about various religions that he discussed with one of the BCM students.

Sharing Jesus Begins with Prayer

2007-09-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

“Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

Prayer is the first ingredient of an authentic life with God. Not only is prayer important for our own relationship with God. It is the first step, the foundation, of our sharing with others. Through prayer, God causes the seeds that people plant in others’ lives to grow (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

There are many reasons to pray. First of all, we pray because Jesus prayed. Jesus serves as our main example when we are learning to share God with others. As we look at Jesus’ life we see that he prayed frequently (Matt. 14:23; 26:36; Mark 6:46; Luke 5:16; John 17) Another reason to pray is that God allows us to influence Him with our prayers. God listens and responds when we pray. you can actually influence God with your prayers. 2 Kings 20:1-7 tells the story of King Hezekiah. He asked God to spare His life and God responded by allowing him to live for 15 more years.

Just like Hezekiah's prayer, our prayers make a difference. We have influence with God and He moves when we pray. We can help lead people to eternal life.

What should you pray for?
Pray for more people to witness. Jesus specifically asked you to pray to the Father and ask Him to send workers into the field (Matt. 9:37-38). What is the field? It is the world of sinners. Who are the workers? They are people like you. Jesus wants people to find salvation and enjoy eternal fellowship with Him. He wants you to preach the Gospel. He has given the command "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matt. 28:19). Your witness for God may or may not be verbal. But either way, you need to pray and ask God to give you strength, love, and insight.

Pray for compassion for the lost. Compassion is a necessary element in witnessing. It motivates you to speak, to teach, and to pray for others to come into the kingdom of God. Compassion helps you to cry over the lost and to come to God in humble request for their salvation. Paul said, "Brethren, my heart's desire and by prayer to God for them is for their salvation" (Rom. 10:1).

Pray for the desire to witness. Pray this regularly and watch the Lord change you and give you a desire to reach out and tell people about Jesus. God will grant your prayers and joy will fill your heart as you fulfill the command of God by witnessing.

Pray for boldness. Pray for the courage to step out in faith and speak up when needed. Many Christians are timid because speaking a word for the sake of the Lord can be risky and frightening. Boldness gives you the courage to risk ridicule and to endure the scorn. Ask God for it. "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (2 Tim. 1:7-8).

Pray to the Lord to bind Satan and his angels. There is a hierarchy of demons seeking to hinder your witness and steal the seeds of the Gospel that you plant. You cannot fight spirits with reason or flesh and blood, but you can ask the Lord to fight. With prayer you can assault the camp of the enemy and weaken his false kingdom. Prayer is a mighty tool, a powerful tool. You need it if you are going to witness.

Pray for your needs. Do you have a close walk with God? Do you need a deeper fellowship with Him? Do you have sins you need to confess and forsake? If so, then pray. Enjoy your privilege of coming to the Creator of the universe who meets your every need. He loves you. He wants to hear from you and He wants you to make your needs known to Him. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6).

Hindrances to prayer
Prayer is important for many reasons, especially for witnessing. But prayer can be hindered. So that your prayers and witnessing might be as affective as possible, a discussion of the hindrances of prayer is necessary. Do any of the following apply to you?

Sin hinders prayer. "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18). We all sin, but do you have unconfessed and unrepented sin in your life? If so, confess your sin, repent from it as you are commanded in Acts 17:30, and continue in witnessing and prayer.

Selfishness hinders prayer. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3). Examine yourself. Make sure your prayers are not motivated by selfish desires. If you find that selfishness is a factor then confess it and repent.

Doubt hinders prayer. "But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6). We all doubt. We all fail. But when you doubt be reminded of the man who said to Jesus, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). He believed and yet doubted and Jesus granted his request. Remember that God has given a measure of faith to every man (Rom. 12:3). Trust God, even when you have doubts. It does not matter necessarily how much faith you have as much as who your faith is in. Put what faith you have in Jesus. Trust Him. Watch Him be faithful to you.

Pride hinders prayer. Jesus spoke of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer who both were praying. The Pharisee boasted about himself while the tax-gatherer asked for mercy from God. Jesus said in Luke 18:14 regarding the tax-gatherer, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other." Jesus shows us that pride is sin and that it hinders prayer (James 4:6). Have the same attitude that Jesus had in heaven in His full glory as He had on Earth as a man. He was humble. If you are prideful, confess it as sin, repent, and continue in humility.

Poor relationship hinders prayer. This may seem a little out of place here, but it isn't. A proper relationship with your spouse is very important. If there are problems because of selfishness, pride, argument, anger, unforgiveness, or any of the other multitudinous obstacles that can develop in marriage, then your prayers will be hindered. How are you doing with your mate? Are you witnessing while there is anger between you two? In Matt. 5:23-24 Jesus said, "If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Are you reconciled to your wife or husband (for that matter, anyone you know with whom there is strife) before you offer sacrifices of witnessing and prayer to the Lord? If not, then be reconciled, so your prayers won't be hindered. 1 Pet. 3:7 says, "You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that you prayers may not be hindered."

Prayer is a privilege
Prayer is a privilege. It is a powerful tool. Without it you will be a foolish worker in the fields of the dead. Pray and ask the Lord of the harvest to raise the dead to life. Bend your knees in fellowship with your Lord. Let Him wash you in His presence and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Prayer is where you meet Him. Prayer is where you are shaped. Pray.