Praying together on campus can happen beyond the Sanctuary and Sunday School classroom. For flip-flop night with our CLUB345, we prepared prayer books with dollar-store soft photo albums with prayer images and the following instructions. Then sent our 3rd-5th graders out in pairs to prayer walk our campus.
Page 1: Did you know that you can talk to God? Well, you can. Talking to God is called PRAYING. God loves it when you talk to Him. God loves kids. The Bible says so. That’s why He always hears a child’s prayer. In fact, He tells adults that they should act like children in their hearts if they want God to listen to their prayers. You may be small, but your prayers are important to God. That’s why when you pray, big things happen.
Page 2: Prayer Walk Suggestions
You can take the prayer walk by yourself, but a partner is always more fun.
- First, choose who will be Reader #1 and who will be Reader #2.
- When you arrive at a location, do everything the book asks.
- Then, take turns reading the statements and questions outloud.
- Read the prayer aloud together.
- Part of praying is listening. Listening to God from the scriptures and listening to each other’s answers.
- Wait one full minute before going to the next location.
- Take your time and don’t be in a hurry to finish.
Page 3: Go to the stage area in the sanctuary where weekly worship services happen
Reader #1: On this stage, weekly, the leaders present God’s Word in song and preach the Scriptures.
Reader #2: Go stand where Mr. Michael typically stands. Look at the church or congregation from his view. Do you know how much time goes into preparing the worship music weekly?
Reader #1: Go stand in front of the pulpit and see what Pastor Jimmy sees on a weekly basis. Can you picture where any of our people sit? Point them out and name who you know.
Prayer: Lord, let Your Word be taught clearly. Let the people respond to the Good News of Jesus. Let our worship be pure and let us be ready to hear. Amen
Page 4: Go to the Grateful Bread Kitchen
Reader #2: This is where we share a meal with our church family. When was the last time you ate here?
Reader #1: This is also where the basketball league is open to the community. Have you ever seen a basketball game here in the gym?
Reader #2: This is also the place where the youth hold their classes and small groups. Where do you hear about Jesus with your friends?
Prayer: Father God, thank you for giving us food to eat and friends to eat with. May we always be grateful for the people who teach us about You. Amen
Page 5: Go to the Playground
Reader #1: This is where little people play. This is where we play. The preschoolers will grow to be kids and the kids will grow to be youth, then adults. We need to set good examples for them how we play here.
Reader #2: It’s important to always be friendly to little people. They are watching us in everything we do and don’t do. Say out loud like a cheer, “Yay! Jesus!”
Reader #1: Remember when you were a really little child? What questions did you ask of God, then? They were probably different from the ones you ask now.
Prayer: God, help me to remember that you have the answers to all of my simple and hard questions. Help me to trust You like I did when I was a little kid to __________. Amen.
Page 6: Go to the Parking Lot
Reader #2: What does a parking lot represent? It can represent visitors or new people, regular attenders, a place to park your car, or even a place to come hang out.
Reader #1: From our parking lot you can hear/see Sandy Plains Road. How many people drive by who know someone from the church? Count how many cars drive by in 1 minute.
Reader #2: Of the people that drive by, how many know and are walking with Jesus? How many will never come to church unless someone invites them? Why?
Pray: Dear Lord, we pray for the people who just drove by our church. We pray that they know about Jesus. Help me to tell people that I know You and the good things that are going on at Your church to teach us about You. Amen.
Page 7: Go to the Pastor’s car, or someone else’s car that you know and put your hands on the car
Reader #1: This is how __(name)___ comes to serve here and how they go home. Share with your prayer partner where you usually park when you come to the church campus.
Reader #2: This is where ___(name)___ spends a lot of time traveling all over to tell people about Jesus. ___(name)___ listens to music, talks on the phone, and runs errands to help them do ministry in this car.
Reader #1: Did you know that they pray for you by name? They love Jesus very much and always need your help to pray for them.
Prayer: Father God, please keep ___(name)___ safe in their car. Please keep them close to you because they love you so much. Help him/her to __________ . Amen.
Page 8: Go to the top of the steps on the back side of the Christian Education Building
Reader #1: This is the highest place on the church campus. Can you see the parsonage (where the Pastor’s family lives) to the right?
Reader #2: Can you see Sweat Mountain to the left? It is the 2nd highest point in all of Cobb County behind Kennesaw Mountain. What is the highest you have ever been?
Reader #1: Jesus went up on mountains to pray all the time in the Bible. Have you ever climbed or hiked up a mountain?
Prayer: God, thank you that today the sky is________. Thank you that I can walk this high. Help me to ________. Amen.
Page 9: Go to the Outside Chapel area and sit on one of the pews facing the cross
Close your eyes.
Take 7 slow, deep breaths.
Reader #1: Romans 8:31 asks us the amazing question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Reader #2: This question is a source of great encouragement for people who believe in Jesus. If God is for us, what else do we need?
Reader #1: Read these other endings to the phrase aloud. If there are any that don’t feel true to you, tell your prayer partner.
Page 10: Read together aloud:
If God is for me, …
I will always have hope.
He will hear my prayers.
Life is an exciting adventure.
He will defend me.
I can view myself as His treasured possession.
My future is bright
I can expect things to work out for good.
I have no limitations.
I can expect His help as I live out the plan He has for me.
I cannot out-dream God.
He will not try to make me feel bad about myself.
Addictions can be overcome.
Nothing can separate me from God’s love.
He approaches me in love.
Stepping out in faith is natural.
He is rooting for me.
He is crazy about me.
Which phrase is your favorite?
Page 11: Go to the CLUB345 Classroom and find the knotted rope
Reader #1: Sometimes life seems to bring one difficulty or disappointment after another. Going through a crisis can make us stronger, but there are also times when we seem to crumble under the weight.
Reader #2: We can encounter what at first appears to be a fairly small problem. Then somehow it becomes overwhelming as we try to fix it on our own.
Reader #1: Such a circumstance is like tangles or knots that become tighter and more complicated as we struggle to sort them out. Do you have a knot that seems hard to sort out?
(Get ready to untie a knot in the rope as you pray)
Prayer: Father God, as I untie a knot in this rope, please give me the courage to become stronger in the circumstance. Amen.
Page 12: Go to a broken tree outside
Reader #1: God wants to speak to us more than we realize.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you that You love me. Thank you that you hear me when I talk to you. Help me to learn to pray more. Help me to pray about everything. Thank you for your answers to my prayers. Teach me to hear you speaking to my heart and guiding me every day. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Dear Lord, the other things I want to pray about today are _________… Amen.
Page 13: Go to at least 2 of the following 4 locations
Go to the prettiest tree near the playground – What makes it pretty? Define beauty. Name 3 items/objects of beauty to you.
Go outside the gym. Do you see the tall cross on the outside of the gym wall? What does it look like? What does it remind you of?
Go to the sidewalk steps between roses alongside sanctuary wall and 2 rose bushes to the left of sidewalk steps. These rose bushes were given by the landscaping company in memory of Mrs. Vickie’s husband. Have you ever had someone die who you loved very much?
Go to the silver box in the ground on the front lawn of the Sanctuary. This is the power box to the road sign along Sandy Plains Road. What gives you the power to shine for Jesus?
Page 14: Go to at least 2 of the following 4 locations
Go to the bird’s nest on the outside of church office window unit. What reminds you of Spring?
Go to the Sanctuary. Did you notice the artwork in the Sanctuary tells a story? What story? Where is the beginning and where is the end?
Go to the technical booth. What is the last movie you went to the movies to see?
Go to the Coosa Dogwood tree on the front lawn. Did you know this type of dogwood tree blooms AFTER Easter. What are your plans to celebrate Easter?
We mixed up the pages in each book so everyone was headed to a different location throughout the night. Last Sunday was the perfect weather to be outside. We did have adult volunteers located in the Sanctuary and outside to help our prayer partners along their way if necessary.
In our debrief we discussed the places they had not known about before and the stories of their favorite prayer places. We also discussed what it meant to follow in someone’s footsteps. Would they be the witness and friend of Jesus that someone else would follow? If so, we used sharpies to write our names on the bottoms of each other’s feet as reminder that our friends and family follow our footsteps to Jesus…and He can count on us!
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” Isaiah 52:7
DeDeBullReilly 