The Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America announced the approval and formation of a Prayer Commission in August. The Commission's purpose is to encourage intentional prayer leadership in member organizations toward the goal of building houses of prayer for the nations with Great Awakening impact in view.
Additionally, the vision of the PCCNA Prayer Commission is to inspire and encourage denominational prayer coordinators in their mission to bring prayer to the heart of the denominational mission and to undergird the prayer movement across the denominational continuum.
As participants in the Prayer Commission, General Overseer Sam Clements has selected Shaun McKinley, media and special projects coordinator for the Church of God of Prophecy International Offices, to serve as the prayer coordinator and church's representative on the Commission. Mr. McKinley will work with international, national, regional, and state offices to connect and resource prayer initiative leaders at all levels of ministry.
"In our initial meeting, I was pleased to share with our fellow PCCNA organizations the recognition, advancement, and priority of prayer as a core value of the Church of God of Prophecy," said Mr. McKinley. "We continue to live in a desperate time and this Commission b
elieves that our only hope is for a Great Awakening. I believe our participation in the Prayer Commission will assist us in being intentional in developing and mobilizing a culture of prayer in our movement."
In a letter to members, PCCNA President Dr. Jeff Farmer stated, "The modern Pentecostal movement was birthed and sustained in the womb of a deep dependence on prayer. These are perilous times. We dare not default to programs alone to accomplish our mission. Pentecostal/charismatic movements and churches need a fresh baptism of prayer dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. Revival in the Church and spiritual awakening in North America is our only hope."
The stated values of the PCCNA Prayer Commission are:
- We value unified prayer;
- We value prayer that is transformational, worshipful at its heart, and missional at its edge;
- We value biblical, Scripture-based prayer that moves us to incarnate Christ and empowers us to proclaim Him with Pentecostal power;
- We value prayer in our homes-the family altar, daily and personal prayer, prayer between couples, blessings over children, prayer integrated into the fabric of daily life;
- We value corporate prayer through congregational prayer gatherings;
- We value intercession and intercessors, and urge pastors and congregations to identify them, train and direct them, team them together, debrief them, and honor their commitment to prayer;
- We value prayer evangelism and believe that a praying intercessor is behind each soul saved, if none other than Christ himself. We value the church as a cultural change agent, and believe that the penetrating intensity of the church as "light" and its potency as "salt" is a result of time spent with God;
- We value praying in the Spirit, by and with the anointing and enabling of the Spirit; and
- We value holiness and believe that the great evidence of time in the presence of God is transformation into His likeness.
Additional information and resources will soon be available through the Church's website, www.cogop.org, as well as in monthly updates in 2016 issues of the White Wing Messenger.