Century 2.2 Prayer Campaign

The general concept of what we are calling "Century 2.2"– adding handicapped accessibility to our church, increasing the capacity of our foyer and fellowship hall, and adding flexible classroom space – was approved at a special church business meeting on July 11. The next phase of the Century 2.2 will be the Capital Campaign in order to raise the necessary financial contributions and commitments to pay for the project.

The most important aspect of Century 2.2 is spiritual. In my newsletter article last month, I referred to the importance that the church leadership has placed on seeking God’s direction and will in this project – doing the right thing for the right reason. For this reason it is very important that Century 2.2 be undergirded with prayer.

The Century 2.2 Capital Campaign, which begins September 12 and culminates October 10, will include a Prayer Campaign. The purpose of the Century 2.2 Prayer Campaign will be to undergird Century 2.2 with prayer, asking God for spiritual revival to accompany the stewardship emphasis of the Century 2.2 campaign and the subsequent building program.

The Prayer Campaign will involve 125 hours of prayer during the four weeks of the Capital Campaign, between the Sundays of September 12 and October 10. Why 125 hours? This number is in anticipation of Riverview’s 125th Anniversary in 2012. The Prayer Campaign will have one hour of prayer for each year of our church’s history. These hours will include 4 hours of personal of prayer and 30 minutes of corporate prayer for each of the 28 days of the Campaign.

The four hours of daily personal prayer time will be divided into eight half hour segments, and made available to volunteers using the same system as the "Lenten Fast" program. Volunteers will sign up at church by taking labels representing a 30 minute per day time slot from a Century 2.2 Prayer Campaign display . Volunteers will place their labels in a Prayer Campaign brochure containing guidelines for a 30 minute prayer time and specific prayer requests. With broad participation, we can have more than one person praying during each of the eight half-hour segments during the day. The time and place of individual prayer will be up to each volunteer, permitting maximum flexibility for personal schedules.

A daily 30 minute corporate prayer meeting, at the church, will be lead by staff, deacons, and other volunteers. Corporate prayer times will be scheduled at various times during the week to accommodate a variety of individual schedules, assuring that everyone will have an opportunity to participate in at least one corporate prayer time each week.

More details on the Century 2.2 Prayer Campaign will be available on Sunday, August 15, along with the opportunity to begin signing up for both the individual and corporate portions of the 125 hours of prayer. Let’s join together in prayer, in faith believing that God will do "exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ask or conceive" (Ephesians 3:20).