Prayer Meeting Problems

Upwardbound, It is sad that prayer is not the main focus in many churches today. Before I would reduce prayer time, for choir time, I would get rid of the choir.

 

Have your prayer meeting in another room.

 

As the Music Minister/Choir Director of my congregation, I'm appalled. The prayer meeting is arguably one of the most important things that a church can do, provided that it is truly praying and not a social hour. I would agree that if the two were in opposition, the choir should go.

When I came to minister here 10 months ago, I noticed a similar problem. My answer was to move choir practice to Sunday nights, following the worship service. Our services on Sunday start at 6:00 and are generally over by 7:15 or so. I can have an hour or more for rehearsal and the choir seems to be ok with that here. On Wednesday nights, my choir of 25 people is almost all in attendance at the Prayer Meeting, giving them opportunity to pray and to join the rest of the congregation in that ministry. Another possibility is to have choir practice or prayer meeting in another place. But I'm of the mind that the choir members should be there praying as well.

There are ways for the two not to collide in opposition. Maybe your staff or whoever needs to consider other alternatives to interrupting prayer meeting.

And tell the Music Minister to get out of the way and not to distract! He could easily get everything ready for choir rehearsal ahead of time, during the day, and not have to do it during prayer time. I would have to agree that his inattention to the meeting at hand could easily be a distraction and is highly inappropriate. Of course, this is only my opinion.

 

Our prayer meeting is held in an outer building because we have several hundred children in AWANA at the time. It lasts from 6:30 to 7:30 but many times runs over. The children are dismissed from AWANA at 7:40 but we 'hold them' until they are picked up.

Our minister of music isn't in prayer meeting either. I think that's odd. The pianist IS and choir can't really start without her....

I agree with others. How about the prayer teams going in to a S/S room, etc. so they can pray until the spirit has moved?

Diane

 

Yes why aren't you in a different room to begin with?

Is it that you are using the Sanctuary for your Bible Study and Prayer time? And the Choir needs the Sanctuary for the Piano, or organ, or other instruments?

I noticed at several different churches the ladies prayer teams were during the day. Also I know of another where Bible Study was just that Bible Study, and Prayer time was seperate from that.

If your group is to large to meet in a Sunday School class, or gym, move it to Tues. night, or Thursday night.

No meanness intended, but if you expect the Choir to compromise, perhaps your group needs to, also.

God Bless
Sherrie

 

Why are you voting to reduce your prayer meeting from 1 hour to 45 minutes?? Is there no leader in that church?? I have never heard of such a thing.

There are many hours during the week to pray. If the choir needs the auditorium for practice because of the instruments and such, then pray somewhere else. If there are 12 people coming in the back and talking, find out why there are not praying with you and get them to join you.

This is a real easy problem to solve.

 

Sherri,

No disrespect intended, but don't you think the congregational prayer meeting on Wednesday night should take precedence over choir? Don't you think the choir members should attend prayer meeting as well, especially the music minister?

Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy (sp?), but Wednesday night prayer meeting is just as important as Sunday morning service, sometimes more powerful because only the ones who want to come on Wednesday nights attend and there can be powerful movement of the Holy Spirit during prayer time.

Also, Diane, why would you split the kids from their parents in something as important as prayer meeting? In a baptist church just down the road, they have Awanas on Monday night, so the entire church can attend (if they want) on Wednesday night?

Maybe these are questions and topics for a different thread?

Jason

 

Jason! I agree with your first remarks. Prayer Meeting is a VERY important ministry in the church and choir practice should take place after that. Also, choir members should be IN prayer meeting, as should the full time minister of music.

About AWANA and children being separated from their parents... We bring in probably 60-70 children who are unchurched from the after-school program. We see this as a ministry. A lot of people do not attend prayer meeting who do send their children to AWANA. Also, if prayer meeting is done well, small children can be a distraction during intense prayer time! They're welcome in the service, but we have nursery for ages up to 4 and AWANA for up to 6th grade. Teens and college have their own Bible Study on Wednesday night. We have over 200 in AWANA and 60-70 teens in Bible Study.

I have no problem with children not being with their children in prayer meeting. (We have children's church on Sunday morning too.) However, our AWANA, youth and nursery workers all have criminal background checks, training for each program and are all adults. We do not allow teens to work in the nursery per state law.

Diane

 

Though I am not Diane, from my perspective, it has three issues involved. 1) The limited number of nights in a week. Already people are stretched thin (often due to too crowded schedule but unfortunately that is reality); 2) The number of children who come without parents (they would be a great disruption in the adult service). 3) The level of teaching (i.e., people need to be taught at their own level). Most children do exactly what many of us did as children (and what some adults still do)--they check out during prayer time and use it for sleep; they are not able to handle prayers of any length and thus we teach them that prayer is a drudgery and a boredeom. If we teach them at their own level then we have a better chance of really reaching them.

 

Diane and Pastor Larry,

Thanks for your answers, they were great.

Jason

 

Is that really true in the State of Georgia? Are there any other restrictions?

 

About 5 years ago the state legislature enacted a law for pre-schools, child care agencies and larger churches which requires criminal background checks and that no youth under 18 without an adult present. I believe there is also a rule about always having 2 teachers per room but I may not have that right.

Smaller churches are exempt but I also do not know the numbers. Our church has a preschool and is starting a pre-k, Kindergarten next year.

Diane

 

What established the "proper time of one hour" for prayer meeting?? That was my question. It doesn't matter to me who meets where. I was more curious as to why it took a congregational vote to change the length of a service.

 

The choir has, but is not using, their own practice room. It did have a leaky roof, that got fixed. They then asked for and got a new air conditioner. That was five months ago. They still have not returned to their own practice room. </font>[/QUOTE]Sounds like a great place to have your prayer meeting.

 

LOL!

That's a great idea! Go take their space!

 

Yes I do feel prayer is very important. I apologize if it seemed I said in anyway it was not. I thought what I said is for both sides to compromise a little.

I can understand both sides. At first it was not stated they had a practice room.

I attend church where on Wed. Night AWANA starts off in the Sanctuary. So Wed. Night Services are held in the Kitchen/eating room. And prayer meetings are during the day. Some on Friday early morning, and some are different days late and afternoon. While still there are prayers still being made on Wed. Night.

Our Choir practices in the Sanctuary as that is where the instruments are. And the singing is just as important to the Lord. It all edifies him. But bickering over space does not.

Why does it have to be in the Sanctuary? Why aren't they using their room?

Sherrie

 

I'm just having difficulty understanding the "us vs. them" mentality. Here you have the "choir folk" and there you have the "prayin' folk." Bizarre.

Jason