By Shannon Baker
BCM/D National Correspondent
SILVER SPRING, Md.—Asian churches in the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware are invited to a special Concert of Prayer on Sept. 13, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Hanuri Korean Church, 800 Randolph Road in Silver Spring, Md.
Robert Kim, BCM/D missionary for language churches and Asian coordinator for church planting/evangelism, shared that participants will spend three hours in worship and prayer in a special effort to strengthen prayer in the churches, both corporately and individually.
“In church planting, prayer is indispensable,” shared Kim, who noted that it is easy to talk about prayer rather than to just pray. “But we find that we pray less than we emphasize.”
Kim acknowledges that many church leaders go to prayer retreats and prayer gatherings, but he is hungry for participants to have deeper experiences.
“I want to see prayer happening all around us,” he said.
Kim shared a conversation that he heard while he was still serving at the North American Mission Board. Richard Harris, now interim president of NAMB, was asking a Korean pastor in Tacoma, Wash., why his church plant was so successful.
Was his strategy based on a good Sunday school program? Cell groups? VBS or discipleship training?
The Korean pastor thought and thought before responding.
“We just pray early in the morning,” he said. “That is our strategy.”
Kim noted that many Korean pastors incorporate early morning prayers as part of their overall church growth strategy. He hopes that the Concert of Prayer will allow the different Asian church leaders also to see the power of prayer.
The evening of prayer will begin with worship, led by the worship team from Higher Connection Church in Silver Spring, followed by three 20-minutes segments in which pastors will pray in their native language. English subtitles will be displayed on big screens.
Participants will gather in their people groups to pray as Koreans, Chinese, English, Filipino and Vietnamese leaders lead prayer on the topics of repentance, spiritual awakening, church renewal, kingdom growth and church growth, among others. Each people group will also focus on their own specific needs.
In the final session, an English congregation pastor will lead prayer as three or four people from each people group gather together to pray for one another in their own language.
The evening will conclude with a time of fellowship. Childcare will be provided.
Kim, assisted by Higher Connection’s Pastor James Byun, also anticipates that the Asian churches will be able to use prayer to bridge the gap between first and second/third generation leaders.
By praying together, Kim hopes that the younger and older leaders can share ideas and encourage each other.
“But there won’t be a lot of talk during this time,” Kim stressed, “just a lot of prayer.”
For more information, contact Kim at (800) 290-4290, ext. 228 or by email at rkim@bcmd.org.