Growing Together in Prayer: A Powerful Start to the Year

The first LCANZ District Mission Directors Collaborative Learning Zoom session of the year took place on 11 February 2025, offering two identical sessions to accommodate participants across different schedules. With a focus on Spiritual Growth, inspired by last year’s LCA Leaders Retreat, this event provided an opportunity for leaders to reflect on prayer’s transformative role in personal faith, congregational renewal, and mission.

Approximately 50 participants engaged in deep conversations about the power of prayer in revitalising churches, drawing on insights from Scripture, Thom Rainer’s research, and the LCANZ Online Prayer Network. A key takeaway was the reminder that every sustained church revitalisation is undergirded by a powerful movement of prayer—a theme echoed in powerful stories of renewal and mission growth.

The session included:

• Inspiring testimonies of God’s work through prayer.
• Insights from the Online Prayer Network, highlighting how persistent prayer strengthens faith communities.
• Encouragement, with practical guidance on how to develop small but faithful local prayer movements, recognizing that prayer warriors are marked by persistence, not numbers.
• Practical examples of prayer initiatives, from 24-hour vigils to community-focused prayer walks.

The event concluded with collaborative prayer, as participants interceded for their congregations and the wider LCANZ mission. Many left the session encouraged to deepen their commitment to prayer as the foundation for renewal and evangelism.

For those who missed it, a recording of the teaching session and a PDF of the presentation slides are available here:

PDF of Powerpoint notes
Video of Evening Session

Additionally, fortnightly LCANZ Prayer Zoom gatherings will continue, providing an ongoing opportunity to pray for God’s Spirit to be poured out over the church. For more information contact Pastor Nathan Hedt at nathan.hedt@lca.org.au.

A heartfelt thank you to all who participated. It was certainly a rich time of learning and prayer. May we continue to grow together in faith, taking our requests and thanksgivings to the Only One who is able to transform our lives and communities by His grace, our Lord Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Watch the Vic-Tas District eNews for details of the next LCANZ Mission Directors Collaborative Learning Zooms. We’re aiming to run about five more of these over the course of the coming year.