Keith Harrington is the pastor of Central Baptist Church Invercargill. He also heads Soaking the City in Prayer, an initiative of Churches Together Invercargill.
For 22 weeks, a group of 22 Invercargill churches comprising 14 denominations will be praying for the city and region. The initiative is called Soaking the City in Prayer, and is now in its third year.
Our aims are for unity, prayer, and service to the city, and we desire to see the church of the city grow and flourish.
Every church commits to one week of intensive, focused prayer. A different church receives the praying torch every week. It’s a bit like passing on a baton, with the torch signifying that it is now the next church’s turn to carry the burden of prayer. Churches Together Invercargill produces a prayer guide every year to give a clear focus. This year, the guide is based around the Lord’s Prayer, with seven devotions written by seven different pastors.
The 22 weeks start with a combined church service in the historic First Church Invercargill. This year, there was an incredible sense of unity and joy in the worship, unlike anything I have experienced for a long time.
Every church decides how they want to approach their week. Any words, Scriptures and pictures are recorded in a prayer journal which accompanies the torch. We’ve had a huge variety of creative approaches to prayer, such as prayer stations, prayer drives, prayer walks, prayer in high places, prayer around schools and other key institutions. Churches have used the weeks prior to teach on prayer and have seen a lift in their prayer culture.
Many churches that participated last year told us that they have seen an increase in new people coming, or people who have not been to church for a long time returning with a spiritual hunger.
Image: Churches Together Invercargill
