The_Priority_of_Prayer_in_Treasuring_Christ_Together.pdf

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.—Colossians 4:2

On a beautiful midsummer afternoon, Sunday, July 25, several hundred Bethlehem members gathered at the Downtown Campus for our Quarterly Strategy Meeting. Accompanied by robust discussion among those attending, a consideration of “Treasuring Christ Together: Next Steps” was held and three significant elder recommendations related to TCT were presented and approved. A part of that presentation included this summary of our TCT Strategy:

“Treasuring Christ Together is a strategy sparked by the word of God through which a vision is realized, a vision of spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all people through Jesus Christ. Treasuring Christ Together is about uniting our 5,000 people on multiple campuses and the thousands more that the Lord may add to that number under one great vision: One God accomplishing one mission in the world through one people united by one passion in him.”

Such a strategy expresses our dependence upon and our bold confidence in this “supreme God” in 2010 and beyond. One of the significant ways this confidence is articulated most assertively is through the prayers of God’s people. As a multi-campus church we aim to “…depend on God’s grace and mercy in personal, family, and corporate prayer, so that in all our blessings the Giver will get the glory” (“United Under the Elder Affirmation of Faith: Ten Dimensions of Church Life” Bethlehem Baptist Church, Fall 2003).

Our Bethlehem Elder Affirmation of Faith elaborates further, “We believe that God has ordained to bless and use His people for His glory through the means of prayer, offered in Jesus’ name by faith.  All prayer should seek ultimately that God’s name be hallowed, and that His kingdom come, and that His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. God’s sovereignty over all things is not a hindrance to prayer, but a reason for hope that our prayers will succeed” (Bethlehem Baptist Church Elder Affirmation of Faith, Section 11.3).

With the unfolding of “Treasuring Christ Together: Next Steps” over the next 30 months, would you consider this early invitation to continue steadfastly together in personal, family, and corporate prayer with thanksgiving? (Colossians 4:2). More details will be forthcoming over the next months, including invitations to daily prayer fueling your passion for God and his gospel. In the meantime, pray that we would continue to treasure Christ together and that many, many more would join us in the months ahead!

Seeking to continue steadfastly in prayer together with you,

Dan Holst
TCT Prayer Coordinator