Luke 10:2 is the watchword for many in Colorado and across the Southern Baptist Convention: He (Jesus) told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (HCSB)
It is true that one task Colorado Baptists have is to pray God would bring church planters so Colorado can be reached with the Gospel. We rejoice when God answers prayers for workers, whether on the Front Range, Western Slope, or Eastern Plains. And rightly so; answered prayer should be celebrated.
However, prayers should also be offered for the work- ers God has already sent. Marcial Muñoz, the Spanish Ministry Pastor of Orchard Church (Brighton), is one of those planters who has answered God’s call. He savors believers’ prayers for him and his family. “Just to know that somebody is praying for you makes you feel secure and supported. Prayer is essential for a church planter,” he said.
Muñoz tells of two answered prayers in the Spanish ministry of Orchard Church. The first is an Easter story. The ministry planned a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt in 2017. God cleared the way for the ministry to use their neighborhood school for the hunt. Muñoz and others prayed for good connections with people in the neighborhood. “God answered our prayer, and that day we had more than 500 people coming to our egg hunt. We reached five families from that event for Christ.”
The second answered prayer Muñoz shares is a Christmas story. The Spanish ministry scheduled
a special Christmas event for December 17, 2017. Muñoz asked his friends and family to pray for 150 people to attend. Muñoz said, “Well, God answered our prayers, and He sent us 215 people that day. I was amazed.”
Muñoz asks his prayer circle of family, friends, and other pastors to join him in praying for specific requests such as the Easter and Christmas outreach events. He also asks for wisdom, patience, and passion—requests that could be prayed for any church planter.
JOIN THOSE PRAYING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS
There are several ways to join those praying for new church planters and for current church planters and re-planters.
Those who wish to be on the prayer team for a specific church planter or ethnic group may send a request to [email protected]. The Connect Eastern Colorado Church Planting Prayer Guide is available via email. A request to receive the newsletter can be sent to [email protected]. Those wishing to pray for the Send Denver church planters may sign up to receive regular updates at praydenver.net/.
Churches and individuals may express their commitment to pray for church planters in a specific city, state/province, or campus. In return, the prayer supporters receive a list of planters for which to pray. To sign up, go to www.prayforplanters.com.
