Easter to Pentecost 2024 marks the third year that the Church of the Nazarene in Canada and the United States is coming together unified in prayer. We will pray for pastors, the laity, the church at large, and all who do not yet know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
From May 1 to Pentecost Sunday in 2022, Nazarenes prayed for the protection, direction, and revelation of the Church of the Nazarene. The call to pray was followed by a call to speak. Through this initiative, the Spirit overwhelmingly confirmed that our focus must be on unity, blessing, bringing, and becoming. God hears and answers the prayers of God’s people (see 1 John 5:14–15).
From Easter to Pentecost in 2023, we prayed for the mission, vision, and strategies of the Church of the Nazarene. Again, the Spirit spoke, filling the hearts and minds of God’s people with four heart cries that are the foundations of the regional vision today:
- The importance of “mobilizing all Nazarenes in unity;” we are united in Christ Jesus.
- Calling local churches to engage in “blessing our communities;” to get out from within the walls of our churches and meet people where they are, trusting God’s prevenient grace to go ahead of us.
- Nurturing hearts for “bringing people to Jesus” through the Spirit’s saving grace.
- Growing in faith and holiness by “becoming Christlike disciples” through the Spirit’s sanctifying grace.
We are calling the top-level strategy The Cycle of Resurgence. This cycle is the implementation of annual plans to fulfill our vision as the Spirit has graciously provided.
Starting Easter through Pentecost 2024, Blessing Our Community will be the focus of our prayers. The emphasis for 2024 is for local churches to engage with people in their immediate communities in order to serve them and show them the hope of Christ for their lives. Blessing our community is where it starts. We begin by making friends, building relationships, and attending to those divine appointments the Lord sets up for us when we serve.
This prayer journal contains weekly themes related to the heart cry of blessing our community. Each daily devotional will focus on a scripture related to this idea. We will pray for The Cycle of Resurgence: Blessing Our Community.
We encourage you to join in! Read and pray daily following this Prayer Journal.
—Jeff Alexander
Director of Strategy, USA/Canada Region
Church of the Nazarene
