As both the deaneries of West Derby and St Helens start work on getting Fit for Mission, we begin an infrequent series where we find out what they are doing and how we can all learn and benefit from their experience. And we find out that in both deaneries the logical starting point is prayer.
“I am giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on.” Joshua 1:3
Churches in West Derby and St Helens have begun their Fit for Mission journey, with teams of local lay and clergy meeting regularly to take their first steps to act as a larger parish.
In both areas, the Navigation Team’s first priority was to cover the programme and their local areas in prayer. In West Derby churches are taking it in turns to host weekly Fit for Mission prayer meetings. And in St Helen’s the churches have organised a prayer walk in July to pray for people in every street of the parish.
Arthur Franklin is part of the navigation team in St Helens, and he explains to us what the prayer walk is;
“As the navigation team of St Helens Fit for Mission, we wanted to start the process by praying over every single place in our town. Our vision was to see our town be covered in prayer while being inspired by God’s promise to Joshua and walk in victory across every part of our town. This will involve people from across the town walking down streets near where they live and work and praying for the people who live, work, study, or spend time there.
We want to invite as many people as possible to join; to hear from God as they walk, and to see the difference they personally can make when praying and seeking God for our town”
If you are in the St Helens area you can get involved
To get involved simply pick a street or a number of streets and walk down it while being observant and open to where God might be leading or speaking. If there is a school, business, or similar building then maybe stop nearby or just outside and pray specifically for those who live, work or study there.
You can let the St Helens navigation team know the street or streets you have prayed over using this form. They will update the prayer map colouring in your street, and as the map is filled with colour St.Helens is covered with prayer! You may also want to use the map to find a street that hasn’t been covered before you set off to pray.
If you are in another parish or deanery then why not think about how you can set up a prayer walk in your parish or deanery.
www.liverpool.anglican.org/fitformission
Together we can be Fit for Mission