Prayer Summit Adds 'Watch and Pray'

Rev. Moses Chung says he pictures everyone in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), people of all ages and ethnic groups, coming together as one body for praise and prayer at this month’s first-ever, CRC Prayer Summit.

“What a powerful experience that would be — all of us praying at the same time at the same place for the Christian Reformed Church and all of its ministries,” says Chung, director of Christian Reformed Home Missions and one of the organizers of Summit.

Currently, 275 people have registered for the event. While registration is still open, Chung says he knows that it is unrealistic to think that everyone in the CRC would actually be able to be at the Summit, which runs from April 16-18 at All Nations Church, a large CRC congregation in Lakeview Terrace, Calif.

Chung says he does hope, however, that many of those who are unable to attend the Summit will take advantage of resources and opportunities connected the event:

• Organizers of the Summit are asking all CRC congregations to consider running a short video that will be available soon and setting aside a few moments to pray for the Summit during services on Sunday, April 15.
• Summit organizers are providing a range of prayer resources — booklets, guides, and other materials — that people can use to pray before, during and after the Summit takes place.
• Summit organizers are also planning to post a video of some of the opening-day speakers and prayer sessions for “Watch and Pray” events that individuals and churches can hold on the evening of Tuesday, April 17.

The idea of “Watch and Pray” is to give people the chance to gather, at church or some other location, says Chung, to watch the video, which they will be able to access from the Prayer Summit website.

After watching the video, they are then invited to spend time together in prayer, praying especially for the CRC and all of its ministries.

Overall, Chung says, he has been amazed to see how the hand of God has been at work as the planning and coordination for the Prayer Summit has come together in a short period of time.

“It was only a few months ago that the Korean Christian Reformed Church congregations in California gave the entire Christian Reformed Church this opportunity — a great gift, really — to gather this month before our God in prayer,” he says. 

While the denomination gratefully accepted the invitation, it has been challenging to organize an event of this size so quickly. Even so, people from across the denomination have pulled together in amazing ways to make this happen.

Meanwhile, Chung says, he has heard several stories of how people, who felt called to attend the Summit but lacked the resources, have been helped by their churches in a variety of ways to cover the costs for registration, travel and lodging.

“I look forward to being together in prayer,” says Chung. “I also hope and pray that others will be able to join us, especially through ‘Watch and Pray’.”

In the end, he says, he is hoping there will be a movement of God’s Holy Spirit — initiated by the Korean Christian Reformed Church congregations in California and sparked by the Summit itself — taking hold and spreading across the denomination and beyond.