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Prayer Summit Brings People into God’s Presence

November 16, 2016
Pastor Dimas Salaberrios, president of Concerts of Prayer Greater New York, speaking at Prayer Summit.

Pastor Dimas Salaberrios, president of Concerts of Prayer Greater New York, speaking at Prayer Summit.

John Alegra

For Rev. John Algera, a highlight of the 2016 Northeast Regional Prayer Summit was gathering with others to share the Lord’s Supper on the opening night.

Also significant were speakers, breakout sessions, and prayer huddles in which participants shared concerns and hopes and prayers for healing.

“These were all very powerful times in which a deep sense of the Lord was present,” said Algera, pastor of Madison Avenue CRC in Paterson, N.J.

“Throughout, there was a deep sense of people hungry for more, of wanting to go deeper in relationship with the Lord.”

The event, which opened on Friday, Nov. 4, and ran through the next day, drew about 60 people from across the northeastern region of the United States.

Held at Midland Park CRC in Midland Park, N.J., and titled “Fanning the Flame,” the summit was hosted by Regional Partners of the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America.

Michael Johnson, pastor of Living Word Reformed Church in Haledon, N.J. has now attended all three of the annual Northeast Regional Prayer Summits. Each time, he said, he has appreciated the chance to stand with others in solidarity before God.

“I find that joining together as brothers and sisters from different churches, denominations, towns, regions, ethnic backgrounds, and languages to pray together, learn from each other, share communion, and encourage one another is a moving experience,” he said.

“I believe that gatherings like this prayer summit are essential for the church in this region. We don't have the luxury of doing things all on our own any longer. We need each other.”

Diane Averill, East Coast ministry developer for Christian Reformed Home Missions, appreciated the concert of prayer and the opportunity for confession and group prayers on Friday night.

In addition, the breakout sessions, she said, provided opportunity for both inspirational and practical learning on various topics pertaining to both personal and corporate prayers.

“As both a presenter and a participant, I gained many new insights as I prayed with God’s people,” she said.

Averill’s session was titled “Leaving Your Prayer Closet and Praying in a Group.” Other sessions included “Water for the Soul: Emotional Healing Prayer Ministry,” “Freedom in a Fearfully Anxious World,” and “Contemplative Prayer.”

A particularly compelling part of the summit for Averill was when keynote speaker Pastor Dimas Salaberrios, president of Concerts of Prayer Greater New York, spoke.

Salaberrios grew up on the streets of New York City, selling drugs by the age of 11 and landing in the Rikers Island prison by the time he was 16. He encountered violence and many struggles on his way to a different life.

Most recently, he has been in communities leading people in prayer following much-publicized shootings of black men by police.

“He amazed all of us with his personal story of redemption,” said Averill. “His challenge not to wait to get involved with God’s mission reminded me to look for ways to be used in my neighborhood.”