How long does it take to create a culture of prayer in a church? No matter how much your church needs a culture of prayer, it won’t happen after a single sermon on prayer, or an announcement of your vision or one dynamic prayer meeting.
Have you ever visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota? The enormous memorial to four presidents – Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln – whose realistic likenesses are all carved into a mountain side, took about eight years longer to complete than projected.
The original sculptor hired to create the 60-foot-tall faces died before the work was completed, because the project took 14 years. More than 400 laborers, dangling from ropes and perched on scaffolding, used dynamite and jackhammers to carve through solid granite in the blazing sun, sudden summer thunderstorms and crippling cold winters in the Black Hills. Unforgiving weather and unforeseen financial challenges forced the project to take much longer than expected.
What does Mount Rushmore have to do with creating a culture of prayer? The answer is time. Here is the inconvenient truth few are willing to talk about: Things of great value frequently take longer to achieve than we expect. Remember, you’re not sculpting stone; you’re crafting culture and fashioning futures.
We have been advised that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in a decade. So, whether you’re chiseling granite or sculpting culture, you will need to exercise the disciplines of patience and persistence.
The time factor of culture
Creating culture requires patience and persistence because organizations frequently resist change. Jenni Catron, author of “Culture Matters” suggests it takes about three years before a new culture takes root in any organization, including a church.
If you are a pastor with a heart for prayer and a desire to shape cultural change, what should you do? How can you lead your church down the potentially long road toward a culture of prayer?
Take the long view
By taking the long view, the pastor will naturally focus on the final result but also on the joy of making progress. For instance, a few thousand people show up for the Tuesday night prayer meeting at Brooklyn Tabernacle. We may feel a bit intimidated when we compare the prayer meetings in Brooklyn to our experiences. It is important to remember, however, that years ago when Jim Cymbala first started to prioritize the prayer meeting, the first prayer meeting didn’t begin with thousands in attendance. Instead, it was a group of no more than a dozen people holding hands in a circle. They prayed for everything they could think of, and the whole event lasted only five minutes. Every great endeavor, including creating a culture of prayer, has to begin somewhere; and the Bible warns us not to despise the days of small beginnings (Zachariah 4:10).
At every point along the way while you are leading toward a culture of prayer, remind yourself of the promises of God. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). After all, it’s not where you start, it’s where you stop that counts!
You still get to pray
Let’s assume Jenni Catron’s research is correct, and it takes three years to create a culture of prayer. Would leading a church with a powerful culture of prayer still be important to you? Sure, it will demand a lot of effort, but where will you be three years from now if you don’t try? One thing is certain – if you fail to attempt it, your church will not develop a dynamic culture of prayer. Spiritual growth never occurs by accident. On the other hand, if you start preaching on prayer, providing resources to small groups to study prayer, inviting guest speakers to inspire the congregation about the potential of prayer, and trying creative approaches for prayer meetings, eventually the culture of prayer will grow. Isn’t that a better scenario of the future than not trying at all simply because it takes longer than you wanted it to take?
The old saying is still true: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It may take longer to develop a culture of prayer than you would like, but every step you take is a step closer to your goal. During the process you get to do exactly what you want to do – which is preach on prayer, teach on prayer and lead prayer meetings. The good news, therefore, is that the things you do to develop the prayer culture are actually the same things the church will do anyway (only in a much more organic way), once the prayer culture is normalized into the church.
Jesus knew we would battle frustration and discouragement when God’s timetable differs from ours. Scripture says, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
Impatience and frustrations will likely occur when cultural change moves slowly or hits organizational resistance. Start now, therefore, keep going, and trust God for the results. Expect breakthroughs along the way. You’re carving culture, and sometimes you’re chipping away the solid stone of indifference; but you’re doing the right thing, so keep chiseling!
