Years ago, as a Pastor of Small Groups, I began discovering the importance of geographical prayer through prayer walks. My church was a large rapidly growing church. I was watching our small groups branch out to neighboring cities. One such group was a Young Couples Group meeting in the city of Fontana, California. I was very impressed with the leaders and the young couples in the group. There was an excitement about Jesus as they met together. They were full of love for each other. Then one day the leader said he wanted to meet with me. He had an affair and his wife left him. Within weeks his group completely fell a part and not one couple reentered a new group our church.
A year later, a mature, strong Christian leader approached me wanting to mobilize members and regular attenders in our church who lived in Fontana into small groups. He did his own research and determined that there were enough people to have seven functioning small groups. I gave him permission to fulfill the vision the Spirit had placed in his heart. Two weeks later I contacted him to see how he was doing. I discovered that his work load had increased at his place of employment, causing him to work more hours through the work week. His wife had become very ill. Between these two occurrences he had no time to invest in the members and regular attenders of our church in his city to establish new small groups.
That same year I felt led to launch a new small group in Ontario, a city south of us. I contacted all of the members and regular attenders of our church that lived in Ontario. Six couples responded. I led the small group meeting every other week for three months. In that time, I identified a strong Christian couple who had the willingness and giftedness to lead the group. I empowered these new leaders to lead the group and this new community of believers was doing well. Two months later I learned that the new leaders relocated out of state for an employment opportunity. None of the men within the group stepped up to lead the group. A dear woman who was a mature believer, but had no leadership gifts took over the leadership. Within six month the group imploded.
This was all very discouraging. There was two neighboring cities with three small group failures. What was going on? I realized that all of our 40+ small groups were located in two cities. Rancho Cucamonga, California the city where our church was located and Upland, the city immediately west. As it turns out I discovered that Fontana had a history of spiritual failures for many churches. Ontario did not have a history like Fontana, but none the less, we had a misfire as I tried to launch a church within it borders.
One year later a different couple joined our church who lived in Ontario, the city south of us. I trained and empowered them to launch a new small group in their neighborhood. Four months later I sensed the leader was discouraged. I asked him if we could do a prayer walk in his neighborhood. In the first morning we prayed, the leader and my friend began tearing up and couldn't pray because he was so discouraged. I prayed for him through the hour of prayer. He shared that his wife was not embracing their new ministry opportunity. None of the group members were willing to assume any responsibility for the group life. In the second week of prayer walking, my friend began to engage in the one hour prayer time as we walked the streets of his neighborhood together. We met to prayer walk every other week on the week of his group meetings. After six weeks of prayer, the leader was ecstatic, there was new life in his group. His wife had a change of heart and was very enthusiastic about the group! All the couples in the group were volunteering to share in the responsibilities of the group. Something had changed in the spiritual atmosphere over that neighborhood.
What was the difference? We persistently prayed, walking through the leader's neighborhood six times and there was a breakthrough. I concluded that there often needs to be a spiritual work of prayer before there will be spiritual breakthrough in the geographical area where someone is birthing a new church, group or ministry.
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