Prayer & Prophetic Ministries
Plow Team | Daily Calendar | Prayer Times
Would you like to keep up with what's happening in the AVC prayer ministry? All we need is your name and email address, and we'll keep you informed!
If you have received any emails from the prayer ministry, you are already signed up!
Click here to sign up!
If you would like to join the Ministry Team (those who pray with others at the conclusion of our services), you will need to take Introductory Ministry Team training. Email us if you'd like to know when the next training session is.
We are always in need of people to serve in a wide variety of areas in support of prayer and prophetic ministries, including administration, graphics, communications, and much more. Let me know if you're available to serve, how much time you'd like to invest, and what kind of thing you'd like to do. There's a place for you no matter what your gifts, talents, schedule, and experience are!
The Prayer Ministry leadership team consists of Karen Sculley, Leigh Craven, John & Sally Hendry, Joan Moore, and Leah Snyder.
PLOW team -- Pray, Listen, Overcome, Watch
The PLOW team is made up of those who feel that God has called them to pray for the AVC for at least one hour per week. The acronym speaks for itself--praying, overcoming in prayer, and listening to and watching what the Father is saying and doing. To plow is to prepare the soil for seeds to be sown.
We have three kinds of plows in the PLOW team:
- Yeoman PLOW (cultivation of one's own land) -- prayer for AVC family and friends
- Chisel PLOW (deep tillage) -- prayer shield for AVC pastoral leaders & current church planters
- Orchard PLOW (nurturing of new plants) -- prayer for Atlanta-area church plants & other Vineyard prayer ministries
Yeoman PLOW:
"Let my prayer be set before You as incense" (Psalm 141:2)
Prayer for AVC family & friends. We pray over the prayer requests that come in to the church via Sunday services, connect cards, the church office, emails, and the website. Our desire is to lift up people before the Father in prayer, and that they would connect with God and with others in the body of Christ. Prayer requests include prayer for healing, finances, salvation, special deliveries (expectant mothers), etc.
We pray over all who serve as prayer warriors or leaders in prayer. We need each other!
We pray over each AVC-sponsored event, covering leaders & participants in prayer.
Members of this team received the weekly "Set!" newsletter (not available on the website). They also receive urgent prayer requests via an email prayer chain.
Chisel PLOW:
"They held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset." (Exodus 17:12)
Prayer shield for AVC pastoral leaders & current church planters. Just as Aaron and Hur held up Moses' arms "so that his hands remained steady" during the Exodus 17 battle, the PLOW team "holds up the arms" of our leaders in prayer. Quoting John Maxwell, "Aaron and Hur were committed and aggressive prayer partners, ready to jump in and help their leader be all that God intended him to be. They saw the need; they seized the moment; they shared in the victory." This is teamwork!
AVC elders: Johnny Crist, Scott Benjamin, Todd Colwell
AVC pastoral leaders: Lu Allison, Sheri Carr, Billy Deacon, Ken Duffie, Adam Hoar, Jerry Joiner, Clarence Moore, Karen Sculley, Matt Stone, Luane Thomson
Members of this team received the monthly "Steady!" newsletter (not available on the website).
Orchard PLOW:
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Prayer for Atlanta-area church plants: We cover in prayer Atlanta-area churches who have made a commitment to church planting, through the Church Planters Roundtable ministry (website coming soon).
Prayer for other Vineyard prayer ministries: We cover in prayer other Vineyard congregations' prayer ministries who have expressed a desire for their church to grow in prayer, through the VineyardPrayer ministry (www.vineyardprayer.com).
Members of this team received the monthly "Saturate!" newsletter (not available on the website).
Responsibilities:
Because of the quantity of prayer requests and the private nature of many of the prayer requests, we welcome people to join the PLOW team who:
- feel that God has called them to pray for the AVC for at least one hour per week
- can keep all prayer requests confidential
- will make a 12 month commitment to the PLOW team (we ask for recommitments and new commitments at the beginning of each new year)
Contact us if you would like to join the PLOW team. Please specify which of the 3 plow types you would like to commit to (Yeoman, Chisel, Orchard).
Daily Calendar
Most days
Every week: Pray with patients at the Good Samaritan Health Center [Duluth] contact Kim Fleek, 404-512-4340
Sundays
1st & 3rd Sundays: 6:00 - 7:30pm -- Unveiled [Great Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64 Childcare available
Every week: 10:00 - 10:20am -- "20:20" (formerly known as pre-service prayer) [Prayer Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
1st Sundays: 9:00 - 10:00am -- Prayer for Lost Family & Friends [Prayer Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
1st Sundays: 12:30 - 1:00pm -- Prayer for orphans [upstairs classroom] contact: Jeanne Sandecki, 770-476-2417
2nd Sundays: 8:30 - 10:00am -- Prophetic Roundtable [Youth Room upstairs] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
3rd Sundays: 9:00 - 10:00am -- Prayer for Missions [Prayer Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
4th Sundays: 9:00 - 10:00am -- Prayer for Families [Prayer Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
Mondays
Every week: 12:00 - 1:00pm -- Prayer for the Atlanta Vineyard [Prayer Room] contact Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64
Tuesdays
Every week: 7:00 - 8:00am -- Father's Heart prayer group [Cafe Vineyard] contact: Johnny Crist, 770-274-1010 ext. 13
1st Tuesdays: 6:00 - 8:00pm -- Pray at the Norcross Co-op, 2275 Mitchell Rd [Norcross] contact Luane Thomson, 770-274-1010 ext. 23
Wednesdays
Every week: 7:00 - 8:30pm -- Prayer Classes [Great Room] contact: Karen Sculley, 770-274-1010 ext. 64 For complete schedule, please click on "GET EQUIPPED" (above)
Every week: 9:00pm -- Prayer group [Duluth] contact Frank & Sandra Teixeira, 770-935-8098
Thursdays
Every week: 7:00 - 7:30pm -- Prayer for re:vision [Prayer Room] contact Leah Snyder, 404-275-0927
Prayer times
Unveiled [1st & 3rd Sundays, 6:00 - 7:30pm, Great Room]
This is our "main event" worship-driven prayer time. Unveiled exists to provide a time and place for the Atlanta Vineyard community to touch the heart of the Father, seek the face of Jesus, and hear the voice of the Spirit, through corporate worship and prayer. The name comes from 2 Corinthians 3:18 -- "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."We begin with worship and prayer, and continue with worship and prayer! It's all about Him! A group of instrumentalists and singers lead in musical worship, and a microphone is available for anyone who wants to pray, share a Scripture, prophetic word, dream, or vision. This time has been described as "wasting an evening on God." No two Unveiled services are the same, as we seek to be Spirit-led and go with the flow of where the Lord leads us.Periodically, we invite other area churches (through Unite!) to join us at Unveiled in praying for the body of Christ and city of Atlanta.
The Unveiled leadership team consists of Karen Sculley, Jeff Hayes, Marie Middleton, David & Melanie Patton. For more information, please call Karen Sculley at 770-274-1010 ext. 64.
20:20 (formerly known as pre-service prayer) [Sundays, 10:00 - 10:20am, prayer room]
Prayer for re:vision [Thursdays, 7:00 - 7:30pm, prayer room]
The purpose of our pre-service prayer meetings is to put out a welcome mat for the Holy Spirit on behalf of all those who will attend services that day. In welcoming Him, we want to ask Him to:
- Put in us a hunger for God's Word
- Reveal the Word to us
- Help us to worship in freedom, celebrating who He is and what He's done
- Anoint the preaching / teaching and musical worship (in all services)
- Demonstrate His kingdom with signs and wonders
- Do His work in us so He can do His work through us
- Draw the un-churched to worship
These are just suggestions, not a formula! It's good to have an idea where we're going, though--the focus of our pre-service prayer meetings is prayer for services [Sundays: in the auditorium, preschool, kids' church, Crossover, Nexus; Thursdays: re:vision]. When our prayers are focused, they are more effective.
For more information, please call Karen Sculley at 770-274-1010 ext. 64.
Father's Heart prayer [Tuesdays, 7:00 - 8:00am, Cafe]
This is a time where leaders and those with a heart for the Atlanta Vineyard get together to lift up our congregation and city to the Father.
Johnny Crist leads this prayer time, and everyone is welcome. 770-274-1010 ext. 13
Prayer for the Atlanta Vineyard [Mondays, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Prayer Room]
This is a time of prayer focusing on lifting up the Atlanta Vineyard (leaders, ministries, outreaches, those who need a special touch from God). We pray according to the Lord's leading, in a non-structured way, spending time praising Him, listening to Him, and interceding for the Atlanta Vineyard.
Karen Sculley leads this prayer time, and everyone is welcome. 770-274-1010 ext. 64
Prayer for Orphans [1st Sundays, 12:30 - 1:00pm, upstairs classroom]
This prayer time is a time to get together and pray for orphans and "Seeds of Hope," the Atlanta Vineyard ministry for adoption and orphan care.
Jeanne Sandecki leads this prayer time, and everyone is welcome! 770-476-2417
Prayer at the Norcross Co-op [1st Tuesdays, 6:00 - 8:00pm]
Come to the Norcross Co-op on the first Tuesday of each month, and you'll have the opportunity to both pray for others and put your faith into action!
The Norcross Co-op is an organization of 20+ participating churches serving families and individuals in Norcross and the surrounding area, providing assistance with food, personal items, clothing, infant supplies, and financial assistance towards rent, utilities, prescription drugs, and gasoline vouchers.
From the church, turn right out of the church parking lot onto Jimmy Carter Blvd. Turn left onto Buford Hwy.Turn right at the third light onto Mitchell Rd. The Norcross Cooperative Ministry is less than a mile down on the right. For more information, check out their website.
Contact: Luane Thomson, 770-274-1010 ext 23
Prayer at the Good Samaritan Health Center [most days -- please check out their website for exact hours]
The Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett was formed to fulfill that which Jesus taught His disciples: to demonstrate their faith by caring for the less fortunate, the sick, the naked, the hungry, the homeless, the imprisoned, and the destitute.They also provide complementary services that minister to the indigent, homeless and working poor of Gwinnett County in body, soul and spirit.We have an opportunity to pray with patients!
They are located at 3700 Club Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30044.For more information, check out their website.
Contact: Kim Fleek, (404) 512-4340
Prayer for Families [on summer break]
This prayer time for women is a time to get together and pray for families (each other's and other families the Lord places on our hearts). We meet at the Higher Grounds Coffee House in Duluth.
Kathy Carnahan leads this prayer time, and all women are welcome!
Bless the Building [on hold]
This prayer time, positioned immediately before the Wednesday night services, is for all ages. We pray for God's presence and power to fill every part of the building . . . lay hands on each seat in the auditorium, pray over children's rooms, prayerwalk the office areas, etc. God has given us stewardship over our facility, and we believe God wants to use every part of it for His glory. Everyone is welcome--this is an ideal prayer group for children or anyone who likes to move around while you pray!
Acts 4:31 -- "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
This group is currently on hold . . . if you would like to pray over the building regularly, please let me know!
Prayer for transformation [on hold]
This is a time of repentance, focusing on prayers of salvation and deliverance. Our theme Scripture is from Revelation 3:1 - 3: "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent."
This group is currently on hold . . . if you feel led to pray with me for transformation, let me know.
Prayer for Central Asia [on hold]
This is a time of prayer for our adopted unreached people group in Central Asia, and the missionaries, church planters, and Christians in that nation.
This group is currently on hold . . . if you feel led to intercede for this people group, please let me know.
What is Corporate Prayer?
The chief quality that corporate prayer has over other kinds of prayer is agreement. Jesus said, "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." (Matt 18:19) The Message puts it, "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action." Leviticus 26:8 says that "Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand," implying that the more pray-ers, the more agreement, and the more power. As the saying goes, "No prayer, no power; little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power!" Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." He's waiting for us to call out to Him!
Common misconceptions about corporate prayer:
* I have no contribution to make
o We are a body--every part is needed, and everyone has a contribution to make! We can all pray--it is simply conversation with God. We pour out our hearts to Him; He speaks to us. Jesus promised that we would do even greater things than He did, if we have faith in Him (John 14:12). Even a tiny amount of faith is enough (mustard seed)!
* I don't know how to pray in public
o The best way to learn how to pray in public and become comfortable with it is to just do it! We grow in our understanding of corporate prayer by being around others who pray.
Principles for corporate prayer meetings:
- Submit to God
- Come prepared to pray
- Wait and listen to the Lord
- Be humble
- Submit to one another
- Make others feel welcome
- Be in unity
- Go with the flow of the Holy Spirit (avoid jumping around from topic to topic)
- Be brief, allowing others to participate
- Mutually support one another (e.g. verbal agreement)
- Pray
- Invite the Holy Spirit to empower us
- Ask God to make His Kingdom evident
- Pray Scriptures
- Pray what the Lord reveals to you (dreams, visions, words, pictures, impressions, etc.)
- Keep prayers vertical (directed towards God, not others)
- Avoid preaching at people through prayer
- Be concrete & specific
- Personalize your prayers
- Believe
- Believe that God hears and answers!
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