Greetings! The fourth and final week of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area Dynamite Prayer Initiative begins this Sunday, Feb. 4. We hope you are enjoying reading one chapter each day from the “Dynamite Prayer” book by Rev. Dr. Rosario “Roz” Picardo and Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey. Below are some resources to help you infuse prayer into the life of your congregation over the remainder of this 28-day period.

What impact has the prayer initiative had on your congregation? Email us to let us know so we can lift up and celebrate your story! 

Resources

Use these resources on your social media channels each day, in worship each week, or in some other unique way to engage your congregation in this initiative. Access resources for all four weeks.

Prayer Graphics: These square images contain the breakthrough prayers listed in chapters 22-28 of the book. Another folder contains images with thought-provoking lines from those chapters.

Prayer Videos: Each vertical video features someone reciting a breakthrough prayer listed in chapters 22-28 of the book.

Additional Resources: The Dynamite Prayer website also has some excellent downloadable graphics and videos that you are welcome to use as you wish.

Impact Story

In December, Ely UMC member Sheri Rue approached her pastor, Rev. Craig Haberman, and Ad Council chair about the Dynamite Prayer Initiative. She thought it could be an opportunity for the congregation to participate in both spiritual growth and outreach, and they agreed. Ely UMC ordered 250 books, the most of any local church across the area, and distributed them at church, to homes, and by mail, not only to active members but also to summer visitors, those who hadn’t been to church for a while, and everyone else in the congregational database. Leaders enthusiastically encouraged participation by individuals and small groups as an opportunity for them to deepen their faith in Christ and their prayer life. 

“People’s response to our outreach exceeded our expectations,” said Haberman. “People who attend church regularly eagerly picked up their book. The people from our congregation we don’t see very often expressed their appreciation for us thinking about them and delivering them a book.” He even received a grateful phone call from someone who grew up in Ely and has since moved to the Twin Cities metro area. The Dynamite Prayer Initiative also aligns with another emerging priority for the church: encouraging lay people to pray at meetings. “Our congregation is a praying congregation,” Haberman said. “We’re seeking to make this more visible and widespread. I’m certain the Dynamite Prayer initiative will assist us.”

Reflection: Immeasurable Trust in Jesus

When I lived in Washington, D.C., I often encountered a street preacher who took his megaphone with him everywhere he went to proclaim his message to all who would listen. One night when I was out with my church serving hot drinks and Holy Communion to people sleeping in a park, we could hear him yelling from across the street. That’s when I heard someone else say what I was thinking: “I wish he’d be quiet.” But even as the words were spoken, I felt the pang of guilt and shame ring within me, so I pulled a friend with me and walked toward the preacher.
 
As we approached him, he continued shouting all of his words through the megaphone: “Here they come, ladies and gentlemen! Now they’re gonna come talk to me!?” He not only talked to us through the megaphone, but he also repeated every word we said to him. “My name is Jen!” he shouted as I introduced myself.
 
Intimidated and not sure what I’d gotten into, I told him why we were there. “We were just sharing in Holy Communion together, and I wondered if you want to break bread with us?” He began to repeat my words but stopped mid-sentence as they soaked in. His whole demeanor changed. “Jen says we were just sharing in communion together, and I wondered...THEY WANT TO BREAK BREAD WITH ME, Y’ALL!! We’re having Communion!”
 
With that, he took the megaphone away from his mouth. He swung the strap around his shoulder and onto his back as his eyes glistened with a welling up of appreciation and speechless-ness. We served him communion and offered a brief prayer. Then he said the most genuine thank you I have ever heard. “Thank you. May God bless you!”
 
We walked away, back to our group, where I was left to wonder: What would it be like to have a faith like that—the kind that puts immeasurable trust in Jesus, so much that you literally cannot help but shout it from the street corner? I’m not saying we should all be shouting about faith from street corners, but when is the last time you so much as shared it with a stranger, let alone a friend? That night, this interaction blessed me as I was reminded of the power of coming together, sharing our faith, breaking bread, and yes, even acting and praying—with dunamis.
 
Rev. Jen Tyler
First UMC
Watertown, South Dakota