Start A Church Prayer Chain Using SMS Text Messaging

Aug 3, 2022

Prayer chains are a powerful activity that can encourage God to intervene in people’s lives and bring the whole church community together. Each person in the chain sends prayers to the next person, asking for forgiveness or changes in their life. The process continues until it reaches the last person in the chain.

In the past, organizing a prayer chain was administratively challenging. Everyone had to know the next person’s identity in the chain ahead of time. Most often, churches would use telephone calls, Members received phone calls relaying a prayer request from an elder or minister, and then they would have to send it on to a certain number of people further down the chain. This approach avoided one person relaying prayer requests to all church members. 

Unfortunately, because of the nature of chains of communication, prayer messages often got distorted. Prayers at one end of the chain were often vastly different from those at the other.

Fortunately, churches can use SMS text messaging to solve this problem. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Determine The Structure Of The Chain

First, you’ll want to decide the structure of your prayer chain. Start by appointing a person or a group to collect and send out initial prayer requests, either a pastor, a minister or the church elders. Then get that person to use a text messaging platform, like ours, to send out multiple prayer requests to the people immediately below them in the chain.

Next, figure out the structure of your chain. Will you get the entire chain praying one type of prayer? Or will you get each person to pray for the next?

Step 2: Create The Prayer Chain

The next step is to create the prayer chain. If you have a list of prayer warriors, contact these people first. Send them a personalized message via an SMS messaging platform, giving them instructions. 

For example, you might want to say something like:

Dear {name}, we’re setting up an SMS prayer chain. To opt-in, text “PRAYER” to {messaging number}. To receive regular prayer status alerts, text “ALERTS” to {messaging number} – {church name} Ministry Team

Step 3: Send Out Your Prayer Chain

Once you have a message and a prayer chain structure, all that is left to do is send out the SMS prayer chain and start praying. 

When managing your system, make sure that you keep prayer requests discreet. While church members might share grizzly details with you, only pass essential information on to prayer warriors.

Also, ensure that the prayer chain is a system for glorifying God, not just a fun game. SMS-powered prayer chains are tools that ministers can use to improve the prayer life of church members. Churches should use them seriously and as frequently as they can. 

Lastly, try to include as many congregation members as possible in prayer request chains. This way, everyone feels like a valuable member of the community. 

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