Dig Deeper Into Prayer and Meet Our I-Team

Today we want to introduce you to the faces behind the connection card prayers, i.e. our I-Team (intercessory prayer team) and also tell you about other avenues of prayer at Alive In Christ.

Connection Card Prayer Requests & the I-Team
The I-Team was started in 2012 by Lynn Diel.  Alive In Christ of course had a prayer chain before that time, but 2012 was when a formal process and team was put into place.  Several members of the original I-team continue to serve on the team.

Before we introduce the people, we want to share a little of what happens to your prayer request when you submit it on a connection card.  All connection cards first go to our Ministry Support Coordinator, Tammy Wiese.   She then forwards any prayer requests from the cards on to Bob Bartels.  Bob is our I-team coordinator (Dave Davenport serves as his backup).  Bob has been heading up this ministry since 2015. Bob sends each prayer to an I-team member and if you said “yes” you want the prayer to go to the prayer chain, he also sends it to the Alive In Christ office to send out to the entire prayer chain.

Once an I-team member receives a prayer request from Bob they then pray over the request as well as type out their prayer and send it to you, the person requesting the prayer.  All prayer requests are also sent to Pastor Tim and our Board of Elders for additional prayers.  

The number of prayer requests per year has varied greatly. In 2020 we had 700 requests from 160 different individuals.  This was quite a bit lower than previous years, for example in 2018 we received 1106 requests from 190 individuals. The decrease is likely due to not having paper connection cards in 2020 due to COVID.

Now, the people behind the prayers!  There are currently 18 members on the I-team.  Something I learned about the I-team in doing this blog, most prefer to be behind the scenes and were reluctant to be recognized publically. These are some humble members of God's kingdom!  

The Prayer Chain
When you email, call the office, or fill out an electronic prayer request form those go to the Alive In Christ office staff and Tom Hoien our administrator.  One of them then sends it to our e-mail prayer chain.  Who is on the prayer chain?  You can request to receive the prayer chain emails by contacting the office @ aic.office@aic.org. People on the email prayer chain pray for requests as they see them. 

The Alive In Christ Staff
If you have been a member or regular attendee at Alive In Christ for a year or more you have probably received 1 or more emails from Alive In Christ saying “the staff is praying for you this week.”  The staff of Alive In Christ meet together weekly.  We always close that meeting by praying for specific people in our congregation.  When you receive the “staff is praying for you” email, we encourage you to email us back and let us know your specific needs/prayer requests.  If we don’t hear back from you, we still pray for you, but it is always nice to offer up specific prayers.

The Alive In Christ Elders
The Elders of Alive In Christ meet monthly to discuss ministry programs and the spiritual care of the congregation.  These meetings always conclude with the Elders spending time around the Altar praying for our church family, and lifting up individual members of the church in prayer.  One of the great privileges, and responsibilities, of the Elders is to be in prayer, regularly, for the members of our congregation…and please know that the Elders are keeping you in their prayers.

Prayer Partners & Pre-service Prayers
Prior to COVID-19 we had prayer partners available after each service to pray with anyone in need.  There was also a group that joined Pastor Tim in prayer each Sunday morning before the start of service.  These prayer activities were put on hold.  If you have an interest in being a part of getting either of these prayer times restarted, please let us know.

How do you make prayer a part of your daily life?  What words of wisdom do you have for others trying to strengthen their prayer life?
These are just the “formal” prayer times and channels happening at Alive In Christ.  We know many of our Alive In Christ family have very active prayer lives.  Take a moment to let us know your favorite prayer time or a tip to stay focused on prayer.