Community Houses of Prayer Ministry Manual

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Description

Community House of Prayer (CHOP) is a ministry tool that directs prayer as a means to revive (motivation) our hearts in grace as we draw near to the living God as our loving Father and to involve (participation) us in our everyday lives as active witnesses for Jesus Christ in dependence and expectation of His working. CHOP looks to cultivate in us a greater awareness of the evangelistic nature of ordinary life in which we find ourselves every day. It kindles in us an attitude of personal involvement and expectation as the witnesses for Christ we are by virtue of being His disciples. It involves us in the actual activity of bearing verbal witness to the glorious gospel of salvation bound up in Christ alone. We look to draw near to people for Christ and draw near to Christ for people. And we do it collectively, united with fellow believers for mutual encouragement in a common mission.

CHOP weaves together four strands:

Lifestyle evangelism looks to share the gospel in the context of those relationships at work or at home or wherever God has providentially placed us.

Strategic prayer is kingdom prayer (i.e., prayer concerned with the matters, priorities and goals of Christ's kingdom) characterized by planning, intention, focus and direction.

Personal spiritual renewal reaches to matters of motivation as we are invigorated with the scent of God's grace so richly, unexpectedly and undeservedly poured out upon us. It seeks to grow in intimate knowledge of God fueled by His revelation of Himself in His Word. Such prayer draws us near to God, cultivating in us His heart for the lost, compelling our witness by love and gratitude and not by sterile duty.

Spiritual warfaretakes into account the biblical data of the reality of spiritual opposition for our work of witness for the extension and strengthening of the kingdom of God against the kingdom of the prince of darkness. It is prayer aware and prayer against. This strand attempts to find firm footing on the foundation of God's written Word, while avoiding the pitfalls stemming from fanciful notions and excesses.

CHOP involves a small group of two or more believers committing themselves to a 12-week period of meeting together weekly and praying privately daily. The mission of the group is the common goal and mutual support of reaching others for Christ, particularly through prayer. This sort of prayer will powerfully affect you as God's instrument and will carry out God's purposes in those around you. God actually uses your prayers to the accomplishment of His providential purposes.

What People Are Saying about CHOP

I have been humbled in seeing those whom I prayed for respond in a dramatic way to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I had always felt inadequate to be involved in evangelism but the CHOP experience was a blessing to me as I was able to reach out to those around me for Christ. Any Christian can participate in CHOP without having a special vocation for evangelism. --Larry Woodruff, educator and CHOP participant

Many evangelism tools speak of the importance of prayer for outreach - CHOP actually taught me to pray evangelistically. CHOP enabled me to develop: Intimacy with Christ through its daily devotions and prayer guide; Strategy to pray purposefully for unbelievers; Community by gathering with fellow believers to pray for the spread of the Kingdom; and Expectancy by training me to watch for God's answers to prayer. CHOP will prosper your soul, focus your vision, and empower your outreach!--Dr. Dwight Dunn, PCA Pastor

Using the CHOP Ministry Manual as a personal devotion guide really helped establish some of its guiding principles, including the strategic nature of prayer and the primary importance of the gospel being communicated in the context of relationship. It also greatly heightened my anticipation of using the Manual with others in a small group setting. --Steve Gentino, CHOP participant

The Community Houses of Prayer ministry is more than a strategy-it is a lifestyle that will reshape the vision of the church along expressly biblical patterns. It focuses on two clear priorities: first, worship as both a corporate and personal reality, and intercessory evangelism as the church opens its eyes to a lost and hurting world all around us. As part of the big picture, the gentle, yet explicit equipping for prayer journaling is a dynamic tool for serious discipleship. --Dr. Timothy White, Pastor, Central Church of the Nazarene

Features

The CHOP Ministry Manual (revised and expanded) contains:

• an orientation to the CHOP ministry and direction in conducting a house of prayer
• Basic Training Lessons in life-sphere witness, strategic prayer, personal renewal and spiritual warfare
• guidelines for weekly group meetings
• 12 weeks of daily, directed personal prayer incorporating the four elements of basic training
• a daily prayer journal
• resources for learning a persentation of the gospel and for constructing a personal testimony

About the Author(s)

Stanley D. Gale has been married to his wife, Linda, since 1975. They have four children. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education degrees from the University of Delaware, a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. He is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America and has served his current charge in West Chester, Pennsylvania, since 1988. He has authored a number of articles and books, including Community Houses of Prayer: Reaching Others for Christ through Strategic Prayer, Warfare Witness: Contending with Spiritual Opposition in Everyday Evangelism, The Prayer of Jehoshaphat: Seeing Beyond Life's Storms, and What is Spiritual Warfare?

System Requirements

Installed size (unless otherwise indicated): Approximately 3.625 MB. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Requires iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running latest version of iOS. Download size: 3.625 MB. Android Requires Android OS 4.4 or later. Download size: 3.625 MB. Windows Phone Requires Windows Phone 7.5 or later. Download size: 3.625 MB. Windows Store Requires Windows 8, 10, 11 or later. Download size: 3.625 MB. Windows Desktop Requires Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 or later. Download size: 631.125 KB. Mac OS Requires macOS 10.13 or later. Download size: 3.625 MB.