Editor’s note: Christ Community Church held a solemn assembly for its people (see Drawing Close to God through Solemn Assmebly). Although its prayer coordinator, Julia Thistle, strongly cautions that a solemn assembly must be led by the Holy Spirit and that an agenda for your church should be individualized through much prayer, she offers the following observations in hopes that it will help others get a feel for what this type of event might look like.

From Julia Thistle, Christ Community Church, Brazil, IN:
The Holy Spirit truly took leadership. There was such a strong presence of God those three evenings and a heightened reverence for God that everything else pales by comparison. Even trying to remember the exact order of service is difficult because it was truly Spirit-led.

To prepare our hearts for solemn assembly we did the following:

1. The Lord impressed on our hearts that the assembly must “cost us something.” In other words, some sacrifice of time or talent might be required. Certainly self-denial would be part of the “price.”
2. Several months in advance, a prayer team of six to eight godly men and women began to meet on Saturday mornings from 7:00 to 8:00 to pray. Many of those prayer meetings were characterized by deep personal repentance. This was a necessity before the team could ask God to prepare the hearts of the congregation for deep repentance. The early hour was part of the “cost.” Intercessors were encouraged to combine fasting with prayer.
3. At the team’s first prayer meeting, the scriptural foundation for solemn assembly was outlined, and each person was given a folder containing the following materials designed to encourage self-examination:
4. “The Heart God Revives” bookmark written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss http://store.reviveourhearts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=397 ; material also in pdf document format available for download at
   http://www.lifeaction.org/soro/settingthesails/content/PDF_The.Heart.God.Revives.pdf
   A list of the sins of commission (sins we have committed) and omission (things we should have done and didn’t) adapted from Charles Finney’s book, Lectures on Revival http://www.ccel.org/f/finney/revival/revival6.txt
   Richard Owen Roberts’s pamphlet, “The Solemn Assembly” http://www.intl-awaken.com/HTMS/booklist.htm
   Roy Hession’s book, The Calvary Road available at www.amazon.com
5. All committee members and church leadership were invited to join the last two Saturday morning prayer meetings before the solemn assembly.
6. To prepare the congregation, Pastor Tim explained the scriptural foundation for solemn assembly in sermons leading up to the event. He encouraged members to circle the dates on their calendars as the “most significant happening in the history of CCC.”

The solemn assembly began on a Wednesday at 5 a.m. The church was opened for three consecutive days of prayer where people came and went all hours of the day and night. Hundreds came each night to the corporate sessions from 7-9 p.m. The theme for Wednesday evening was individual repentance; Thursday evening, corporate repentance; and Friday evening was devoted to praise and worship. Although we planned to close the doors at 9 p.m. on Friday, dozens stayed through the night until Saturday morning, worshiping and spending time in God’s presence.

We did not have young children or babies in the sanctuary during the assembly (see editor’s note at the end of this article). We asked that no one leave the sanctuary unless it was an emergency. If individuals left the assembly, they were asked to remain outside the sanctuary and participate via the television in the lobby. We wanted a spiritual atmosphere free from distractions.

First Night – Individual Repentance
For the night of individual repentance our pastor, Tim Russell, adapted a list of questions from Neil Cole's book, Cultivating a Life for God (http://www.cmaresources.org/resources/allproducts.asp). He was led by the Holy Spirit in compiling the list. The questions were designed to break up the fallow ground of our hearts so that we could "seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on (us)” (Hos. 10:12). I think it is important to note that our pastor openly participated in the repentance. He led the assembly, but he was also a participant. Scripture was included in each assembly.

This opening night was an evening of personal prayer. Prayer was soft and tears were frequent, but there was no praying out loud. There was brokenness and humility in the sanctuary. 

1. Our pastor began the assembly with prayer and inviting the Holy Spirit to work in us.
2. Music and congregational singing lasted no longer than 15 minutes.
3. Our pastor gave a brief time of instruction on what we were about to do. He encouraged us to find a place in the sanctuary where we would be comfortable praying. The altar was open and prayer stations were available. We were encouraged to find a prayer posture best suited to individual needs: you could kneel, stand at your seat, remain seated, etc.
4. Our pastor read questions to us one at a time; they also remained on the overhead screen one at a time for contemplation. Some examples include:
   • Do you have any unforgiveness in your heart?
   • Have you damaged another person by your words?
   • Have you continued to remain angry with someone?
   • Have you lacked integrity in your financial dealings?
   • Have you been grateful to God for His mercy in your life?
   • Do you have compassion for the lost?
5. After each question, adequate time was provided for participants to pray individually.
6. When the time of repentance was over, the pastor prayed over the congregation.
7. The first night session ended with congregational singing and closing prayer.

Second Night -- Corporate Repentance
During the evening, the microphone was open so that different participants, as led by the Holy Spirit, could pray out loud about the prayer concerns. There were tears and strong praying throughout the evening.
 

1. Our pastor began the assembly with prayer and inviting the Holy Spirit to work in us.
2. Music and congregational singing lasted no longer than 15 minutes.
3. Our pastor gave a brief time of instruction on what we were about to do. He encouraged us to find a place in the sanctuary where we would be comfortable praying. The altar was open and prayer stations were available. We were encouraged to find a prayer posture best suited to individual needs: you could kneel, stand at your seat, remain seated, etc.
4. Our pastor led the assembly as we repented over our corporate sins of             disobedience, unbelief, prayerlessness, unforgiveness, and lack of love. 
5.  Congregational singing and close in prayer. 

Third Night of Worship
The worship leader prayerfully selected the music to facilitate the theme for each evening. She played softly as people were entering the sanctuary. For the first two evenings, we opted not to use percussion or electric instruments as we opened and closed with music. On the last night, the worship leader pulled out all the stops with full worship team and all instruments.

1. Opening prayer was taken from the Song of Songs.
2. Worship began. Scripture reading was interspersed with singing and enthusiastic praise throughout the evening. Scripture passages were selected that exalted the greatness of God.
3. The assembly closed in worship. People were allowed to leave or stay in worship through the night as they chose.

Editor’s Note: This congregation opted not to have young children or babies in the sanctuary during the assembly so that parents could devote their full attention to prayer; however, Richard Owen Roberts, in his pamphlet The Solemn Assembly encourages older children and youths to participate: “A solemn assembly is a most wonderful opportunity for children to see their parents and elders demonstrating Christianity at its deepest corporate levels. In that the entire family is summoned, the youth and older children have a very special privilege of being deeply touched by the solemnities of the day.”