Honestly, joining this church was very hard for me because the spiritual climate was so weak. But the Lord made it clear I was be a part of this fellowship. One year later I married Paul, a dear man of God I'd met in Sunday school. During that year I was asked to lead a prayer ministry. This was very challenging because of many obstacles. At the time, prayer ministry was not even a recognized ministry of the church, had no line item on the budget, and no real pastoral support.

I began with many things I'd learned as a member of CPLN, having served as a prayer leader before. I attended business meetings and was eventually able to get prayer as one of the recognized and financially supported ministries. I enlisted a pastor's prayer shield and met with them regularly for prayer and discipleship. And started a variety of prayer activities, including a regularly published article in the newsletter to keep prayer before the people as much as possible. God put a desire in my heart to see this church saturated with prayer and become truly captivated by Him. I wanted them to know Him the way I'd come to know Him.

Getting a prayer room open was incredibly difficult due to financial obstacles and a lack of support or interest. It just wasn't a priority among the staff. I lost count of how many times I wanted to quit. But God had given me a strong husband that often reminded me Who had given me this calling and Who's strength I could rely on.

We finally got the prayer room furnished and ready to open the same weekend as Discipleship Now.  The DNow theme was to exalt God from Ps. 139:2. So from 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb 29 through midnight on Saturday, Mar 1, we asked people to sign up to read God's Word aloud in the prayer room in 30 and 60 minute segments. Youth, college students, young and older adults all participated. It gave everyone the opportunity to see and use the prayer room and supported our youth in the process.

I'll never forget seeing people lined up to get into the prayer room. There were many reports of people saying how much they enjoyed their time in the prayer room and many youth gave testimonies of what God did in their hearts during the weekend. It would seem the most common experience was a call to obedience. An older woman who'd been a member for many years said the time she spent in the prayer room was the most significant thing she's ever experienced at IBC. And what followed this event was just beautiful.

I've been a member of IBC for 3 years now and have never felt and experienced God's presence in a corporate worship setting there like I did that next Sunday. Both morning services and the evening service were incredible. In the morning services, many came to the altar, something that never happens. In the 2nd morning service, one man was so touched by God's Spirit that he left the sanctuary in tears. A young lady from the college/career class noticed and asked my husband what had happened. She thought something was wrong because she'd never seen a move of the Holy Spirit in our church before and she's been gong there her whole life. Paul explained that he'd experienced God's presence and was so overwhelmed by it that it made him cry. She just looked puzzled. Then later, in the evening service, that same young woman came forward and gave a testimony that God had convicted her that she'd not been sold out to Him, that she'd not been faithful to a quiet time, and that she'd not been living the holy life He called her to. Then she wept with that joyful cry we experience when repentance comes. It was beautiful! A little later as we sat singing a worship song, almost immediately people began standing up and lifting their hands to the Lord, again, something I had never seen at IBC before. One of our youth said she could no longer be satisfied to be a status-quo Christian. Another said she could never go back to being a part of a youth group with potential . . . that having potential to make an impact in this world was not good enough and it didn't exalt God. The conviction in her voice was awesome.

I can't even begin to tell you how encouraged I am now and how much I'm looking forward to seeing God move in our midst in the days ahead. No doubt He began this good work, and He will be faithful to complete it.

Patti McTee
Local Church Prayer Leader
Inglewood Baptist Church