“I grew up in a Christian home in Brentwood and was always a casual Christian. Sports, school and friends were always more important to me. It took losing my dad at 15 to realize the relationship I was yearning for in a Heavenly Father!
I was dedicated to the church from a young age, but never baptized. Before I decided to get baptized, I had three conversations with mentors, my wife, and family that were all encouraging me to get baptized. I realized that it was something I needed to do to be faithful in my relationship with the Lord. I prayed about it and didn't know how to do it or when. The next week there was an Ethos Baptism card in my chair and it was further confirmation that not only did I need to get baptized, but I needed to do it at Ethos!”
We set aside 43 days to seek the LORD through prayer and fasting.
A Month Long Journey of Prayer and Fasting in February
A Seven Day Sun-Up to Sun-Down Communal Fast in November
A Communal Fast on the First Wednesday of Each Month
Sunday mornings are set aside as a time to connect with GOD and with each other through worship, teaching, communion and fellowship.
31 people served on the Downtown Worship Team.
6 Different Teaching Series: Uncompromised, Resilient Joy (Philippians), Daniel, The Great Commission, The Return of Jesus, Advent
13 people served on the Hillsboro Village Worship Team.
3 Different Teaching Series: Come and Stay, Draw Near, To Live is Christ (Philippians)
“The best way I connect with God is through music and worship, and serving at Prayer Gathering in that capacity has been extremely beneficial for my walk with Jesus. Not only do I get to worship with others, I am able to engage in communal prayer, a practice I believe is as life-giving as oxygen. There is something special that happens in the intimate setting of Prayer Gathering that you can’t get in a larger corporate setting. It has strengthened my prayer life significantly, as I’ve been able to be vulnerable with others as we carry each others’ burdens and lift them up in prayer together.”
“The first time I sat on a Freedom Prayer team I left thinking, “This is what God has made me to do!” Never before had I so fully felt like I was living out what I read in the Bible. My life is busy like everyone else’s (family time, work, practices, etc.), but the time taken out of my schedule for a prayer time is always blessed. I go in to help another person encounter God and hear from Him, and it never fails that God ministers to my heart as well. In a Freedom Prayer time you see God work and hear Him speak in real time. People come in anxious, discouraged, stuck, and often questioning what they believe about God and what He feels about them. God pinpoints exactly what needs to be spoken into and they leave visibly lighter and with concrete truth received from God. Also, I think one of the beautiful things about Freedom Prayer is that it is experienced in a group. So, after the prayer time you have others affirming what they saw God do in you and through you. God never fails to show up and speak truth.
If someone asked me what is one thing they could do to jumpstart their relationship with God, I would say do a Freedom Prayer time. It’s not a replacement for one-on-one prayer or studying scripture, but I feel like God can tear through so many barriers in a prayer time that makes that personal time with Him more fruitful. Our God is good and kind and knows us better than we know ourselves. He doesn’t invite you into a prayer time to embarrass or shame you, but to draw you out of what entangles you and brings you down and into his loving arms. We chase after so many self-help remedies, but we have access to THE Helper, the Holy Spirit, and sometimes it is easier to hear from Him with the help of other trusted believers.”
