“So, Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”
“I will never forget the day I was at home on bended knee and my heart was prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray for the staff members of my church. As I prayed fervently for them I began to weep with such agony from the depth of my heart. I did not understand the tears and the pain I was experiencing. While praying, the Lord revealed to me that it was of great importance to Him for the church to pray for our staff members. ”
What is staff intercessory prayer ministry?
It is written, and spoken from the Word of God! “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4
In order to first of all fulfill the command from Scripture, Mary Ann was empowered by the blessing she received from her pastor, John Bisagno, and the Holy Spirit to lead members of the church to make intercession on a consistent basis by praying the Word of God for Staff Members.
Testimony
Staff Intercessory Prayer Ministry is dedicated to Pastor John Bisagno. Listen to his testimony about this ministry.
John R. Bisagno was the Senior Pastor at Houston’s First Baptist for 30 years.
He was a great pastor that truly impacted millions of people’s lives. He in every sense of the word of God was all about equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Ephesians 4:12-14
My husband, Roger and I joined Houston’s First Baptist in 1979 and Brother John and his beloved wife Uldine were examples to all of us that knew them, faith builders!
As you will hear from the video, he was a man of prayer and Gods Word!
When God birthed this ministry in my heart as I was on my knees, I went directly to him asking him if we could have a prayer ministry in the church praying for staff members! He then asked me how would we do this? I answered, “I don’t know but if he would allow this ministry, I would come back to him after God showed me the plan.” He was so very excited. Before I left his office, I asked him to pray for me and bless me as I sought God and he was delighted to do so!
There are many times I went to Brother John with revelations of different prayer ministries for the church and he grated them to be done and he blessed them in the name of Jesus knowing God was the builder of them all.
I dedicate this powerful ministry in honor of my beloved Pastor John R. Bisagno.
Why Should we pray for our Church Staff?
God was reminding me that day while I was on my knees in prayer that we, the Church, have first of all been commanded to pray for those in authority. Praying the Word of God for staff members radically brings the presence of edification, it provides spiritual support and victory against enemy oppression, and brings unity among the body of Christ.
Powerful and Effective
The goal of the enemy is to kill, steal, or destroy the personal lives and the work of the Lord that our pastors, ministers, elders, deacons, missions leaders, and all other staff members have been called to accomplish on this earth as it is in heaven (John 10:10).
A commitment from an individual to pray daily the Word of God for a staff member is powerful and effective (James 5:16b)!
And when the church prays the Word of God intentionally and earnestly together, suddenly the light of Christ pierces ALL darkness that has come against the staff members! All chains of darkness are deceased in the Name of Jesus!
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:16-18).
Protection of love
Thwart spiritual burn out, help guard against temptation and spiritual attack, build up and encourage staff members and their spiritual walk in Christ Jesus by having the Staff Intercessory Prayer Ministry in your church.
This Staff Intercessory Prayer Ministry offers a spiritual offense and defense against the attacks and schemes of the enemy for their staff member. A vow of Commitment and Confidentiality is given by the intercessor as a protection for the staff members and church.
By encouraging church members to partner with the staff and participate in intercessory prayer, staff members will not be alone in their walk with God. Someone will be there to lift their arms up when they are weak (Exodus 17:12-14).
CONSULTING AND PRAYER TRAINING WITH MARY ANN BRIDGWATER
Another option is to receive personalized consulting and prayer training from our very own president and founder, Mary Ann Bridgwater.
The creator of Staff Intercessory Prayer Ministry will guide you and your church step-by-step as you learn how to intercede and pray the Word of God for staff members. She will partner with you to help and equip you as you build this prayer ministry together.
She has mobilized, trained and led intercessors for over 20 years every month to gather and pray by faith fervently and earnestly for staff members at Houston’s First Baptist Church, HFBC Cypress Campus, HFBC Sienna, and HFBC Downtown.
Testimonies
Children’s Minister
“I feel that the intercessory prayer ministry promotes church unity. Having a prayer partner for our children’s ministry who represents the greater church body reminds me that the whole church cares about our children, not just our children’s workers.
I cannot tell you how meaningful and encouraging it is to me as a staff member to know that there are people who pray regularly and specifically for the children’s ministry who are not a part of this section [the children’s ministry].
An intercessory prayer ministry has the potential of binding the various ministries of the church together, and as the Word teaches us, the world will know that we are of the Lord by our love proven by our unity.” - C. P.
Intercessor
“As you know, I was invited to meet with your group two Sundays ago. While I knew that you all were fine and wonderful friends of mine, I was not prepared for the spiritual surge that I experienced as a result of being prayed over by such a dedicated band of intercessors. Your genuine concern and love for [my wife] and me was so evident.
And while I realized that your petitions were complimentary of us at the personal level, even more so I realized that your utterances were aimed ultimately at bringing glory and honor to His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We greatly appreciate your kind and encouraging words. Be assured that we, like you in our behalf, want our personalities and efforts to be in God’s will as we strive to participate in the building of His Kingdom on this earth.” - Dr. C. P.
Intercessor
“I did not realize when I began praying with the intercessory prayer group in January 1997 that it would impact my own personal prayer life so much. I thought that it would be great just to pray for the staff member who asked me to stand in the gap for he.
But then I began to see changes in how I prayed and how God began to answer the prayers not only in the staff person’s life and her ministry, but in my own life. I learned to pray with sincerity for others, to be very specific in my request, but more than that, I began to listen to God and hear Him speak.
It is a precious experience.” - C. O.
“I realize that the ministry of prayer to which you have been called can at times be lonely and seemingly invisible. Do not be discouraged, whether others fully appreciate the time and effort you spend in praying is not of primary importance; however, the Lord is fully aware of the time and effort you expend in group and individual praying – and that is what counts!”
Contact Us
If you desire to know more about the Staff Intercessory Prayer Ministry, or have any questions about consulting and prayer training for this ministry, please fill out the form below or call us at 713.476.9514. We will get back to you as soon as possible!