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Alpha Tips: Setting up a 24/7 Prayer Room
Read below to find out how to create a 24/7 prayer room.
 
As you can imagine, there are a lot of practical things to consider when setting up a Prayer Room at your church.
Here is a step by step guide to assist you in your planning:
1. Talk to your church leadership. Help them to catch the vision and promote the prayer room. This is not just for your Alpha team, but for the whole church. Remember that May 27th is Pentecost, so this can be a wonderful way to prepare hearts for this celebration in the life of the Church.
2. Timing and choosing the right space. Timing is important and realistically it would be great to have up to 6 months to plan. If you are not in a position to have that long to plan, then consider the following basics:
- Space - If you’ve got a fairly small prayer space, make sure it feels uncluttered by clearing out all of the furniture and creating prayer-stations that are wall-mounted, or sectioning off certain areas, like this image of the prayer room at Holy Trinity Brompton demonstrates. You may also have to limit the number of participants at any one time. If you’ve got a huge open space, however, such as a main hall, make sure the space feels more hospitable and comfortable by adding couches or bean bag chairs.
Please Note: YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PRAYER ROOM WITH 24-HOUR ACCESS; simply consider identifying a gathering space that is accessible during set hours of the day.
- Access - Make sure that the prayer space is easily accessible. Having an outside door is often a good thing, although it might require some negotiation with staff and security.
- Security - There needs to be at least one room host on site at all times. Often leaders take 2-4 hour shifts. These people need to be familiar with the church and trusted by the staff.
3. People on your team. Have a small creative team to design the room and then others to help 'build' it. Schedule in some worship leaders, but also have some time with just quiet or peaceful music playing. Have people sign up for shifts to serve as room hosts.
 4. Get supplies. It does not have to cost a fortune to set up a room. Simple things like post it notes, white Christmas lights, paints, paper, markers, bean bag chairs etc.. are all that are needed. Have a few extra Bibles and note books on hand as well. Order the New Alpha Prayer Guide! In this new resource, Pete Grieg describes practical models of corporate prayer, alongside inspiring testimonies from Alpha Offices and 24-7 Prayer networks around the world, and provides helpful guidelines for becoming an effective praying community.
5. Promote it. Get the word out using the method that works best for your congregation. Some ideas would include: Facebook, emails, announcements at church and most effective is a personal invitation. If you would like to see an example what another church has done using short video podcasts, see what North Heights Church has created >>
6. Do it! It's okay to start small with a 12 to 24 hour prayer room. When you see and experience the power of what can happen in this prayer space, you will be encouraged! You may want to plan for a longer time span in the future.
7. Let us know how it goes. We would love to hear about your experience. What did God say or do? What did the participants think or feel? Please email us at 24/7prayer@alphausa.org with your encouraging stories of the ways God used this time of prayer.
Information for this Tips was taken from Prayer Spaces in Schools >>
Still have questions?
Find out more about 24/7 Prayer by attending a conference call hosted by Alpha Regional Director, Justin Kastner at 2 PM CST on either Tuesday, May 1 or Thursday May 3. Find out more here >>
For more information about Alpha USA's week in the Alpha International Year of Prayer >>
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