Encourage Prayer Requests
How Churches Are Cultivating Meaningful Connections Through Prayer
Why Encouraging Prayer Requests Matters
Prayer is more than a ritual—it’s a powerful way to build community and show people they’re not alone. When churches make it easy for people to share their prayer needs, they open doors to deeper relationships and lasting spiritual growth. These real stories from Text In Church members highlight how encouraging prayer requests can transform both individuals and congregations.
Making Prayer Accessible Anytime – Josh Antley’s Experience
Problem
Josh Antley’s church struggled with missed calls, slow voicemail responses, and the challenge of connecting with members needing prayer support outside of office hours. Members often didn’t know how to reach the right person, and staff found it hard to manage requests efficiently.
Solution
By implementing Text In Church’s Calling feature, the team set up a dedicated prayer request line through the Digital Receptionist. Callers could easily navigate to leave a prayer request voicemail or receive a text message with a prayer submission link.
Result
The church saw a significant increase in prayer requests. Members appreciated the quick, accessible way to share their needs, and pastors could respond promptly. In one instance, a community member dealing with severe anxiety reached out through the prayer line, received immediate support, and later became an active part of the church community.
Today I texted a simple, ‘May the fourth be with you! How can I pray for you today?’ I got more than 30 prayer requests and was able to pray on the spot for those people and send them a note that I had done so. The number of people who asked how they could pray for me was amazing. Not only did I get to pray for hurting people in our community, but I was also overwhelmed by their love poured back into me. It’s crazy how just a little message can make people feel so known and cared for.
Community-Wide Prayer Support – Angela Smith’s Story
Problem
After Hurricane Helene, Angela’s church wanted to check in on members and offer prayer support, but traditional methods like email weren’t reaching people quickly enough. They needed a way to connect that was immediate and personal.
Solution
Using Text In Church, the team sent out mass texts inviting members to reply with their prayer needs or status updates. The church also set up an automated workflow that responded to each request with a personal acknowledgment and a note of ongoing prayer.
Result
Members felt seen and supported during a critical time. The quick communication helped coordinate over 200 volunteers and provided emotional and spiritual care to the community. The outreach extended beyond the congregation, allowing the church to be a source of hope in the wider community.
Because of Text In Church, we can CARE for our people, and the greatest example of this is when we text and simply ask if there is anything we can pray with them about, the response is so huge!! Over and over people have commented how they love that we take time for them and they are connected to us.
Personalized Prayer Follow-Up – Terry Romine’s Approach
Problem
Terry Romine’s church wanted to foster deeper connections through prayer but found that mass prayer emails often got ignored, and group texts were overwhelming with reply-all notifications.
Solution
With Text In Church, they set up a system where members could text a keyword to submit prayer requests. Replies and follow-ups were directed to a designated prayer leader, ensuring members received personal responses without clogging everyone’s inbox.
Result
Prayer participation increased, and members appreciated the privacy and personal attention. The streamlined communication kept requests organized while ensuring people felt genuinely cared for.
Follow up is great, increases guest return rate. Easy to make announcements, prayer requests.
Building a Culture of Prayer
– Donna Paulk’s Church Experience
Problem
Donna’s church lacked a centralized way to collect and manage prayer requests. Members wanted to pray for each other, but the church struggled to facilitate that connection without overwhelming staff with administrative tasks.
Solution
They implemented Text In Church’s prayer request keyword feature, allowing members to easily submit requests. The system also sent out a weekly prayer list to a designated prayer team.
Result
The church experienced a notable increase in prayer engagement. Members felt encouraged, knowing their needs were being lifted up in prayer, and the structured approach kept things manageable for church staff.
I am also in the process of setting up a new prayer ministry at my church and I’m using Text In Church to do all the automated work on that to save me tons of time. I’m so glad we started using Text In Church.
Key Takeaways
Make it simple for people to share their prayer requests with keywords and automated responses.
Personal follow-up matters—people feel valued when their request receives acknowledgment.
Streamlining prayer requests helps avoid administrative overload while ensuring meaningful connections.
Offering immediate ways to submit requests strengthens trust and builds community.
A structured prayer system can increase participation and foster a culture of care.
Try Text In Church for 14 Days
Ready to encourage prayer requests and connect with your community on a deeper level? Start your 14-day free trial today. Try Text In Church now.
