In the late summer our Tuesday morning prayer group usually uses the schedule of upcoming ministry startups as our launching list for topics. It’s a simple list to put together – contact the people responsible for the various ministries and ask them for meeting, retreat, conference, training, or other dates coming up in the next couple of months.

As we prayed this year, it occurred that this is a good The Trellis and the Vine example. A central theme of that book, by Collin Marshal and Tony Payne, is having enough (but not too much) administrative programming (trellis) to support fruitful ministry workers (vine). The header on our prayer list made it clear that our purpose is to be witnesses, so it included the Great Commission from Matthew 28 and the following introduction: “Here is a chronological list of events, trainings, retreats, conferences, and classes coming in the next couple of months as ministries begin. Let’s lift them up, remembering our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The fruitful prayers included thanksgiving for God’s work in setting up the several (fruitful) ministries; equipping the leaders for each ministry; and the worldwide impact as hundreds of people have been brought in, built up, and sent out over the life of the church. Prayers were offered for strong starts for each of the programs this fall, for new visitors to the church to be welcomed warmly, and for God’s provision that some of those new visitors would join in the vine work and bring with them complementary gifts to those already present in the congregation, particularly for outreach and evangelism work.