By Joe Kerr
The Lord is doing something exceptional in the Tampa Metropolitan area. The Crossing Church holds prayer every Wednesday from 12 Noon to 1 p.m. Even meeting in the middle of the workday, people have responded and set aside the time to “…pray and seek God’s face…” Many have accepted the challenge to fast and pray each Wednesday.
In 2017, God expanded the church noon prayer vision to include the larger Body of Christ in Tampa. Many ministry leaders and pastors embraced the idea to unite their members for a fellowship of prayer the third Wednesday of each month. Their goal is to transform the Tampa region via unified prayer. The meetings are cross-cultural, multi-denominational and international via live feed on Facebook and the Crossing website. Other participating churches simulcast the prayer times through their own media channels. All who share a burden for the lost and a passion to minister to the Body of Christ in Tampa are welcome.
The collective of area pastors claims 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Since September of 2017, the third Wednesday prayer has multiplied exponentially, with as many as fifteen congregations participating, and numbers reaching as high as 400 attendees, and as many as 5000 online! Several local and international pastors have spoken at the noon meetings over the last several months including, Pastor Earnest Benjamin, Breath of Life Worship in Tampa; Pastor Joseph Doxa, Glory Life Church in Tampa; Pastor Jomo Cousins, Love First Christian Center in Riverview; Pastor Greg Dumas, Crossing Church in Tampa; and Pastor Oscar Mumba, Bread of Life Church Blessing Centre in Lusaka, Zambia.
The next step is to hold monthly prayer in public venues to demonstrate God’s love for the people of Tampa. Each will include worship led by area church worship teams, followed by prayer and local ministry.
Interested area pastors and ministry leaders are encouraged to contact the Crossing Church Director of Prayer Ministries, Fiona Reid at 626-0783. Third Wednesday prayer is currently hosted at the Crossing Tampa campus at 10130 Tuscany Ridge Dr. Tampa. Future venues will be posted at wearecrossing.com/prayer.
