Sponsorship
Pray For LA is sponsored by Life Connections International.
The mission of LCI is to unify and encourage the body of Christ by
supporting the work of churches and para-church organizations
worldwide.
We would love to help your church or group to
facilitate similar concepts such as Pray For LA for your city. We can
also partner with you for short-term mission trips, or connect you with
other ministries that may suit the specific needs of your church.
We stronly believe that such relationships will birth numerous ministry opportunities.
STATEMENT OF FAITH & DOCTRINE
We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy spirit.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
We believe in the forgiveness of sins. God graciously justifies and regenerates by the Holy Spirit all who trust in Christ through repentance from sin and confession of faith.
We believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. There is resurrection of both the saved and the lost -- those who are saved, to the resurrection of eternal life, and those who are lost, to the resurrection of everlasting damnation.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life.
We believe in the holy Christian church. The church is the people of God, comprised of all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The church is the body of Christ, visible in the world wherever Christian belivers, in obedience of faith, hear the word, observe the ordinances and live as Disciples of Christ.
HISTORY
My name is Steve Snook, Senior Pastor of Metro Calvary Chapel in Santa Monica. I would like to tell you the history of Pray For LA.
My wife Tamara and I had just planted the church and moved from the San Gabriel Valley to 5810 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles. I'd had this vision for L.A. - these images - but at times it seemed so overwhelming...seeing the "lostness." We were called to plant a church here and we left everything to go for it.
Here was this young couple, who didn't know anyone, but had this call and this vision. So I spent time driving through the city and I went on prayer walks through different areas. One morning, I prayed, "Lord, You've got to change this city, the way they view You." I heard an almost audible voice in response, saying, "I am going to change my reputation in L.A."
Soon we started a Bible Study and began to feel what it's like to be on the front line. Occasionally, I had opportunities to share with others about the vision and asked people to stand with us in prayer. One morning about 16 years ago, while in the shower, I had a picture in my mind of a postcard, with big bold letters saying Pray For L.A. I knew I was supposed to make these cards and start asking people everywhere, as I shared the call and the vision, to pray for L.A. and to send these cards to friends and family members everywhere. I was often asked to speak at Youth Conferences, Men's Conferences and churches, and I would take these cards with me.
The Lord was showing me that they needed a Prayer Force, like an air attack. I knew we needed to engage thousands of people to be praying in a focused way for L.A. We started by simply printing these cards on bright orange paper with only the words "Pray For L.A." Then we sent out a letter with the cards sharing a little about the vision and call in this area, expressing "it's not just about us...what happens in L.A. touches the world and most of the time, it's not for good. We know we're not alone, but sometimes it feels like it. We're looking for people who will pray for L.A. and pray for us and what God is calling us to do."
This letter included some specific prayer requests and had a response form people could tear off and send us informing us of their commitment to join the prayer force. We encouraged them to pray and send these letters to those they knew who would pray. We would then send updates every few months.
Things began to happen. We were able to walk out some of the vision and we now had some intercession in the church...we started to grow. Yet at this point, Pray For L.A. kind of faded away.
A few years ago, I felt that tap on the shoulder - "Why did you stop the Pray For L.A. cards? Did I tell you to stop? Is it because you were more established? There will never be a time at Metro when you will not need the support from the 'outside'."
In re-establishing Pray For L.A., I talked with a member of the body, whose heart lined up with the vision. He took on the prayer ministry at Metro and focused on re-instating Pray For L.A. He developed a card with a list of 10 requests for the city and he established a website where people could sign up to be a prayer partner.
The Pray For L.A. campaign is not about Metro...it's so much bigger than us...it's about prayer for this city.
As such, Life Connections International has assumed oversight of this important organization. LCI plays a role as a Para Church Ministry to build Bridges with Churches all over the World. They are in a position to help churches all over the world begin similar "Pray For Our City" sites.
It's time to take it to the next level.
Please join us in building unified prayer for the Body of Christ in Los Angeles.
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