International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Our church observed IDOP last Sunday.  I used the Powerpoint from the VOM website, with "This Road" by Jars of Clay playing behind it.  I timed it to take up the whole song, leaving enough time on each slide so people could read it and pray for it.  I added slides at the end, with no music, with some of the points from a VOM doc called How to Pray for the Persecuted.  (That doc was the front side of the bulletin insert I made.  The back side of the insert listed some web addresses and also some prayer items from a recent VOM prayer update email.) I intro’d the Powerpoint, let the slides with music play on their own, then prayed aloud through the remaining slides, leaving time after each for people to pray silently.

The whole service, from announcements to special music, focused on IDOP.  The sermon wasn’t about persecution per se because we’re in the middle of a series, but the pastor went to pains to tie it in anyway.  The bulletin cover had an IDOP graphic and in addition to the insert I had a note with a shortened form of this IDOP devotional.  I set up a table with literature in the foyer as well, and the Children’s Church had a mock underground church meeting.