Prayer Bench
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What are people saying?
“Prayer bench has been an opportunity for me to allow the Holy Spirit to move in BIG ways on our campus. To step out in boldness for our faith, to encounter His children outside St. Mary’s walls, and to see Him move in extraordinary ways in the day to day of college!!”
Lynsey Lucas’22 - Youth development major
Prayer Bench has brought me incredible joy and friendships, and an insane amount of COURAGE AND BOLDNESS! Brian McNaughton’19 – Computer Engineering major
On Prayer Bench you learn the importance of prayer and it will lead you to grow in your relationship with Our Lord. You learn this because you see the hunger that the people around you have for Our Lord and the misery that they’re in and God can use you to help Him satiate that hunger.
Ryan Vezina’20 – Kinesiology PEK major
“Prayer bench has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. Thanks to prayer bench I am able to talk to classmates about Christ and learning about other faiths as well!”
Corinne Martin’18 – Education major
“Prayer bench calls the community to pray together. It brings the voice of Christ to students and staff in their darkest times. It brings hope to those in need.”
Allison Hunter’20 – Allied Health major
“Through Prayer Bench I began to understand true abundance of mercy”
Danielle Khoury’22 – Biomedical Engineering major
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Prayer Bench Exists to evangelize the campus of Texas A&M. We are a group of friends who are learning how to encounter people in prayer. We are driven by the desire for others to know the Love that we have found in Jesus and His Church. “Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water* will flow from within him.’” (John 7:38)
Sign-up: Fall 2019 Prayer Bench is on! If you found this website, get excited about the amazing plans of God for you!!!! Whether you are new or veteran, get connected with a partner to spend one hour a week offering free prayers to the people on campus! To sign up please fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/u8nkxv98Y2Es3xwn9.
Now you can also sign up to be a prayer pal! Prayer Pals will be matched with Prayer Benchers to pray for them and for the people they find on campus, and to send them encouraging messages through the week. This is intended for those who would like but have no physical time to do Prayer Bench, and/or feel the call to pray for evangelization. And you don't even need to be on campus! Use the same link above to sign up!
Meetings: Meetings are a time a space to ‘chill and have a LOT of fun’ with Jesus and other benchers. They usually consist of some prayer time (praise & worship/ meditative/ group prayer) followed by formation/teambuilding and sharing time. Formation is intended to equip Benchers with the necessary capacities to share Jesus on campus, and to form the character of a missionary disciple. Meetings are not required but encouraged! Ask Adrian ( a.alvarez@tamu.edu) to learn about meetings time and place or if you would like to join our group chat to keep
Method: “And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs” - Mark 6:7 Prayer Bench is typically done in pairs somewhere on campus (generally on military walk). After praying together, the two will begin to wave and smile at people saying: “Could you use a prayer for anything today?” Some choose to use a small handheld sign (“Free prayers” or something to that effect). Some bring their musical instruments to the bench or even prayer cards/St Mary’s flyers to give out! There are as many valid ways of doing prayer bench as there are participants. Participants quickly discover the ways they reach out best.
How do I join?: Come to one of our meetings or sign up here: https://forms.gle/u8nkxv98Y2Es3xwn9.
What’s the commitment level?: Weekly meetings are highly encouraged but not required. Typically, we prefer that participants sign up for semester weekly slots. It’s much like adoration where one signs up for a time, and then is expected to be there every week unless there’s an unexpected issue. Slots are an hour long (and typically feel like 20 minutes).
However, most Benchers usually figure out the time that works best with their partners, which is not necessarily at a fixed time every week.
What if this Scares Me?: Evangelization can be a frightening prospect. Anything worth doing is often difficult, and nothing could be more important than leading souls in Love to Jesus Christ. However, Prayer Bench as an organization takes good care of new members. We will never send you out without an experienced partner who is comfortable with the ministry, or without proper preparation. We do not pressure. Ever. Only invite. Come give us a try. God is never outdone in generosity and Prayer Bench is typically the most rewarding hour of our week.