Relating to the Local Church

The leadership of the House of Prayer values and maintains close relationship with hundreds of local churches and pastors around the Greater New York City area and the nation. We believe that true Christian maturity can only be developed in the context of relationally based communities, and we place a priority on the value of the long-term relationships cultivated in this environment.

Because of this, we require a letter of recommendation from a local church pastor for everyone who wishes to be involved with the House of Prayer in any official capacity. In this way, we seek to honor the local church leadership, and screen out individuals who have not demonstrated an ability to submit to healthy leadership structures and godly relationships.

Also, one of our major goals is that local churches themselves would more and more become houses of prayer in form and function. To assist in this process, we have programs designed to teach churches more about corporate prayer, how to encourage it in the local church setting, and how to deal with potential problems that can arise.

God is raising up a living Body made up of people from a wide and diverse cultural background, moving together in functional unity. Our focus then is not on the differences in our church cultures and doctrines, but rather on the basic biblical principles on which we agree, and how we can cooperate together to see the Kingdom of God realized in our spheres of influence.

This House of Prayer is vitally committed to the functional unity of the Church of the City, and seeks to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and city-wide leaders to see that vision established in every possible way.