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Phase Two

Step 5— We recommend that you prayerfully inform your principal about your intentions to hold staff-only prayer meetings in a classroom either before or after school. Let your principal know that no students will ever be present during these meetings and, if necessary, that prayer among teachers is protected speech just as any other private conversation is. Reach out to TWP in the unlikely event that you encounter obstacles with your administration.

Step 6— Stay prayerful about who at your school you should invite to your TWP prayer meeting and how to invite them. Some school cultures allow for non-school related notices (e.g. Girl Scout cookie sales, staff members’ yard sales, off-site staff birthday parties) to be transmitted over work emails or posted in the staff lounge or distributed through staff mailboxes.  If that is the case, then advertising your TWP meeting in those ways is also appropriate. However, if the school has a non-solicitation policy that prohibits non-school related communication via those venues, then you should respect the policy and invite fellow teachers through personal email accounts and/or by word of mouth.

Step 7— Invite all known Christians on staff to join TWP. As the Lord leads, engage in non-threatening spiritual conversations with colleagues who may not be believers. Offer your testimony about how God has influenced and improved your life. If the moment feels appropriate, offer to pray for your colleague. If he/she accepts your offer, then ask if he/she would be willing to pray with you on a regular basis. Explain what TWP is and refer them to the TeachersWhoPray.org. NOTE: Sometimes the least likely person on staff will be the most eager to join you in prayer. TWP has proven to be as much a tool of evangelism as it is a tool for intercession. Accept all pray-ers who are willing to submit to the ten TWP tenets on the registration form.  

Step 8— Once you have at least one staff member on board, set up a convenient time to meet privately in the school–in an empty office or classroom with no students present, either before or after school, or on a duty-free lunch break. Decide the start and end time of the session and do your very best to respect those perimeters. Make sure everyone agrees to extend the time of the meeting should it go longer than expected.

Step 9— With every new TWP participant, go over the TWP tenets found on the website. Make teachers feel relaxed and welcomed; Let them know that TWP is a safe and confidential place that offers spiritual and moral support. Make sure the meetings don’t turn into a gossip forum, as some teachers might have complaints about other staff members or families. Turn those problems into prayer requests and stay focused on the Lord.

After all prayer requests have been given: The leader will ask the other members if they would also like to pray aloud. Once you’ve decided who is going to pray (the leader should always pray at some point) then everyone prays quietly as one person leads. Prayers should be relatively short and to the point. You may choose to hold hands, but you don’t have to. Make sure you save a significant amount of time for prayer. It’s easy to use up all your time talking about life, and leaving only a few, rushed minutes for prayer. One way to avoid this is to pray after every prayer request.

Step 10— Go back to Step 6 and watch your TWP team grow! Make sure everyone on your team registers on the website as a witness to the world. Praying teachers will be encouraged as they watch TWP growing around the globe!

Again, it is recommended (but not required) that you inform your principal that you are holding Teachers Who Pray meetings at school on your own time. In rare, extreme cases of administrative hostility, it may be best to hold your prayer meetings off site.

Once you officially register, we will put you on our member list serve, and we will be checking on your chapter’s progress periodically. God bless you and your prayer team!