When asked why he became a prayer servant, senior Chris Walstra stated, “My freshman year I felt like God was leading me to do it.” Continuing on, Walstra said, “not only did it have a great impact on the community, but it also had a great impact on me, preparing me for worship, and this is my way of giving back to the Calvin community.”

Robinson describes the role of prayer servants as “students being there for students.” Additionally, as a prayer servant, senior Andrew Thomas gets to “partner with God” in intercession for his fellow believers. “We get to join in with God as he does his redemptive work in our community.” Prayer servants strive to provide a genuine service to the community. “We don’t put on a show,” comments Thomas, “we want to prepare the space and set our hearts to him.”

Prayer servants circled around the lobby of the chapel on Sunday night, praying for the space and the people about to worship there. The prayer servants are placed in two different groups: “one group of us will come before the service to pray for it and pray for all the leadership and the students coming in,” explains Thomas. The group that serves afterward prays for students.
Prayer servants are student volunteers who give their time on Sunday evenings to pray for the Living Our Faith Together (LOFT) service and to pray with the students there. They range from first year students  to seniors and rotate every Sunday who serves that evening.

Prayer servants who come in before LOFT pray for the community, working outwards in. First for the greater community of the area, then for the leaders of LOFT and finally for those attending worship. The servants start with their hands on the doors, facing outside, asking God to bring people to his place of worship. Afterwards, they gather in a circle to pray together, asking God to be a part of this worship and praying for the leadership at Calvin and at the service. Finally, the servants walk throughout the worship space. Each servant takes their time, even sitting in seats to pray for the to-be occupants. Prayer servants who stay after LOFT pray with students who choose to come up and ask for prayer. They intercede on behalf of the students. Reasons people seek prayer after the service range from family deaths to help with an upcoming exam, “just whoever feels like they need it,” says Thomas. Stephanie Robinson shared her views on her role, saying, “we stand here being an open, welcoming presence for individuals who want to come up and who need prayer.”

For those interested in becoming a prayer servant, contact Audrey Warner ([email protected]). There is also a training session on February 17 at 6:30 p.m. for new prayer servants for this semester.