"This not just Legacy. It is all of us. We want all of those who believe to join us and pray over every home, businesses, school, church. On our own, we can do nothing. But with God, we can do everything as a unified body of Christ.” That is how Jen Einrem, organizer and leader of One in Christ— a community prayer movement in the Bismarck area, describes what is happening in Bismarck, North Dakota this summer. Einrem has been instrumental in making the prayer movement happen along with Jane Hincks, both members of Bismarck Legacy UMC.

Several years ago, Jane Hincks was called upon by Rev. Kermit Culver, the pastor at Bismarck Legacy UMC at that time, to lead a prayer time. Kermit’s request for leadership surprised Jane. She was always helping out at the church in various ways, but she had never been asked to lead. Prayer had always been a private, individual thing for her.

Jane describes her surprise. “I have no idea what he thought when he asked me. I said I hardly ever pray out loud. I pray silently in my head most of the time, and you want me to lead a team of avid praying folks! I told him, there have got to be much more qualified people to do this than me.”

Today, Hincks and Jennifer Einrem of Legacy UMC have engaged a team of people who are praying across the entire Bismarck community. The group spans across denominations throughout Bismarck, Mandan, and Lincoln to pray over every home, business, school, and church.  “We want to join together to pray for God to breakthrough with new possibilities in our communities,” Jane said.

Einrem describes the prayer movement as an effort to create unity. “On our own, we can do nothing. But with God, we can be unified.”  

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The community prayer movement started with a small prayer team, at Legacy UMC. Last November, Jane lead a Breakthrough Prayer training. After the training, the group began to wonder what God was calling them to do. 

Jen Einrem describes the discernment after the small group training this way. “Everyone felt the same but didn’t know what God was calling them to do. We brainstormed and talked. We fasted over the holidays. We came back together, and it hit us. God was calling us not to pray for just Legacy but to pray for the entire community.”

Plans were made to invite all believers, not just members of Legacy UMC, to gather, to pray for everyone throughout the Bismarck-Mandan area. The community was mapped out, and individuals were given assignments to prayer walk and then report where they had prayed. 

The gold shows where the pray team has prayer walked so far in the Bismarck area. Photo from One in Christ Facebook page.

There are about one hundred different individuals involved in the prayer movement—One in Christ. The goal of the group is: Working together as one in Christ to cover our community in prayer. 

Various functions are held to encourage people and look at what areas that still need to be prayer walked. A Facebook page was created to keep people connected.  Kick off prayer events were held—at the capital in Bismarck in June, in Mandan in July, and in Lincoln in August.  

The team of praying disciples hopes to cover the entire Bismarck area in prayer by the middle of September. A celebration has been scheduled for September 27-29 on the North Dakota capitol grounds in Bismarck, called Awaken the Dawn.  Jen has been busy planning the event. “Every time I think of what we need for the event, like a tent, I wonder where we will get the resources needed. Then all of sudden someone comes through. Awaken the Dawn will be a celebration by all of us for God’s Kingdom,” Jen said. 

A Breakthrough Prayer training will take place at Sturgis UMC, 1755 Ball Park Rd, Sturgis, SD on September 15, 2018. Get all of the details and register here.