Altars of Prayer
WHAT IS A PRAYER ALTAR?
A Prayer Altar is a community or gathering that meets in a physical space, committed to regularly praying for God's Kingdom to come.
Every revival in history was preceded by extraordinary prayer.
Revival is a sovereign act of God. As much as we need revival, we are powerless to bring it about. When God intervenes by pouring out His Spirit, it is obvious that it is God doing it. That said, we do have a role to play. In the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18, Elijah was facing a nation that had turned away from the LORD and had given itself to the worship of the Baals (the Canaanite gods). What Israel needed was for God to show up and reveal himself.
Elijah set up a showdown on Mt. Carmel with the prophets of Baal. He said, in essence “you build an altar and I’ll build an altar, and you prepare a sacrifice and I’ll prepare a sacrifice, and then you call on your god and I’ll call on the LORD. And the God who answers by fire is the true God.” Elijah could not produce the fire from heaven that was needed, but Elijah could build the altar on which that fire was to fall. Altar building is the human side of revival preparation. It is the act of setting aside space, clearing away other activities, in order to call on God and seek Him.
When we “build an altar,” what we are doing is setting aside a special space for believers to engage in what Tim Keller calls “extraordinary, Kingdom-focused prayer.”
Prayer meetings can be a dime a dozen - there is one in most churches. As we know, some of these prayer meetings can be rather insular and tedious. But when revival comes, the character of the church’s prayer meetings begins to shift. They become more intense, more forceful, more passionate. They become God-focused and Kingdom-focused. Men and women begin pleading with God for more of His presence and power. Altars of prayer and worship refer to this kind of communal, extraordinary, Kingdom-focused prayer.
When we look back through the history of past revivals, every time the Holy Spirit has come in power on the people of God, every time there has been fire from heaven, there is always somebody who built an altar. When the fire of Pentecost came, it fell on the upper room in Jerusalem. What had the 120 disciples been doing in that upper room for the past ten days? They had built an altar of prayer, joining together to wait on God for power from on high. This is true in Acts 4 as well, and in the Great Awakenings, the Welsh Revival, the Korean Pentecost, the Azusa Street Revival, and so on.
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ALTAR BUILDING IN NEW ENGLAND
One of our primary strategic goals over the next ten years as we seek to ready the church for revival and awakening is a network of 2000 “altars of prayer and worship,” established within local churches. These will be regular spaces where believers are gathering for extraordinary, Kingdom-focused prayer. Some of these “altars” don’t exist yet, and we are launching a movement to plant them. Other “altars” do already exist in the form of a prayer gathering that is already happening. Our hope is to offer encouragement and equipping wherever it is wanted.
Please pray for Revive New England as we begin this journey to establish 2000 altars of prayer. Ask God to connect us with churches who have the desire to see their prayer lives and prayer cultures deepened. Ask God to give us the ability to train and equip praying communities to seek God for revival. Ask God to activate and call church members and leaders to covenant with each other to seek God for revival until He sends it
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Start (or connect) a Prayer Altar
Would you like to plant a revival-seeking prayer community in your church or local network? We'd love to help you get started!
Does your church or organization already have a Prayer Altar that you would like to make sure others know about? Submit your prayer meeting details to the Revive New England Prayer Altar Directory.
Rhode Island
Apostolic Monastic Community (AMC)
Newport, RI
Location: zoom
Prayer Altar details: monthly virtual prayer meeting
Main website: gracewayri.org
Contact: Adam Fagan-Kela, hellograceway@gmail.com, 401-859-1101
Christian Hill Community Church
Warwick, RI
Location: 56 Tigoue Ave, West Warwick, RI
Prayer Altar details: Weekly prayer meeting
Main website: christianhill.com
Contact: darcom63@gmail.com, 401-787-4069
Cranston Bible Chapel
Cranston, RI
Location: 499 Hope Road, Cranston, RI
Prayer Altar details: Monthly adult and young adult prayer meetings
Main website: cranstonbiblechapel.org
Contact: bunnygriffeth@gmail.com, 401-580-3347
Evangelical Friends Church - Newport
Newport, RI
Location: 70 Bliss Mine Rd, Middletown, RI 02842
Prayer Altar details: One Church One Prayer monthly gathering
Main website: efcnewport.com
Contact: connect@efcnewport.com, 401-847-1490
First Baptist Church of Narragansett
Narragansett, RI
Location: 305 Kingstown Rd, Narragansett, RI 02882
Prayer Altar details: Mid-Week Morning Prayer on Zoom
Main website: fbcnarr.com
Contact: cvmorgan88@gmail.com, 401-439-4245
Generation Church
South Kingstown, RI
Location: 217 Church Street, South Kingstown, RI
Prayer Altar details: Weekly in-person and online prayer gatherings
Main website: generationri.com
Contact: connect@generationri.com
Graceway
Newport, RI
Location: 215 Forest Ave. Middletown, RI 02842
Prayer Altar details: Prayer & bible studies, multiple locations
Main website: gracewayri.org
Contact: thesendingplace@gmail.com. 401-924-7177
The Harbor Church
West Kingston, RI
Location: 263 Waites Corner Rd, West Kingston, RI 02892
Prayer Altar details: Monthly prayer meetings, praying for revival
Main website: theharborchurch.net
Contact: office@theharborchurch.net, 401-792-1110
Haven Center
Warwick, RI
Location: 366 Warwick Neck Ave, Warwick, RI
Prayer Altar details: First Fridays prayer & worship concerts
Main website: havenri.org
Contact: Pastorsteve1115@cox.net, 401-793-6606
Living Hope Christian Church
North Kingston, RI
Location: 730 South County Trail, North Kingstown, RI
Prayer Altar details: lhcc.info/church-services-studies
Main website: lhcc.info
Contact: KHoldridge5@gmail.com, 401-667-0775
Mt Pleasant Baptist Church
Providence, RI
Location: 262 Academy Ave, Providence, RI 02908
Prayer Altar details: Weekly prayer & bible study
Main website: facebook.com/p/Mount-Pleasant-Baptist-Church
Contact: lawrencejanet45@gmail.com, 401-351-2347
Restoration Church
North Providence, RI
Location: 244 Lexington Ave North Providence, RI 02904
Prayer Altar details: Monthly prayer meeting
Main website: restoration-worship.org
Contact: frankjoyal67@gmail.com, 401-374-8281
Sanctuary Church
Providence, RI
Location: Online and 15 Hayes St, Providence, RI 02908
Prayer Altar details: inourtime.co/portfolio/prayerroom
Main website: sanctuaryri.org
Contact: greg@revivenewengland.org, 401-374-1373
Saving Grace Church
North Providence, RI
Location: 1 Volturno Street, North Providence, RI 02904
Prayer Altar details: Midweek prayer and worship
Main website: www.savinggrace.church
Contact: josh@savinggrace.church, 401-497-4369
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI
Location: 24 Campus Ave, Kingston, RI 02881
Prayer Altar details: Weekly in-home prayer and worship meeting
Main website: contact Rick Vaccaro
Contact: vaccaro@uri.edu, 401-932-4692
Connecticut
Norwich Worship Center
Norwich, CT
Location: 165 Lawler Lane, Norwich, CT 06360
Prayer Altar details: https://www.norwichworshipcenter.org/opportunities-to-gather
Main website: www.norwichworshipcenter.org
Contact: chris@chriscolter.com, 860-698-5978
Massachusetts
Abbey of the Way
Worcester, MA
Location: Weekday Prayer by Zoom, Phone, or On-Site
Prayer Altar details: www.abbeyoftheway.us/the-program
Main website: www.abbeyoftheway.us
Contact: fatherlen@abbeyoftheway.us, 508-579-3442
Abundant Life Swansea
Swansea, MA
Location: 135 New Meadow Road, Swansea, MA 02777
Prayer Altar details: Tuesday morning prayer in the”War Room”
Main website: www.abundantlifeswansea.com
Contact: church@abundantlifeswansea.com, 508-379-0780
College Church
Northampton, MA
Location: 58 Pomeroy Terrace, Northampton, MA 01060
Prayer Altar details: Weekly Zoom Prayer Meeting
Main website: thecollegechurch.org
Contact: Email kasuma724@aol.com for Zoom link
Fellowship Church
Dedham, MA
Location: 47 Milton Street Dedham, MA 02026
Prayer Altar details: Bi-weekly prayer and worship meeting
Main website: fellowshipindedham.org
Contact: stephen@fellowshipindedham.org, 781-326-3033
Grace City Church
Boston, MA
Location: 874 Beacon St. Boston, MA 02215
Prayer Altar details: www.gracecityboston.com/prayer
Main website: www.gracecityboston.com
Contact: hello@gracecityboston.com
His Providence Church
Swansea, MA
Location: 262 Swansea Mall Dr, Swansea, MA 02777
Prayer Altar details: hpc.church/prayer
Main website: hpc.church
Contact: john@hpc.church, 508-431-8323
New Hampshire
The Commons Covenant Church
Rochester, NH
Location: Online and at 159 Rochester Hill Rd, Rochester, NH 03867
Prayer Altar details: churchofthecommons.org/forge
Main website: churchofthecommons.org
Contact: chris@churchofthecommons.org, 603-312-8004
The Living Room
Henniker, NH
Location: 48 Main St, Henniker, NH
Prayer Altar details: Open one night a week for individual and communal prayer, and other times by appointment.
Main website: thelivingroomhenniker.com
Contact: nhoffer77@gmail.com, 717-574-7557