I have been humbled in seeing those whom I prayed for respond in a dramatic way to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I had always felt inadequate to be involved in evangelism but the CHOP experience was a blessing to me as I was able to reach out to those around me for Christ. Any Christian can participate in CHOP without having a special vocation for evangelism. Larry Woodruff, educator and CHOP participant
Prayer is the most characteristic, and arguably the most important, Christian discipline. No follower of Christ, and no community of His followers, can hope to know full and abundant life, or a bountiful mission and worship, apart from vital prayer together. The pastor who succeeds in leading his congregation to become a praying people has won half the battle in claiming his community for Christ. But the multitude of diversions, distractions, and other worthwhile activities makes getting a whole congregation organized and laboring together in prayer a difficult task. Now Stan Gale shows us how, and why, pastors must make community-wide prayer a major focus of their ministries. The CHOP manual can provide the vision, resources, and step-by-step guidance for any church to begin bathing its community in prayer. And this, in turn, can provide the context and catalyst for revival fires to fall. T.M. Moore, Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe and author of The Psalms for Prayer, Celtic Flame and numerous books on prayer and revival
In this book Stan Gale guides us into real life evangelism and helps us to more effectively engage our spheres of influence with the gospel message. Herein we see a cord of three stands woven together: confidence that God will answer prayer for the lost; passion for the lost; thoughtful/practical insight as to interacting with the lost. These three strands woven together encourage and facilitate our mandate to be ambassadors for Christ. Glenn P. Evans, Pastor
Many evangelism tools speak of the importance of prayer for outreach – CHOP actually taught me to pray evangelistically. CHOP enabled me to develop: Intimacy with Christ through its daily devotions and prayer guide; Strategy to pray purposefully for unbelievers; Community by gathering with fellow believers to pray for the spread of the Kingdom; and Expectancy by training me to watch for God’s answers to prayer. CHOP will prosper your soul, focus your vision, and empower your outreach! Dr. Dwight Dunn, PCA Pastor
CHOP is a most practical, teachable, and scriptural tool for personal evangelism. The central emphasis on prayer not only brings petitions before the Lord but also draws the participants into an active and growing community of real support, mutual accountability, and loving encouragement. Bob Herrmann, Pastor
I’ve been looking for a way to guide our church into a period of intentional prayer, which would be sound theologically and warm-hearted devotionally, and Community Houses of Prayer meets both those criteria well. As I read through it, my heart was filled with hope at what God will do when the believers in our body begin to pray this way! Dave Swavely, Pastor and author of Life in the Father’s House
The CHOP Ministry is a comprehensive approach to evangelism that helps to make you aware of opportunities that present themselves everyday by treating each individual contact as a person in need of God’s grace, instead of as a number to tally into God’s kingdom. It’s amazing how vested you become in the lives of your friends, family members, colleagues… when you pray for them asking God to reveal himself to them through you. Jeremy & Olivia Verrillo, CHOP participants
Using the CHOP Ministry Manual as a personal devotion guide really helped establish some of its guiding principles, including the strategic nature of prayer and the primary importance of the gospel being communicated in the context of relationship. It also greatly heightened my anticipation of using the Manual with others in a small group setting. Steve Gentino, CHOP participant
The Community Houses of Prayer ministry is more than a strategy—it is a lifestyle that will reshape the vision of the church along expressly biblical patterns. It focuses on two clear priorities: first, worship as both a corporate and personal reality, and intercessory evangelism as the church opens its eyes to a lost and hurting world all around us. As part of the big picture, the gentle, yet explicit equipping for prayer journaling is a dynamic tool for serious discipleship. Dr. Timothy White, Pastor, Central Church of the Nazarene