This Time Tomorrow

This Time Tomorrow

Introduction

ideas came from Methodist Minister and is heavily pushed by LICC and Mark Greene

What is it?

Pray now for This Time Tomorrow, and ask people that time tomorrow to pray again.

Why?

Tells the person they are important to you, the church and to God.

The more we do it the more we all realise that ordinary chirstians are important to God and this in itself changes culture.

Develops relationships and conversations

Develops new kinds of conversations – ones about God in our ordinary lives.

Process: summary

what do you do?

what are your challenges?

what can we pray for you?

Tips for praying for people:

Ask if you can gently place a hand on the person’s shoulder.
Keep your words brief and responsive to what they asked us to pray for; no need to tell God what they have just said out loud – God already knew that!

Look at the person you are praying for as you pray – you will see if God is doing any particular thing in their life by the look on their face; for example if they begin to cry. Don’t be worried if there is an emotional response, thank God for moving in our lives.
If you are not comfortable with extemporary prayer, practice in private speaking out loud.
Remember that you are talking with God, and that you are also leading others to talk with God.
Leave time of silence for you and everyone to listen to God.
Thank God for listening to us and speaking to us.
Keep it brief.

TTT Process: detail

Linking to the theme of the service:

Decide who you want to interview
Choose someone who you and the whole congregation would like to learn something from.
Explain your purpose
Be clear about why you want to interview the person
Give them the 3 questions in advance

what do you do?

what are your challenges & opportunities?

what can we pray for you?

Info about interviews:

An interview is not a conversation
It should be informal and loose, but the other person is the one doing the talking; you are providing questions, and seeking depth, when necessary.

Tips in interviewing:

Be responsive and flexible
If you need to ask follow up questions, or if they are struggling, ask "open" questions like: "Tell me about..."; "Describe..."; "What was it like when...?"; "In what ways...?"; "Why...?"; and "How...?
Be sincerely interested in what the other person has to say, and show it.
Listen well
This takes concentration; it means really caring about what they have to tell you, and building a bridge of trust between you.

Emotions:

Emotions will emerge
If someone is talking about an unhappy or painful experience, show that you understand how they feel ("That's very sad"). If the person doesn't want to talk about something, that's okay – just go to the next question.
It's okay for there to be moments of silence or emotion. A person's life is important, and emotion is natural. Accept emotions as part of the process.

Endings:

Respect, acknowledge, and accept whatever is going on for the person; try to be understanding; pauses can be helpful.
Be grateful
Let the person know that what they have shared is a valuable gift; and be sure to thank them.
Ask if anyone who particularly identifies with part of this, to stand to both show support to the person who was interviewed and to also receive prayer.

Prayer:

whilst the person remains at the front explain to everyone that you will now pray for this person (and anyone else who has stood)
It might be appropriate to invite any who have stood to come forward too.
Over time it might be that people become more confident with TTT and it might be appropriate to invite one of those who have stood to pray for the person.
After the prayer ask them to return to their seat and ask everyone to sit down.