The results of a recent survey of almost 600 evangelistic churches surprised us. We found three common methodologies among all of the responses — preaching, prayer, and small groups or Sunday school. The churches studied were a mix of white-collar, blue-collar, rural, urban, suburban, white, Hispanic, black, Asian, lower-income, upper-income, traditional, contemporary and blended. And even though the evangelistic ministries at these churches are as diverse as the types of churches themselves, the "big three" methodologies are consistent in each of the responses.

We recently devoted several articles to the first methodology — preaching. In the next three articles, we will examine the place of prayer in evangelism.

The survey results

Nearly 70 percent of surveyed churches rated prayer as a major factor in evangelistic success. Except for those churches with attendances of 700 to 999, at least 60 percent of churches in every size category identified prayer as a major factor.

Interestingly, the strongest responses came from two extremes — the smallest and the largest churches. Since our survey size is too few for small churches, we can't offer a categorical explanation for their responses. However, many of the largest churches have a staff person, full-time or part-time, dedicated to prayer ministries. This focus makes the churches more aware of its need for greater emphasis on prayer.

Church leaders were asked to respond to the statement, "Prayer is foundational to effective evangelism." More than 80 percent of respondents said that they absolutely agree that prayer is the most important. The number who responded agree, very much agree, or absolutely agree account for more than 98 percent of the churches. Only 1 percent did not agree with the statement.

Earlier surveys by C. Peter Wagner, George Barna, Kirk Hadaway and others discovered a direct correlation between prayer and church growth. Our study confirms their work, but specifically in the area of evangelistic or conversion growth. Whereas the 1960s and 1970s were times of intense interest in methodological approaches to growth, we now see a greater balance, which recognizes spiritual realities such as prayer to the sovereignty of God.

Our research team also asked questions about the implementation of prayer ministries for evangelistic effectiveness. We wanted to know if attitudes result in actions. Church leaders were asked to respond to the statement; "We are committed to prayer as an essential element of any successful outreach venture."

We drew two obvious conclusions from the results. First, these evangelistic churches are committed to prayer. Close to 90 percent responded very much agree or absolutely agree to the above-mentioned statement. Only 1 percent did not agree that their churches were committed to prayer for evangelistic outreach.

While the prayer commitment of these churches is clearly apparent, a second, not so obvious response pattern emerged. The responses showed that church leaders are committed to prayer, but they are not satisfied with their level of commitment. This appears to be a healthy conflict — commitment is evident; satisfaction is not. And because the leaders are not fully satisfied with the depth and breadth of prayer in their churches, it helps them avoid complacency.

Eighty percent say prayer is foundational to effective evangelism, yet less than 65 percent believe their churches are truly committed to prayer for outreach. While the level of commitment (almost two-thirds of the churches) is very high, we nevertheless note a longing for an even greater depth of commitment.

One pastor in South Carolina shared his frank assessment of his church's prayer ministry. "With each passing day I recognize God's plan for prayer in my life, personally and in my church." After a brief pause he continued, "But neither I nor my church are where we should be in our level of commitment to prayer. We have made great strides, but we have so far to go. I just don't think we will ever be fully satisfied." Many other church leaders made similar comments. Because of this attitude, we anticipate even greater levels of commitment to prayer in the years ahead.

C. Peter Wagner estimates that five percent of churches in America have a dynamic prayer ministry. Among the 576 evangelistic churches in our study, more than three-fourths have a church-wide prayer ministry. Though not all can be called "dynamic," our impression is that most are truly vibrant and make a difference in the life of the church.

If Wagner's assessment is correct, and if our numbers are valid, the contrast between praying and non-praying churches is stark. Wagner's estimate of only five percent is dramatically below our measure of approximately 75 percent. Therefore, we conclude with conviction that most evangelistically growing churches are also praying churches.