A small group of high schoolers and a faithful counselor prayed me into God’s kingdom. After I realized that going to church did not make me a Christian and I personally made a decision to follow Christ, I joined the Bible study group that met in my high school. I learned that the group prayed for me every week. God heard their prayers.

Through the years I saw more and more how much we needed to pray and I love that at NCNC we are praying more.  The Lord said, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3). During COVID when NCNC worshipped on Zoom, Mary Audi (nee Beck) and I decided we needed to pray together as a church. We started a prayer group on Zoom and this has continued to meet on Zoom every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm until the present. Then when we came back to having worship services in person, we incorporated a prayer time during the worship service. People could share their prayer needs or praises and thanksgiving for what God has done in their lives the past week.

Hearing fellow Christians pray reminds me of the picture in Revelation of the four living creatures and the 24 elders before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And in another scene another angel was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God s from the hand of the angel. “We worship on earth through our prayers and God receives them in heaven." 

What I love about NCNC is the family atmosphere. Members genuinely care for each other and pray for each other. Members receive practical help from other members. But there are still many others out there who are outside of God’s family and need to know Jesus. I am looking forward into the future the when others are brought in through the faithful witness of the NCNC family.