In a new small group, prayer requests can tend to be either superficial or they’re six degrees removed from the person who makes the request (“Please pray for my brother’s friend who has an aunt whose nephew has a dog that ran away from home”). As a small group grows and deepens relationally, people will begin to be more personal and vulnerable with their prayer requests. One of the ways you as a leader can show great care and encouragement to the members of your group is by following up with people who’ve expressed a specific and pressing prayer need.

Here are a few suggestions on how to do this:

1. Never underestimate the power of a personal phone call. A great way to value the people you lead is to occasionally check in with them and ask for an update on their prayer concern.
2. Allow for a monthly time of prayer updates and praises during group time.
3. Pair people in the group into prayer partners who can check in with each other during the week. Each person in the group then has someone who is personally invested in ongoing prayer and following up.
4. Send a text message to the person to let them know you prayed for their request that day.

It’s amazing how something so simple can serve people so well! One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to show people how valued they are and by following up with people who open up during prayer requests is a great way to do just that.