What started as a small gathering grew into a network of encouragement, parenting wisdom, and faith in action - showing Christian parents everywhere how simple prayer can change everything
Like many parents, Joanna in Southampton felt the weight of the challenges that school brings. After attending a training/networking event for Christian parents & school teachers, she sensed it was time to do something more than just worry. She chose to pray for her school with other Christian parents. What followed was the beginning of a simple but faithful parent prayer group that grew far more quickly than she expected, showing just how impactful taking small faithful steps can be.
As we spoke, it was clear that Joanna didn’t set out with a grand plan. Her response was to follow a conviction that had been growing for some time. She put it this way: “I was at a Cross Connecting evening where I met two other mums from school, one mum that I knew was a Christian, and another that I had absolutely no idea about. We’re from three different denominations, but we’re all family in Christ. We met together on that evening and recognised that we just needed to pray. Our kids spend so much time at school… it’s so important to cover everything in prayer.”
we have the privilege of asking God for help, and then to entrust the outcome to Him, especially when it comes to the lives of our children
Many parents know the instinct to pull back when they feel anxious and worried about their children and the environment they’re in. Yet we have a good and sovereign God who invites us to trust Him, rather than to withdraw from the world. It’s why Paul writes “do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6-7). As followers of Jesus, we have the privilege of asking God for help, and then to entrust the outcome to Him, especially when it comes to the lives of our children.
For Joanna, the beginning was small and rather unremarkable. She remembers it plainly: “We just worked out when would be best to meet and we decided that twice a month would be a good plan to begin with.”
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But that first meeting sparked something. For her, meeting these two other mums was the start of a journey for her. Since identifying each other as Christian mums, they had a strong desire to involve others too. What happened next surprised them all: “so when we had our initial prayer meeting, the others felt we needed to get this out there. So then we shared on each of the year-group Whatsapp groups that ‘we’ve got this prayer meeting, and if you’d like to come and join us, use this link.’ What was really cool was that people then started appearing out of nowhere, they clicked on the link and then they joined, and it’s people that I didn’t even realise were Christians! It was amazing. Now there’s 23 people in this prayer group”.
All this unfolded in just 3 months. This left the group encouraged and even empowered. Now with a sizeable parent prayer group, Joanna shares how they now spend their time together. What they pray for is quite a mix, whether specifically for their children, or for school life more generally: “we pray for the Christian children in the class that they would be salt and light to their classmates and also to their teachers. We also pray about different things that are coming up, for instance for one of the teachers returning after maternity leave and just praying for her transition back to school.”
The impact has reached beyond school life too
From discussions with other parents, there are a number of areas where parent prayer groups have been keen to pray about, including praying for:
- Their children to grow in their identity at school as followers of Jesus
- Their children’s friendships, whether with each other or with others in their classrooms
- Their children’s learning at school and preparation for the future
- Their teachers to have patience and resilience when things seem overwhelming
- Their school’s leadership team to make good and wise decisions for the children in their care
- Opportunities for themselves as parents to be a blessing to the school / teachers
- Themselves as parents as they embark on the task of Christian parenting
For Joanna, this isn’t just another prayer meeting to add to her already-busy diary. This has made a difference to her personally, and she hopes it will have a knock-on effect in the lives of others too, perhaps for other families, and especially for her own children: “it wasn’t great that we didn’t know each other as Christians before, but then this prayer group has just opened up doors; and even on school runs, it’s just lovely to see other Christian families out there. I would even tell my girls ‘I met up with one of their friend’s mum and we prayed together; isn’t it cool that they’re Christians as well?’ The hope is that you sow a little seed that then our kids will start talking about at school.”
Joanna described how the group has become a place of mutual encouragement in the wider task of parenting
The impact has reached beyond school life too. Joanna described how the group has become a place of mutual encouragement in the wider task of parenting: “something else that has come out of this is that we share different parenting tips and different ideas for bringing Christ into the home, how we do devotional time as families, sharing books together, sharing different courses we’ve been on, etc. It’s also a fantastic platform for life equipping in how to be parents in the modern age. It can be really inspirational, just to know that other people are doing it too and that you’re not alone.”
small things can grow into something far bigger than anyone expected
As we talked, it was clear that many other parents would also love to be praying for their school with others, but don’t know where to start. I asked Joanna what top tips she would share. She said this: “it takes a bit of a step of faith. I had the privilege of meeting with those two other mums at the Cross Connecting event, so I wasn’t just on my own. It was the prompt from meeting those two other parents that made us think ‘let’s make this happen.’ We’re called to be bold and courageous and know that the Lord is with us. Perhaps a cliché, but the quickest prayer that God will answer is if you’re offering to step out in faith. So firstly, pray, and then if there is another Christian family you’re aware of, talk to them to see whether they want to come alongside you. Even if that doesn’t happen, even if you feel alone and there aren’t other Christian families that you’re aware of yet, you aren’t actually alone. You’ll never be alone because God is with you. So why not: pop a message onto a school group chat and say ‘hi, I’m a praying parent, if you want to join in or find out more, click on this Whatsapp group link’, and see what happens.”
Despite the demands of everyday life, this new parent prayer group has become a steady source of encouragement for Joanna. It has also given her and others a way to live out the kind of faith they long to pass onto their children: one that is prayerful, trusting, and faithful in the small things. And as her story shows, those small things can grow into something far bigger than anyone expected.
