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Over 1/2 million prayers said on the Table

When we say that the prayer life at your church will be transformed using the Table, we aren't kidding around. Since we launched the Table 22 months ago, over 585,000 prayers have been said on the platform. 

More info on how the Table encourages organic prayer at your Church.

Pray - A short film about prayer on the Table. from The Table Project on Vimeo.

Round table - Prayer on the Table in 8 minutes from The Table Project on Vimeo.

How to Use the Prayer Wall from The Table Project on Vimeo.

RoundTable 35 - Prayer (full version) from The Table Project on Vimeo.

Substance: Prayer Story from The Table Project on Vimeo.

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We are bound together through our prayer

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Case Study: Giddings First Assembly of God

Giddings First Assembly of God in Giddings, Texas, is a rural congregation with an average weekly attendance of around 130. They launched the Table in the spring of 2011. The congregation is led by Senior Pastor Pat Herlitz. His son, Luc Hertliz, was instrumental in launching the Table. Luc is an associate pastor and focuses on creative arts and media.

How did you prepare for the launch?

Pat: My son had launched his first Table while on staff at a church plant is the Detroit area. That launch did not take off quite as well as his second attempt here. He learned from his early mistakes. One of the first things he did was require the pastors to get on first and he worked with us for weeks before we launched it to the congregation.

Luc: The problem in Detroit was that I moved four days after the Table went live. Your system was new and I ended up moving to Texas. Because I didn't have a chance to get much "buy-in" it never really took off. It's a pretty tech-forward church, but without leadership pushing it forward, it just collapsed. Here in Texas, I took a more hands-on approach. All staff are required to be a part of the Table. We keep it very active.

What did you learn from that experience?

Luc: Leadership buy-in is imperative.

What kinds of things did you do to encourage people to check out the Table?

Pat: When we were ready to launch we made use of the posters (24 x 36" in the foyer) and we used the promo video in our video announcements.

Luc: I demoed it after service in the foyer. Plus our church shut down its Facebook prayer wall and moved it to the Table.

What specific steps really seemed to help with the launch?

Luc: Seeing the leaders and staff involved, clear demonstration of the value of the service and a demonstration of its ease of use.

How has it been going at First Assembly?

Luc: Our Prayer Wall is exploding.

Pat: I see Prayer Wall posts daily. The Serve App has not quite caught on, but the prayer app is invaluable.

Do you have some stories you can share?

Luc: My personal story is about when my dad had a tragic accident and had to be airlifted to an Austin hospital. While I followed the ambulance to our local hospital (before he was helicoptered) I put an urgent prayer request on the Table. Instant notification came to me minutes later with incoming prayers.

Are there ways that the Table uniquely helps a rural congregation?

Pat: Since going to the hospital requires a 40-60 minute drive, the Table is invaluable in terms of feeling connected to our brothers and sisters who are hospitalized.

Often there's a stereotype that rural populations aren't as tech savvy or plugged in. How has your rural community adapted to a digital space?

Pat: While rural defines us, we are not technophobes. It is safe to say the vast majority of people over 18 who attend regularly participate in our Table to some degree. Giddings is as smart phone connected percentage wise as Austin. When I walk through my Wal-Mart; I see as many bluetooth ear pieces per capita as I see when I am in Austin.

Sometimes people think small churches already have community and don't need the Table. How is the Table helping you as a small church?

Pat: It really has been the Prayer Wall that has created the most connection. One woman started attending our church on special occasions about three years ago. We'd maybe see her six times a year. After she joined the Table and added a photo, she started posting regularly. Before I could encourage her to come to church more, she did. She's now coming to church twice a week.

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We have struggled for many years in finding a consistent way to "disciple" our members throughout the week.

Do you have your own story about using the Table at your church? Post it here

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The Serve app has exploded...

Check out their welcome video! This church really gets what we are all about!

Welcome to Bethel's Table! from BethelChurch on Vimeo.

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Most Creative Video Contest Entry

The most creative entry in our recent Birthday Video Contest came from Imad. Rather than film himself, he used the wacky video animation from Xtranormal to talk about the Table. He shares how he found a substitute for nursery duty, gave away some dirt and prayed for missionaries.

Watch Imad's video:

You can always check out more stories like Imad's or share your own.

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Table Tip: Privacy

The Table is designed to be a private, local community. While nothing online is 100% private, the Table offers smaller community that's more local, more connected, more trusting and more private than what you'll find on Facebook.

That means you can open up. Go ahead, be brave. Share your struggles with your small group. Ask your church for prayer about a sensitive issue that you wouldn't post for the world to see. It's not about gossip or sharing secrets, it's about opening up a little bit more. Not to tell the world and have people gather around and gawk, but to get help, to rely on our fellow believers to support us.

• Open Up: Share your struggles with your fellow believers. Ask your church for prayer about a sensitive issue that you wouldn't post for the world to see. It's not about gossip, sharing secrets or one-upmanship, it's about being the body of Christ and supporting one another. We've heard stories of how amazing it can be.
• Keep it Small: You can use groups to share your sensitive info with a select few that you trust. Your whole church doesn't need to know the ins and outs of your current trial to pray for you, but maybe you share more details with your small group so they can better support you.
• Post Anonymously: If you're really worried about privacy, you can always post a prayer request anonymously. You lose out on some of that relationship-building goodness (nobody will know it's you, so they can't come up and give you encouragement on Sunday morning), but you still get prayer.

Take advantage of the privacy inherent in the Table and open up to your fellow church members.

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Granger's Numbers

It's cool to see these kinds of numbers and celebrate with Granger Community Church:

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So Cool To See Prayer

That's why we created the Prayer Video. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

Do you have your own story about prayer on the Table? Share it.

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Prayer Video: Will You Pray?

We've created a one-minute video you can use to promote the Table's Prayer Wall to your church. It's a top-notch video dramatizing how powerful it is to know that people are praying for you.

We're now making this video available publicly and there are several ways you can share it with your congregation:

1) Show It On Sunday Morning
Download the video and show it to your congregation during your worship services. It's a short video and powerfully communicates how the Table can impact lives.

You could go a step further and follow up the video with some personal stories of how the Table is impacting your church. We hear lots of stories about the Prayer Wall so there are surely some in your church as well.

2) Share It
Share the video through all your online communication channels. Either download it and create a custom version to share or use the generic version we've uploaded (see details below). Embed the video on your website, share it on Facebook, feature it on YouTube, talk it up on Twitter, plug it in your email newsletter. This is the kind of video people will share, so it's an opportunity to spread the word about your church and the power of prayer.

Here's some sample text you can use to spread the word:

Long form text:

Version 1:
You get that dreaded phone call and you're off to the hospital. While you sit in uncomfortable chairs waiting for more bad news, you feel so alone. But your phone chimes and you've got email—people are praying for you. On the way to the hospital you posted a quick request on the Table's Prayer Wall. You're not alone. That's the power of prayer. Watch this video to see how it works with the Table: [link/embed video]

Version 2:
Prayer changes lives and can deepen and strengthen our community. Will you pray? When you post a simple prayer request to the Table, emails are automatically sent to people in our church who are waiting to pray for you. When they click that ‘Pray Now' button, an email comes back to you—instant encouragement when you need it most. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Version 3:
The Bible tells us to be devoted to prayer, that our prayers are powerful and effective, to pray without end. Jesus asked his disciples to pray with him in his most desperate hour. The Bible tells us that God is attentive to our prayers.

So let's pray! When you post a prayer request to the Prayer Wall on the Table, it closes the loop on the old school prayer chain. People willing to pray are instantly notified, and when they pray you're notified as well, giving you the encouragement you need. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Short form text:

Version 1:
How can we pray for you? Post your needs to the Table. Here's what that kind of encouragement can look like: [link/embed video]

Version 2:
Will you pray? We have requests on the Table that need prayer. Watch this video & see how prayer can impact lives: [link/embed video]

Version 3:
The Table's Prayer Wall is an amazing way we can support and encourage one another. Watch this video to see it in action: [link/embed video]

Get the Video
We've made two versions of the video available.

1) Generic Table Version: This version is meant to be used as is and closes by pointing people to the tableproject.org. If you want to share this video immediately, this is the one to use. You can download the video and then upload it yourself, or just share or embed the versions we've uploaded to several video sites. Notice that this version won't point people specifically to your church's Table, so you might want to add your church's Table url (yourchurch.tableproject.org) to any description or comment text when you share it.

Download: Generic Prayer Video (ZIP, 70 MB)
YouTube / Vimeo / Facebook

2) Customizable Version: This version is meant to be customized by adding your church's logo and Table url at the end. This will require some video editing skills, but the bonus here is that the video can point people directly to your church. If you have the time and skills, we strongly recommend going this route as it will drive people to your church (and that's really the point, right?).

Download: Customizable Prayer Video (ZIP, 380 MB)

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