How a young church is using prayer to reach a divided community
Corridor Church, one of Iowa’s newest church plants, was launched just over a year ago in Milford, a unique community near Okoboji, one of the state’s most popular vacation destinations. While the lakefront is lined with some of Iowa’s most expensive properties, much of the community of Milford is made up of year-round residents working blue-collar jobs to serve the seasonal influx of vacationers. Beneath the surface of this exciting town lies a hurting population facing challenges like addiction and poverty. This is the mission field for Corridor Church.
Milford, IOWA
CORRIDOR CHURCH
Pastor Daniel Clements has been looking for ways to mobilize his young church to reach their neighbors with the hope of the gospel. One tool that’s been especially helpful is Pray and Go, a prayer-based outreach strategy developed by Thom Rainer.
“It’s a 30-day prayer-based evangelism strategy,” Daniel says. “You start by praying for your church, the pastor and staff, and the community. Then you pick out 10 homes in your neighborhood and pray for them. Then you pick one person you know to pray for, invite to church, and look for opportunities to talk with them about Jesus.”
Earlier this year, Corridor Church used Pray and Go in their small groups, and the results were encouraging. “Our folks got excited about it, and it pushed us all out of our comfort zone,” Daniel said. Now, they’re planning to go through it again this fall.
For a church planting in a community of contrasts, where wealth and brokenness live side-by-side, Corridor is finding simple, faithful ways to love their neighbors through prayer and intentional outreach. Daniel wholeheartedly recommends Pray and Go to other churches looking for a practical, Spirit-led way to engage their communities.
