Pastor, what kind of culture are you working to create for how your church regards other churches? Are you leading your church to be generous, hospitable, and friendly toward other churches? Or do you model coldness and competition?
The answer matters because, though local churches are autonomous, they should never be isolationist. Healthy local churches must be concerned about the health of other local churches nearby.
One way to create this kind of culture is through your regular prayer meeting. We can do this in at least three ways:
1. Pray for Other Churches
The earliest Baptists believed autonomous churches have an obligation toward one another. The authors of the Second London Baptist Confession described it this way: “Each Church, and all the members of it are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ, in all places.”[1]
They didn’t say each church is “encouraged” to pray or “should consider” praying. No, they said each church is “bound to pray” for other churches. Simply put, healthy churches pray for other churches. 9Marks didn’t devise that, nor did the Second London Confession. It’s
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