Sandy Landes
Editor’s Note: Sandy Landes recently joined the FMC staff as a contracted Prayer Ministry Coordinator. She will be coordinating and connecting prayer support throughout the conference. Sandy is also Prayer Minister at Doylestown Mennonite Church.
Does our faith journey ever take us where we expect? About five years ago I felt God leading me to begin a prayer time during our Sunday School hour at my home congregation of Doylestown Mennonite Church. Out of that prayer time grew a prayer ministry involving many people as we opened our hearts to the incredible gift of prayer. My congregation has encouraged me in so many ways as we are learning together what it means to be a house of prayer. God has been gracious in leading us to develop a prayer room, to begin an intercessory prayer ministry during our Sunday morning worship service, and to initiate an active email prayer chain. Eventually I joined the staff of Doylestown as a prayer minister. I find my ministry fulfilling and challenging.
In the past year, while continuing to seek God’s leading on my faith journey, I felt led to take another step of working to help people pray. God is already at work building houses of prayer around Franconia Mennonite Conference as congregations are developing active prayer ministries. While Noel Santiago and Jeannette Phillips have worked at encouraging the intercessors, Noel felt the need to have someone on staff at FMC to encourage and connect the prayer ministries of the different congregations. In November I began a new position as Prayer Ministry Coordinator of Franconia Mennonite Conference. I plan to work at coordinating prayer coverage for the leadership of and within Franconia Mennonite Conference. I want to be available to provide resources and encouragement for those involved in the many different aspects of prayer ministry in congregations and conference related organizations.
It is a journey of faith, one in which I am unsure of the direction it will go, but I do know the promises of God’s word. As a conference of congregations we are all being led on a journey which sometimes leads us in unexpected places. The exciting thing about this trip is not where we are going but the One who is leading us. God is faithful and will do all that he has promised. My hope and prayer is that we will continue to grow in prayer and understanding God’s heart for us as a body. I look forward to the journey!
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.
hi mom