Prayer Hub is a newer ministry that exists to help develop and nurture a culture of prayer in OM. The founders, Boyd and Ribka Williams, have made prayer their ministry.
Prayer is a powerful part of any ministry, the 'powerhouse' that keeps it going year after year. Prayer Hub is a newer ministry that exists to help develop and nurture a culture of prayer in OM.
Boyd and Ribka Williams have made prayer—and cultivating a rhythm of prayer—their ministry. It’s not just part of their ministry: it is their ministry. After 15 years in North Africa, the Williams moved to Belgium and started Prayer Hub as a resource and encouragement to their team and to other OM fields.
“After North Africa,” Boyd shared, “we talked about creating a community of prayer, so we spoke with Graham Wells (OM’s international prayer champion) about what’s happening globally with prayer. Some area leaders picked up on it. They asked, ‘Could we have a community of prayer within OM that helps to resource and mobilise prayer?’”
Prayer Hub emerged. “We created the vision: a space to meet daily to pray for the leadership, the ministry of OM, and the least reached people of the world. It’s specific and distinct.”
And Belgium is a strategic location for Prayer Hub. “Being here means that we are accessible to North Africa and the Middle East, north and central Asia. We can also be mobile if need be.”
Lots of people have access to a network of family and friends who can pray, but Prayer Hub specifically exists to stand with others in prayer for ministry.
“You can bank on us praying because that’s what we’re here to do.”
Boyd and Ribka understand that, for some people, prayer is difficult. Prayer Hub also hopes to help people develop a strategic prayer life by building stamina through experience.
“We can do that virtually or in person,” Boyd said. “Someone can come to us for a period of time, get themselves into the rhythm of prayer, and then take that back to their fields.”
Prayer Hub is more than just spoken or written prayers. Boyd and Ribka both have creative backgrounds, so they want to include the creative community in this ministry.
Boyd shared that “There are creative people who’d like to explore how their creativity can be expressed in prayer and worship. You don’t always need to have the words; there are other ways to express what’s on your heart. We like the idea of art as prayer.”
The impact of prayer is two-fold, both for the pray-er and the focus of the prayer. “I’ve seen that when there is substantial, dedicated prayer time for something, it bears fruit,” Boyd said. “The community of people who gather to pray blows me away. In North Africa, there is an opening to the gospel and more stories now of people saying ‘yes’ to Jesus. It’s been an encouragement to me to be able to learn from guys younger than me, spend time with them, and draw on their passion.”
Boyd and Ribka are currently the only full-time members of Prayer Hub, but they hope for more.
“If you’d like to explore the daily rhythm of prayer, we’d love to have you join us.”