Action Ideas

Here are some ideas for spreading the word about OneCry.

Host a prayer meeting in your home.

1. Select a few friends or families you could invite for dessert and prayer.
2. Download and print copies of “Praying for Spiritual Awakening,” or order printed copies.
3. Begin the meeting by asking each person about their sense of need for revival.
4. Discuss the concept of drawing a circle around yourself first, and why you called this meeting.
5. Hand out the prayer guide and read over the first prayer note section.
6. Ask someone there to begin in prayer, and note that you will close this portion after everyone has a chance to pray.
7. Let your group know that they are welcome to open the Bible and read aloud verses that God brings to mind during prayer.
8. Depending on time available, repeat this process with the other sections of the booklet, or schedule a follow-up meeting to continue if God leads.

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Write a letter to the editor.

1. Most newspapers, magazines, and even many websites have “letters to the editor” opportunities, where you can share your opinion with readers. Typically, editors are looking for material that connects to their community or to current news events.
2. Writing a letter to encourage prayer for spiritual awakening, or to showcase the need for revival in your community, is a powerful way to spread the message.
3. A well-written letter is concise, makes a single point, and totals fewer than 250 words.
4. Here are two examples:

• As election season rolls around, many people have hope that a political figure will change the direction of our nation. I’ve come to believe that as important as politics may be, it can’t reach our heart issue. We need what historians would call a Great Awakening, a time when God’s presence and power are felt in our homes, churches, and community. Do any of us really believe that one more election will bring about the personal heart change that would free captive addicts, restore broken families, or mobilize sleepy churchgoers? Will one more election help children who are growing up with the pain of divorce, or offer hope to a spouse trapped in an abusive relationship? Our core problems can’t be solved with more funding or more education; they involve the kind of spiritual change that happens when people turn to God in prayer, repentance, and humility. That’s why, even though I do plan to vote in the election, I believe the more important work to be done is spiritual in nature. Would you join me in praying for spiritual awakening?
• I’ve been a resident of __________ County for a number of years, and while I appreciate the great things our community offers, I think something fundamental needs to change. The kind of change we need can’t come from the courthouse or the White House. I believe “we, the people” need to have a fresh encounter with God, and a reset of our priorities. That’s why I’ve been praying for spiritual awakening in our community. I see it as our only hope for a real turnaround. Do we really think that better education or more government spending or just continuing with “business as usual” will solve our deepest problems? I’d like to call on all the residents of ___________ to join me in praying for a genuine spiritual recovery in our homes, churches, and even our individual lives.

1. If your letter to the editor gets published, please share a link on this website or on the national OneCry Facebook page, to encourage others!

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Pass OneCry along to your pastor or denominational leaders.

1. Make an appointment to speak with your pastor about the need for spiritual awakening in your city, and print out or order copies of OneCry’s Core Resources.
2. Begin the meeting by asking your pastor what his own understanding of the word revival is, and then share with him what you’ve learned through OneCry.
3. Ask if he would take time to leaf through the materials and pray about utilizing them or similar resources in your church. (Don’t pressure your pastor on this; remember, you aren’t the only one feeding him great ideas. Give him a few weeks to think about the material, and respect his decision whether or not to pursue it further.)
4. Consider concluding your meeting in prayer, and take time to pray for God’s presence and power in the life and work of your pastor. Regardless of whether or not he would like to pursue OneCry, you can commit to pray for revival in his life and ministry.

Use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or blogging to present revival truth.

1. Look to the Promotional Tools area of the OneCry site to see various tools you can use in spreading the message.
2. When a new video or article is released on the site, copy the link from your address bar into your Facebook status box.
3. When you Tweet about prayer or revival, include #onecry to identify yourself with the OneCry movement.
4. Feel free to create OneCry-related articles or videos and share them around the Internet. You might consider recording a video entitled “My OneCry” with your own prayer for revival or your own call for others to be involved in prayer.
5. You can start your own revival-themed blog by using a free service like www.Blogger.com. You could offer opportunities for people to write their own prayers for revival, or you might write articles designed to capture interest. You can also use OneCry videos available on YouTube to post on your blog.

Host a revival prayer conference call for friends.

1. Visit www.GreaterCalling.org and then click Free Conference Calling (under the Conferencing tab). You can receive a number and passcode to distribute to your friends or church family.
2. Schedule a time for your friends to call in and pray with you for revival.
3. Leading the conference call is simple:

• Start by asking the participants to state their name and why they are interested in praying for revival.
• Next, allow time for prayer, and let them know that you will close the prayer time after it seems that everyone has had a chance to pray.
• Then, for the final five minutes of the call, discuss how you can spread the message of revival or the call for prayer to more people.
• You also might ask if everyone has signed the Declaration to become a member of OneCry.

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E-mail an invitation to friends to download the free Draw a Circle guide.

1. Jump over to the Core Resources section of OneCry.com and copy the link from the address bar.
2. Open your e-mail program and address a note to as many Christian friends as you can think of, with the link copied into the body of the e-mail. For example:

• Hey there! I joined the OneCry prayer movement, and I wanted to share some great resources they have on renewing your relationship with God. I thought you would enjoy looking at this online guide for seeking personal revival. Start with the Draw a Circle PDF, and let me know what you think!

1. You can post a similar message on Facebook, or as a comment at the bottom of Christian blogs.

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Send a note to government officials.

1. You can help spread the call to spiritual awakening by contacting your government officials. Their contact information can be found here. You can also find local officials and agency leaders by searching online for local government websites.
2. Let the officials know that you are praying for them personally and for their areas of responsibility, and offer whatever encouragements are appropriate.
3. Let them know that you believe the real answers for the problems our nation faces are spiritual in nature, and that’s why you are praying for spiritual awakening.
4. Ask them if they have any specific requests you could be praying about on their behalf, and if they would be interested in signing on with OneCry as well, to join the movement of those praying for spiritual awakening.
5. Here are some helpful tips on writing to politicians.

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Discuss revival with your church staff or small group.

1. If you are a pastor or small group leader, you might consider ordering print copies of our Draw a Circle guide for each member of your group.
2. Together, read the introductions in the booklet, and then walk through the first exercise, reading the noted Scriptures together.
3. Consider giving the rest of the booklet as “homework” to discuss at the following meeting, or break it down however seems most appropriate in your context.
4. Ask each person to share one spiritual need they would like the rest of the group to pray about. Then, pray for each other.
5. Church staff, ask participants to consider if and how these concepts should be communicated to the church as a whole.

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Hang signs on church/community bulletin boards.

1. You can find basic OneCry logos and verbiage here, and you can hang up small signs on community bulletin boards (often in grocery stores, banks, and churches) that encourage people to “Join Others in Praying for Revival” or “Help Us Pray for Spiritual Awakening.”
2. You can utilize OneCry materials, design your own, or (even better) promote specific revival prayer events in your area.
3. You could print out tear-off tabs with OneCry.com at the bottom of your sign to help people remember where to go for more information.

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Write a letter to churches in your city.

1. Write a letter or send an e-mail to pastors in your community about the need for revival and spiritual awakening. Offer any personal perspective you have on why you believe this is important and biblical.
2. Ask if they would consider visiting www.OneCry.com, watching the two-minute introduction video, and simply praying about whether this is something they would want to join.
3. If there is a pastors’ coalition or existing organization of churches in your area, ask if this is something they might discuss in an upcoming meeting. (OneCry’s Declaration of Spiritual Emergency might be something the group could sign and post in their churches.)
4. You might ask if the pastors would like to meet for the purpose of praying for personal and corporate revival in their churches.
5. You could download (free) or order (small cost) copies of OneCry’s Building a Revival Culture booklet for each church leader in your city.

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Conduct a teen chapel or devotional for local Christian schools or homeschool groups.

1. Most Christian schools have regular chapel schedules that often involve guest speakers from around the community. Call and let the administrator know that you have a burden to see teens praying for spiritual awakening, and you’re wondering if that would potentially be a topic to discuss in chapel. (The following plan could also work in a church youth group meeting.)
2. Begin by asking the students to ask the person next to them a question like one of these:

• Do you think the culture is going the right way or the wrong way? Why?
• Do you think that God expects every Christian to follow everything that Jesus taught?
• Why do you think people choose not to follow God?

1. From there, you could call up a “panel” of students selected from the crowd who can publicly give their opinions on questions like:

• Does it bother you that many people who say they are Christians actually live the same way that non-believers do?
• What should we say about people who claim to follow Jesus but are still into drugs, sleeping around, bad-mouthing others, or rebelling against their parents?
• What do you think would really make the churches in our city come alive with God’s power?

1. Next, show the Declaration of Spiritual Emergency video, and then say something like: “I am part of a group of believers who have decided it is time for change in the church, for really giving 100% of ourselves to God, and we are asking God to begin that change in us. We are crying out to God, not only for revival and spiritual awakening in our nation, but for revival in our own hearts. We realize we cannot change ourselves, much less this nation; therefore God is our only hope. The movement is called OneCry.”
2. Personal testimony of real life change is powerful. Maybe share a short personal testimony of how God gave you a passion for revival, and of the work He is doing in your own heart (personal revival).
3. Select one of the churches of Revelation to discuss as your Bible text. (Ephesus, Sardis, or Laodicea all have great revival/repentance themes.) Study Revelation 2–3 to determine what would fit best in your presentation.
4. Conclude by letting the teens know they are welcome to sign up with you to pray for and pursue spiritual awakening. Invite them to:

• Log on to the OneCry website, join a circle, download the Draw a Circle booklet, and let God begin His work in them.
• Start their own OneCry group at school, in their church youth group, or on Facebook, where they talk about and pray for revival.
• Start a blog about revival and the work God is doing in their hearts.

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