The church has been praying for years…so it didn’t all began with Arthur Flake. But for Southern Baptists Sunday School work, it all began with Flake. Arthur Flake wrote several books in the early 20th century that formed the foundations of a Sunday School movement in churches that resulted in people being saved, baptized and taught the Word of God.
Imagine the impact if every Christian in North America—starting with your church—had one person they prayed for regularly and were sharing the gospel with. That is the aim of the Who’s Your One emphasis launch by Southern Baptists Churches in 2019. Have you identified your one!
I am thankful for this movement of evangelism and prayer in our churches! But identifying your one, interceding for your one, and being intentional with your one didn’t begin with our current SBC president, J. D. Grear. Dwayne McCrary, author of the book It Begins with Prayer, shared that when he looked at Flake’s Journal, “Flake specified that “Every teacher should have a prayer list of all lost for whom his class is responsible.” It ALL began with Flake!
If Flake were alive today, he would be exhorting every Sunday School teacher, every group leader, and every member of a group, to identify their one. To have a prayer list that is dominated by the names of people who have yet to become followers of Christ. It ALL Began with Flake!
I am thankful for movements like Who’s Your One because it is calling us back to the understanding that every one of us need to have a prayer list that is dominated by the names of people who are lost.
In the midst of the crisis that our world is facing, I can’t imagine not having the peace that passes all understanding and the hope that comes from my faith and trust in Jesus.
McCrary goes on to say that in his journal notes, Flake “also called for each teacher to share his or her prayer list with other teachers.” And I believe we should ask the members of our group to carry a list and to share their lists with the group. Together we pray for our one!
Reaching begins with prayer and it all began with Flake!
By Mark Miller, Baptism-Discipleship Team Leader, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board
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