Pursuing Greater Things in Prayer

What could happen if we intentionally pursued God in prayer for the people, places, and mission He has entrusted to us?

As we prepare for Missions Month and look toward the Greater Things God wants to do through Grace, we’re inviting our church family to join us for Pursuing Greater Things in Prayer—a six-week journey of focused, intentional prayer.

Beginning October 17, we’ll spend these weeks praying together in four specific areas. Each week, we’ll have a new focus for The Nations and Our Mission, while continuing to pray consistently for The Lost and Our Schools. Our goal isn’t simply to pray more, but to pursue God together and ask Him to move in ways only He can.

THE LOST

Choose 1–3 people who are far from God and pray for them throughout the entire initiative.
Think of a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, or someone else in your life who needs Jesus. Write their names down and commit to praying for the same people each week. Don’t just pray for God to change their circumstances—pursue God for this person.

OUR SCHOOLS

Pray for the schools that are part of our church family and our community.
Each week, pray for the school you or your children are connected to, along with a few additional local schools we’ll highlight. Together, we’ll cover schools throughout our community in prayer—lifting up students, teachers, administrators, families, and opportunities for the gospel.

THE NATIONS

Pray for people and places around the world who need the hope of Jesus.
Each week, you’ll receive a list of nations to pray for based on the first letter of your last name. As a church, we’ll work together to pray over nations across the globe, asking God to strengthen His Church, send workers, open doors for the gospel, and make His name known.

OUR MISSION

Pray for what God is doing through Grace and ask Him how He wants you to be part of it.
Each week will bring a new focus—from our mission partners and 2027 mission projects to For the One, Christmas outreach, and our response to what God is calling us to do. We’ll pray for God’s mission, listen for His direction, and ask Him to show us how we can respond.

Let’s Pursue Greater Things Together

This isn’t about having perfect prayers or finding more time in an already busy schedule. It’s about making room to seek God and trusting Him with the people, places, and opportunities in front of us.

Choose your 1–3 people. Find your school. Find your nations. And come ready to see what God will do when His people pray. Pursue God. Pray boldly. Expect Greater Things.

1. THE LOST

Who are your 1–3?
Identify 1–3 people who are far from God and commit to praying for those same people throughout the entire six-week journey.
Prayer prompts:
•God, open their heart.
•God, reveal Yourself to them.
• God, surround them with people who point them toward You.
•God, give me opportunities to love them.
•God, give me courage to speak about Jesus.
Want to learn more about how to pray for the lost? Check out our October 2025 message series, Pursue.

2. OUR SCHOOLS

Pray for the school you attend, work at, have children/grandchildren attending, or simply have a connection to. Each week we're praying over some additional local schools. Together, we’ll cover schools throughout our community in prayer—lifting up students, teachers, administrators, families, and opportunities for the gospel.

What schools to pray for each week:

October 17-23
Pray for: your school +
Niles City Schools
Howland Local Schools
Weathersfield Local Schools
McDonald Local Schools
October 24-30
Pray for: your school +
Girard City Schools
Liberty Local Schools
Hubbard Schools
Victory Christian School
October 31-November 6
Pray for: your school +
Warren City Schools
Lordstown Local Schools
Champion Local Schools
Hermitage School District
November 7-13
Pray for: your school +
Brookfield Local Schools
Austintown Local Schools
Sharon City School District
Lakeview Local Schools
November 14-20
Pray for: your school +
Youngstown City Schools
LaBrae Local Schools
Agape Christian Academy
Youngstown State University
November 21-27
Pray for: your school +
Sharpsville Area School District
Jackson-Milton Local Schools
Boardman Local Schools
West Middlesex Area School District

3. THE NATIONS

Find the first letter of your last name. Each week, pray for the nations assigned to your group. Together, we’ll pray through all 195 countries over five weeks.

What nations to pray for each week:

October 17-23
A–D: Afghanistan • Albania • Algeria • Andorra • Angola • Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina

E–I: Armenia • Australia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Bahamas • Bahrain • Bangladesh

J–M: Barbados • Belarus • Belgium • Belize • Benin • Bhutan • Bolivia

N–Q: Bosnia and Herzegovina • Botswana • Brazil • Brunei • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso

R–U: Burundi • Cabo Verde • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • Central African Republic

V–Z: Chad • Chile • China • Colombia • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo
October 24-30
A–D: Republic of the Congo • Costa Rica • Côte d'Ivoire • Croatia • Cuba • Cyprus • Czechia

E–I: Denmark • Djibouti • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • Egypt • El Salvador

J–M: Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Estonia • Eswatini • Ethiopia • Fiji • Finland

N–Q: France • Gabon • Gambia • Georgia • Germany • Ghana

R–U: Greece • Grenada • Guatemala • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Guyana

V–Z: Haiti • Honduras • Hungary • Iceland • India • Indonesia
October 31-November 6
A–D: Iran • Iraq • Ireland • Israel • Italy • Jamaica • Japan

E–I: Jordan • Kazakhstan • Kenya • Kiribati • Kuwait • Kyrgyzstan • Laos

J–M: Latvia • Lebanon • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Liechtenstein • Lithuania

N–Q: Luxembourg • Madagascar • Malawi • Malaysia • Maldives • Mali

R–U: Malta • Marshall Islands • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mexico • Micronesia

V–Z: Moldova • Monaco • Mongolia • Montenegro • Morocco • Mozambique
November 7-13
A–D: Myanmar • Namibia • Nauru • Nepal • Netherlands • New Zealand • Nicaragua

E–I: Niger • Nigeria • North Korea • North Macedonia • Norway • Oman • Pakistan

J–M: Palau • Palestine • Panama • Papua New Guinea • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines

N–Q: Poland • Portugal • Qatar • Romania • Russia • Rwanda

R–U: Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Samoa • San Marino • São Tomé and Príncipe

V–Z: Saudi Arabia • Senegal • Serbia • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Singapore
November 14-20
A–D: Slovakia • Slovenia • Solomon Islands • Somalia • South Africa • South Korea • South Sudan

E–I: Spain • Sri Lanka • Sudan • Suriname • Sweden • Switzerland • Syria

J–M: Tajikistan • Tanzania • Thailand • Timor-Leste • Togo • Tonga • Trinidad and Tobago

N–Q: Tunisia • Türkiye • Turkmenistan • Tuvalu • Uganda • Ukraine

R–U: United Arab Emirates • United Kingdom • United States • Uruguay • Uzbekistan • Vanuatu

V–Z: Vatican City • Venezuela • Vietnam • Yemen • Zambia • Zimbabwe
November 21-27
A–D: Pray for nations where the gospel is least accessible.

E–I: Pray for nations experiencing persecution or conflict.

J–M: Pray for missionaries and mission workers around the world.

N–Q: Pray for churches and Christian leaders around the world.

R–U: Pray for unreached people groups.

V–Z: Pray for the next generation of believers around the world.

4. OUR MISSION

What part of our mission to pray for each week:

October 17-23
Pray for Grace's heart for missions.
Before we give, go or serve, ask God to give us His heart for the world.

Prayer:
God, give us compassion for people who are far from You. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Give us a willingness to be used wherever You call us.
October 24-30
Pray for our mission partners and projects.
As you read through this year's Missions Month booklet, don't just learn about what God is doing—pray over it.
October 31-November 6
Pray for Missions Month.
God, show us what You are doing.
God, give us a heart for the nations.
God, give us compassion for people who need Jesus.
God, show us where You want us to participate.
God, let this month be about Your kingdom.
November 7-13
FOR THE ONE
Pray for God to bless the expansion of Grace and our campus in Niles so that we can continue to do more of His Kingdom mission here and around the world.

As we pray for For the One, let’s look beyond the building itself and ask God to use this expansion for His greater purposes. Pray that God would provide what is needed, guide every decision, and prepare our church to faithfully steward the opportunities He gives us.

Pray for the people who will be reached, discipled, equipped, and sent through this expanded campus. Pray that what God does in Niles would have an impact far beyond Niles—that a growing church family would mean more people being sent, more needs being met, more missionaries supported, more communities served, and more of the gospel going to the nations.

Ask God to bless what is happening here so that we can do more of what He has called us to do everywhere.
November 14-20
OUR RESPONSE
Pray for people to:
• Give
• Go
• Serve
• Invite
• Pray
• Share
• Say yes
November 21-27
Remember & Anticipate

Look back on the Greater Things God has done in 2026, and look ahead to the Greater Things He will do this Christmas season.

As Thanksgiving approaches, pause to remember God’s faithfulness throughout the year. Give thanks for the lives He has changed, the prayers He has answered, the doors He has opened, and the ways He has worked through our church family and our mission partners.

Then, turn your eyes toward what’s ahead. Pray for the Christmas season at Grace—for every service, invitation, conversation, volunteer, family, and person who will walk through our doors. Ask God to use Christmas to draw people who are far from Him closer to Jesus and to give us opportunities to share the hope of the gospel.

Thank God for what He has done. Trust Him for what He is going to do. And ask Him to do Greater Things this Christmas.

Prayer Open House

As part of our prayer initiative we are hosting a Prayer Open House November 2-5 from 6-9 p.m. We will have a packet of information to help guide you through four stations through the main areas of the campus. We will be praying for the lost, our schools, the nations, and our mission. This is self-guided so you can stay for as little or as long as you'd like during these three hours! You can come once or come back each night, but the packet of information and stations will be the same each day.

Come with your family, your Life Group, a friend or by yourself. See you there!