Trypraying – how churches across the UK are inviting people to experience the kindness of God …
An attractive logo has been appearing in various places. The green and dark grey colours are not to be mistaken with a popular fast-food delivery courier. In fact, it has been around before this speedy food on wheels delivery company existed!
The logo simply says: “trypraying.”
This intriguing and gently provocative invitation is appearing on banners outside churches, on buses across towns and cities and on social media.
At its heart, trypraying is an invitation for those who are not Christian and don’t ‘do’ church to experience the kindness of God. The trypraying booklet, which is at the core of this initiative, is a seven-day prayer guide for people who are willing to give it a try. It helps them pray about something important to them and, crucially, helps them engage with the message of Jesus.
That little booklet changed my life
Trypraying has received hundreds of stories from people it has touched and transformed:
‘It’s awesome to see those adverts. That little booklet changed my life.’
‘By the end of the week, I asked Jesus into my life, as the booklet suggests, and had a powerful experience actually feeling His presence flood my heart.’
Over the last 14 years trypraying has grown from being a simple evangelism resource, to a project for a church and, now, a multi-church strategy for a town or a city. Its simplicity and accessibility have helped it grow with around 600 churches using it in the last 12 months.
The booklet is the easiest thing to give away to someone and it assumes nothing. The recipient doesn’t have to perjure themselves pretending to believe more than they do. It begins with, ‘God, if you are there, I want to get to know you.’
From there it gradually explains the gospel with accessible language interspersed with stories of answered prayer and things a person can do to help them discover God at work in their lives.
As a former agnostic and the founder of trypraying, David Hill says, “I believe that people who use this booklet run a high risk of becoming Christians and that’s a risk we’re happy about!”
And for a church it is all very straightforward: everyone in a congregation gets a copy and uses it for one week to get familiar with it and then passes it on to someone else the next week – ‘use it and lose it.’
Dorothy gave a booklet to her brother. She slipped it in his pocket at the station when he got on a train after Christmas. A few days later he phoned her. He had got to day six of the booklet and said, ‘I think I have just become a Christian!’
Mary: ‘I am a “card-carrying” Christian of many years who finds it difficult to share my faith without over-complicating it. Trypraying is fantastic.’
Bus advertising has been part of the annual campaign. The trypraying logo has had a significant impact because of a strong, visible advertising campaign for a month each year. Beginning in Edinburgh, the campaign is now across the whole of Scotland and in several places in England.
More than 31,000 people prayed upon seeing a trypraying banner
A few years ago, after our Edinburgh bus campaign, market research revealed that more than 31,000 people prayed upon seeing a trypraying banner outside a church or the bus advert. This surprising discovery is what motivates us to keep doing this. That’s a conversation starter for the Christians with their friends and a provocative, but kind, message to the whole population.
A minister in Edinburgh came up with the idea of putting booklets in a Perspex box on the railings of his church. The idea has caught on and scores of churches are doing this.
But it’s not only churches, now individuals are putting these boxes outside, holding a few booklets on their garden gate or fence. Booklets are gradually being taken and then topped up with more. One church has already has replenished over 500.
The idea has caught on in other countries as well; Australia, and New Zealand, the USA, the Czech Republic and now a French and Spanish booklet have also been printed with interest in other countries.
Although this ‘macro story’ is exciting, the heart of it all is individual Christians having a conversation about their faith with their friends, and those friends beginning a conversation with God about their life.
This autumn maybe your church will invite your community to try trypraying. It’s an opportunity for churches to work together, congregations to be mobilised and Christians to simply share their faith with friends and neighbours. It will be a creative, visible mix of banners, booklets, boxes and buses all pointing people upwards!
For more information contact hello@trypraying.org
What’s this all about? See trypraying.org
Looking for resources? See do.trypraying.org
