[Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification.]
Charles Spurgeon was obviously a powerful speaker. When he traveled, he was asked where the power came from in his ministry, and he said it was due to "boiler rooms" - a room in whatever city he was traveling to where people would gather and pray before, during, and after his meetings there. This is what fueled his ministry and gave it such an impact. Like a boiler room in a building or ship, they were not really seen by anyone except those working in them, but there would be no power without them.
This is the heart of the Boiler Room in Greenville.
Prayer fuels missions. If you believe in the God of the Bible, you believe in prayer. Even those who don't believe in Him often utter prayers without thinking when they're in a desperate situation. At our core, we as human beings believe in prayer. And we've seen things change when we cry out to Him.
Now...what if we prayed even when we weren't in crisis mode? What if your pastor could get up to preach knowing that he had been covered in prayer throughout the week? How more bold could those who reach out on ECU campus be if they had people praying for hours each week for them?
Ephesians 6:12 says that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but with the powers of darkness in this world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. That's why shouting at college students doesn't work, but praying against the things holding them down does. [And no, I don't mean walking up to a stranger in a public place and putting your hands on them and "praying the demons out of them". That's not a good plan...ever.] But what if when you went up to share the gospel with someone after having spent a significant time in prayer for them? We need to become more spiritual-minded, and less flesh-minded [and crazy-minded, for that matter.]
So that's the idea. A room where God's glory can dwell. An atmosphere that is conducive to prayer, worship, and intimacy with God. A place where the people of God can be with Him anytime - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And from that flame on the altar that never goes out, real power from heaven to change lives and set people free can flow. And though the people praying in th Boiler Room night and day may not be the ones to go out in power or even see what their prayers accomplish, they are still keeping the flame that fuels it going.
If you have a heart to pray, or maybe just want to see what this looks like, come out sometime. We now have public prayer/worship from 10-12, Monday-Friday, plus 6:22 on Friday Night. We'd love to have you!
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