Preparation Beforehand

1. Attend to “spiritual hygiene”: Seek the Lord before coming to prayer. Ask if there are any areas you need to confess, forgive, or release to Him before praying for others. If you need prayer yourself, feel free to ask a prayer leader.
2. Attend to physical hygiene: Arrive clean, teeth brushed, breath fresh, no strong odors or perfumes, dress modestly to allow comfort standing or kneeling. It is helpful to have mints on hand, as well. Tissues will be helpful to have on hand.
3. Attend to external hygiene: Please have your phone silenced and outside business paused so that you may be fully present the moment you are called to pray.

During Altar Prayer Ministry

1. Get out of God’s way; allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in discerning if someone needs prayer. We are hoping to have people raise their hands if they need prayer, but that doesn’t always happen.
2. Whenever possible and practical, pray in pairs over someone to guard against any impropriety. We realize this isn’t always an option during altar ministry, due to the possibility of large crowds at the altar.
3. Always ask first, does this person want to be prayed with or are they having personal time with God at the altar? If someone is already audibly praying do not interrupt them.
4. Always ask permission before touching the guest. Do not move your hand in a distracting manner (rub or massage). We do not want to interfere with what the Spirit is doing.
5. Always ask permission before anointing the guest. Please bring your own anointing oil, if possible.
6. Pray with your eyes open. Be aware of body language and be able to respond accordingly. If you see someone who may appear to be falling in the Spirit, please do not force or push them to fall. If the person does fall, gently help them to the floor . Please avoid the temptation to manipulate a person to the ground or suggest that a person needs to “fall”.
7. Pray with gentleness and at a volume to maintain an individual’s confidentiality. You can pray with authority without praying loudly.
8. Pray as directed by the Holy Spirit according to the specific request. It is our job to facilitate an individual’s conversation with God. Helpful questions to ask: What do you want Jesus to do for you? Or what did the Holy Spirit lay on your heart to bring you forward for prayer? Is this ongoing, if so, when did it start? Can you picture Jesus with you? It is our desire to lead our guests into finding the words to pray for themselves.
   1. Do not offer counseling.
   2. Do not offer medical, or spiritual advice. However, if someone asks for healing, you may ask their level of pain before and after the prayer. Report any praises to the prayer room team to be celebrated.
   3. Do not pray out of your personal experiences.
   4. Do not inject negative possibilities into your prayers.
9. The person you are praying with may want to receive Christ as their Savior or rededicate their life to His service. Be prepared, with the Holy Spirit’s help, to witness boldly in these circumstances. Questions to consider asking in these circumstances:
   • When did you first trust Jesus and His work on the cross for your salvation? (If they don’t know, ask the following:)
   • Would you like to pray now to receive assurance of salvation?
   • Would you like to pray to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit?
10. Once the person you are praying with finishes their prayer then proceed to ask for an infilling of the Holy Spirit.
11. Sometimes a person will come up and have no idea what they are there for or how to proceed. This is where it is important to let the Holy Spirit guide you in what to pray for an individual.
12. Our job is to be a conduit for God’s love. The results are up to Him not us. We want each individual to walk away feeling loved.
13. We guard the dignity of all who come forward for prayer. If there are manifestations that may be distracting to the service, we gently escort that individual to the General Conference Prayer Room and minister to them through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
14. Be aware of the line if people are waiting for prayer. We believe that waiting for prayer is part of the faith building process, so we do not rush our ministry. However, the altar is not the time for extended prayer sessions. If the person you are praying for needs a longer time of prayer, please suggest he or she go for more prayer in the prayer room.
15. We do not audibly speak in tongues at the altar. You may do so quietly under your breath as long as it is not in a manner that distracts.

After Prayer Ministry

1. Maintain the confidentiality of each individual except in the case of reports of abuse, self-harm, or harm to others. Please speak to Laura Ballinger, Vida Mei Rivera, Titus Ibrahim Loh, or Dana Gilliam in these instances.
2. Pray a cleansing prayer and prayer of thankfulness upon conclusion of ministry.
3. Ask for God’s protection for you and your loved ones when you have completed praying with others.
4. Give God the glory for allowing you to participate in His Kingdom here on earth and allow Him to refresh your soul when you are finished ministering.

Protocol for on-site prayer room

1. There should always be at least 3 prayer volunteers in the prayer room except during worship services. When the altar prayer ministry begins, 3 or more assigned volunteers will return to the prayer room to receive anyone who may need intentional prayer.
2. When someone comes into the prayer room for prayer, a prayer volunteer in the prayer room should acknowledge their presence and respond accordingly.
3. The prayer room is open to anyone at any time. If you are scheduled to be in the prayer room, please make sure you are in the room during your scheduled time.

I have read and certify that I will abide by the above guidelines to the best of my ability.

Name