At the beginning of each New Year it has long been the tradition of those who are part of the Methodist Church to use Wesley’s Covenant Prayer. As individual disciples, it is good to affirm our commitment to Jesus whatever the path our journey may take over the coming twelve months. Though traditionally spoken publicly, the strength of Wesley’s prayer is in its unswervable pledge to walk the way of Christ no matter what as an individual follower of Jesus.
As communities of disciples, however, the New Year is also an excellent time to affirm our commitment to walk our journeys of faith together with each other, to share our faith with others who do not yet know Jesus and to support the mission of God across the world. In language designed to be accessible for all ages in our church families, the following is a Covenant Prayer which can be spoken corporately by whole congregations this New Year (or at any point in the year for that matter) which intentionally includes elements of commitment to all of the above. God bless you as individuals and as communities of disciples as you commit your lives to him, to each other, and to sharing your faith with others in this coming year.
Covenant Prayer
• I commit to Jesus
(Spoken to God)
Responding to Your love for me,
I commit my life to You.
You are my Lord. You are my Saviour. You are my example.
Please help me to become more like You.
• I commit to the people of this church
(Spoken to each other in the church community)
Recognising that God wants us to live out our faith together;
to encourage each other to become more like Jesus,
I commit to serving this church community.
Please disciple me as I open my life to you.
You are my community for discipleship, mission and worship in this coming year.
I will live out the vision and values of this church in partnership with you.
• I commit to share my faith with others
(Spoken symbolically to those in our wider community)
Joining in with God’s loving mission and going,
I commit to sharing God’s love with you
in my attitudes, in my actions and in my words.
I will be good news in relationship with you.
• I commit to God’s mission in the world
(Spoken prayerfully to God)
Recognising your generous blessing in my life,
I commit to bless those beyond this local church
as they seek to share Your love with others.
Within this family of churches and beyond,
I will support Your mission in the world.
(based on a Covenant Prayer originally written by ‘Church from Scratch‘ and modified by Carl Smethurst)