As LeadHer’s Local Director, I spend most of my day on email or on the phone talking with women interested in learning more about how to start a LeadHer Local Chapter, training future Coordinators, and helping our current Coordinators. I have had the privilege of watching LeadHer chapters start and grow across the US. I have been able to train and encourage women in communities of all sizes, some whose names I was familiar with and others I had never heard of before. Our team knows that we would have never been able to make all these connections if God’s favor and direction was not with our team. We also know that much of our growth is the result of prayer.
We have a big vision to see chapters get started and rather than just praying big bold prayers, as a team we have learned how to pray bold detailed prayers, some of these we have prayed for years. We have prayed for a LeadHer Local Chapter to start in each state by the year 2020. We have prayed for a LeadHer chapter to start within driving distance of every woman in America. We have prayed for specific cities by name, cities like Chicago, Nashville, and Raleigh. We have prayed for specific locations, public schools, college campuses and military bases. Some of these prayers, God has already answered, some of these prayers we trust that God will answer in 2016 and in years to come. We have learned that detailed prayers do not always have a detailed timeline.
One thing I have learned about praying detailed prayers is that details do not limit God, rather they broaden our perspective to recognize just how much God cares about His Kingdom. We celebrate every time a chapter launches in a city, but there is something incredibly powerful about celebrating over the launch of a chapter in a city that we have specifically prayed for. We celebrate because we have confidence that God hears us, but even more importantly we celebrate because the Holy Spirit is working in each of us and in our organization in a way that is moving the hand of God.
We stepped into 2016 fully confident that we have absolutely no idea where God is going to plant LeadHer chapters this year. Why is this comforting? Because there is peace in knowing we can trust a God whose influence and reach is far greater than ours, and a God who knows better than us what one woman in one city needs LeadHer. I’ve seen God move mountains for one individual, so why would we expect Him to do any less?
At the same time, we stepped into 2016 fully confident that God continues to hear our prayers for the specific regions, cities or locations that have weighed heavy on our hearts. The reasons are all unique, for me- I pray for Colorado Springs because it’s my hometown and the place where I still have friends and family. For another, it’s Washington D.C. because that area marks a milestone in her faith and LeadHer journey, and for another it’s Kansas City, a city she has been burdened for but has no idea why other than it’s God. It’s because of this confidence that every week as a team, we pray over these areas, over the provision we trust will come, over our current chapters and members, and over the future.
We invite you to join in praying these detailed prayers with us. Below is a list of the regions and locations in the US that we are praying over for 2016.
- Northeast Region
- Northwest Region
- Southwest Region
- Workplaces (hospitals, businesses, etc.)
- Prisons
- Schools/Colleges
- Military Bases
- Shelters
Maybe while reading this list God has stirred your heart to pray about starting a LeadHer Chapter. Maybe you are located in one of these regions or have a burden for one of these locations. Even if you live outside of one of the regions that we are focusing our prayers on this year, we continue to pray big prayers to see chapters started all over the nation and all over the world. If you feel God prompting you to connect, do not hesitate to reach out. We encourage you to visit our Start a Chapter page to apply or email me at holly@leadher.org.