Source/Author: By Rev. Dennis Raj

TMC Tamil Settlement, Buntong - TAC News

The Tamil Methodist church Tamil Settlement has been in existence for more than 100 years. The early generation of believers came exclusively from the Southern state of Tamil Nadu in India. The church has since been privileged with a passion for prayer and has focussed on placing prayer as the primary emphasis of all ministries. Today the church has been blessed with more than 1,000 members of all ages.

Acknowledging the importance of prayer, the church extended its financial resources by employing a full time prayer coordinator, Ms Rachel Kovilpillai to give oversight to the overall prayer ministry of the church. She is also often invited for home prayer by those who have personal needs. The three pastors and the prayer coordinator meet for prayer every morning from 9.30am to 10.15am. It is a time when the needs of the people are brought to God as well as a time for raising our national level concerns to the Lord. Realizing the importance of leaders coming together in prayer, the three pastors, the lay leader, the two associate lay leaders, the LCEC chairman and the full time prayer coordinator meet once a month for a time of consultation and prayer.

Together with these efforts, Lay members have been called to come to the church to pray for one hour at the church altar from 10am to 2pm, every Monday to Friday. They are given a daily prayer list that is prepared in consultation with the pastors by the prayer coordinator. This prayer is mainly attended by retirees and housewives who have a little extra time on their hands in the mornings. Those who do not have their own transport are fetched by the church van that brings them to church and takes them home.

The church prayer cell is held every Monday at 7.30pm. Around 20-30 people attend the prayer on a regular basis. The MYF youths gather after the Monday prayer cell to pray for their specific needs. Around 10-12 youths gather regularly each week. Early Morning Prayer is held at 6am every Saturday. Around 10 people attend this prayer. A small group also gathers for prayer after the Friday worship service. The Church school superintendent has a team of around 30 people in his Church School Prayer Network (CSPN) group. The Superintendent gives this group of friends a specific prayer list each month which they remember in their daily prayers as they pray in their homes. In the absence of home prayer meetings, the Methodist Women meet for prayer sessions in the church once a week.

Apart from these prayer sessions, a weekly ‘prayer drive’ is carried out by driving past selected areas to pray for the salvation of the people in the area. This is led by Sis. Rachel who has a team that goes in the church van. Due to the interest in prayer, many people attend the TAC level Prayer Conventions as well as District Prayer Gatherings. Many of our members have also become part of the 24/7 prayer initiative for our nation.