OUR STRATEGY

1. Worship in one-hour increments 24 hours a day, with people sent from local churches.

Most sets require only one person to lead worship, although sometimes we have a few musicians or a full band. We’ve even had just vocals or no music at all. Evening meetings often incorporate more members because more people are available to help lead. The beauty of this format is that people can develop in leading worship from a stage. If a local church does not have a development track for raising up worship leaders, the House of Prayer is their best friend. For sure, many worship leaders will be raised up to go back and lead in the local church. If a church sows into the House of Prayer, it will reap a reward in the long run.

2. Heal people in body, soul, and spirit through a prayer ministry.

We call CHOP ‘A Healing Place.’ We set aside specific hours for healing prayer, with a team of people ready to minister as the Lord leads. Eventually, we will have healing teams ministering throughout the day and into the night. Even now, during worship sets, we have at least one host in the room who is ready to pray for people and share Christ with those who don’t know Him.

3. Intercede for our city, state, nation, and nations of the world.

Our vision is to establish prayer hours that focus on specific areas, such as prayer for our nation, for Israel, or for justice issues like abortion and anti-sex trafficking. In addition to targeting topics, prayer mostly takes place during our one-hour sets during the day. There is a microphone in front of the sanctuary, and people are free to read Scripture or pray about any issue in their hearts. A few of the sets have specific focuses, but in general, we are praying for revival, restoration, and reformation.

4. Connect pastors and ministry leaders.

Through relational networking, purposeful gatherings, and leadership conferences, our vision is to be a house of unity. Deeper unity is an undiscovered country and needs to be ever-increasing until He returns. CHOP aims to bring leaders together at the Lord's table. In learning to worship and pray together, we will grow in our ability to win a city together.

5. Host the city by creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Many of us have a mental image of the rural church or city cathedral that is always open to the public, a place where a person can find a quiet moment with the Lord, peace in the midst of a storm, or an encouraging prayer from a kind, godly voice. CHOP is creating that sacred space for our community. It is common to see pre-believers come into the building when they hear music.

In addition to the worship room, we are establishing Watchmen Coffee. Our vision is that it be a meeting place for the body of Christ, and a place the city will discover as inviting and non-threatening. The coffee shop will be another reason people come in to find community and the Lord. We are zealous for the city to connect with God in worship and prayer, and then connect over food and drinks.

6. Train musicians and ministers in worship and prayer.

Worship leaders need a place to connect with other musicians, share resources, and learn from one another. Creating a community of musicians and singers strengthens the body of Christ. Our vision is to establish writing sessions where new songs will emerge to bless the city and strengthen the bond between artists. Lead pastors can send their up-and-coming musicians to CHOP for training and experience; we will always encourage a healthy relationship between worship leaders and senior pastors. We promise to be strong advocates of the local church. Through conferences, workshops, and training materials, we will increase people’s understanding of the Tabernacle of David, train in New Testament prayer and worship, and champion the local church.

7. Invent ministry.

CHOP is a canvas and neutral location for the Body of Christ. It is a launch pad for creative expressions of worship. For example, we have vision for specialty worship times for the blind, the deaf, the elderly, children, teens, foreigners, terminal patients, autistic children, street people, and much more. The sky is the limit, as long as it glorifies God and incorporates unified worship and prayer.

8. Gather the Ten Fields for strategic alignment, worship, prayer, strength, and encouragement.

Some people feel called to missional activity beyond the local church. CHOP is a great place to connect with others from other churches who are working in the same field. Missions are best done as a collaborative effort. Praying with leaders in the Ten Fields is a great way to bring the priestly ministry alongside the kingly ministry. In the long term, we hope to have a ministry leader for each of the Ten Fields of society.

9. Evangelize the city.

CHOP is a unique combination of sodality (mission) and modality (family). In many ways, we feel like we are equally a missions outpost in downtown Fort Collins and a sacred place where the people of God gather. Every week, we have lost people wandering into The House to receive Christ or get healing and counsel. We believe God placed CHOP in the downtown area, just blocks from Old Town and Colorado State University for strategic evangelism.

10. Resource local churches.

Because we are committed to the local church, we want to resource them with anything they need in the area of worship and prayer. We love connecting musicians from one church to visit another to fill temporary gaps; some of our staff also lead worship at local churches.