Porch Prayers

If you’re a mom of young kids, you know how hard it is to find time for prayer and time with friends. Marci Foote of Richmond, Virginia, has found a great solution to both: a Porch Prayers group.

Just after her kids head off on the school bus, she and several women from her neighborhood meet on her front porch to pray from 8:15 to 8:45 on Mondays. And it’s that simple. Just come and pray.

Marci said their time together is focused on prayer. As opposed to sharing needs for many minutes and then praying, someone will start praying and others will join in.

The group evolved out of a neighborhood book club she started four years ago. At that time she felt God was calling her out of her church comfort zone to be more on mission for her neighborhood. As the years progressed, though, Marci noticed that the women had very real needs that needed prayer attention.

“I found myself with my heart broken,” Marci said. “I was seeing and hearing girls from my book club express hurts and needs, and I prayed, ‘God, what am I supposed to do? How can I make time for all these women you’re bringing to me?”

While she wanted to try to call people or go for walks with them or have lunch out, she knew she could not find that much time away from her family. “I get in the I-should-do mode, but I know I need to be still and pray.”

Marci said she then got the idea to start meeting on her front porch. “It was brand new. And it was accessible. It’s so committal for others when they enter your house. So it’s easier for them. And I don’t have to provide food or drinks.”

However, one thing Marci does provide is blankets and a space heater. It’s cold even in this time of year in Richmond, so she has an ottoman on her porch that holds blankets.

Easter at the Foote home, showing their brand new porch that hosts Monday morning Porch Prayers.

The women pray for their children and the local schools. They also pray for prayer requests that people leave in a small box she put out for neighbors–a box that has pen and paper.

People can come and go as they are able, Marci said. “I’m just excited to see what God does with it.”

She and her husband Matthew also host a Friday Firepit in their back yard–another opportunity to share life with neighbors. And they recently hosted an Easter gathering on their front lawn, complete with a boot camp scavenger hunt for the kids.

Missional living weighs on her heart. “I honestly thought that God would lead me to Africa to be a missionary–that God was going to use me in crazy ways. But it has become very clear that God is using me for my neighborhood.”

Hi, reader! How are you reaching out to get to know your neighbors? Share below for the opportunity to win a copy of my book, PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline, which teaches you how to become an intercessor for your community by prayerwalking the streets where you live.