For most people who have grown up in a Pentecostal church, they can remember a significant moment somewhere during an “altar call.” It may have been at camp or in church on a Sunday night. I know for me, some of the most important decisions of my life were made at an altar. These are sacred memories that have served their Old Testament purpose: To leave a marker where God did something significant.

Even with it being something I hold dear, it was really a challenge to figure out how to incorporate this into the church we planted in 2011. Many obstacles were stacked against us. We were portable, so the set up in a middle school gymnasium was uninviting, not to mention the gnawing thought that everything had to be torn down and hauled away within 30 minutes of the service's conclusion. We were also ministering in a predominantly Catholic community, where an altar call was a completely foreign experience to our church people. Now that we have gone to multiple services the time pressure is even greater.

Still, my husband, Wayne, so badly wanted our church to be a place where people could truly encounter the presence of God. For an evangelist whose ministry was marked by powerful altar times, it took a lot of prayerful trial and error to figure out how to implement altar ministry into a sustainable part of our 75-minute Sunday service. Sometimes simple changes in format can facilitate a better flow, and these are a few of the observations I have made watching my husband guide our church through developing an opportunity for response.

First, a culture of prayer must be built, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Wayne asked our leaders to begin finding a reason to come forward for prayer, so they could model response for our new believers. Over the course of a year, it became more natural for people to engage. Music is always part of this process as well. As the worship leader, I try to play something that is simple, familiar and repetitive. My goal is to facilitate, to include the congregation, while not distracting from what God is doing.

It may seem insignificant to offer such a short prayer time. But it doesn’t take away from the power of giving God an opportunity to move.

We tried just inviting people to come to the altar, and initially there was very little movement. So we put a prayer team together of leaders and elders. They stand across the front and on the sides of the sanctuary. It became more comfortable for people to slip out of their seats if they weren’t the only ones standing alone at the front.

Wayne made three specific changes to the way he transitioned from speaking to response. First, he built in time. Wayne cut his messages back by about 10 minutes to create time in the actual service. Second, after his initial salvation call, Wayne began “throwing out a broader net,” inviting people to come forward to receive prayer for needs.

The most significant change seemed so small, but it made all the difference. Wayne had always ended the service by reminding people about an upcoming event or inviting them back for the next week. But we realized this was a “hard landing,” and the moment Wayne made that announcement, the prayer time was over. He stopped doing a formal dismissal. It was excruciating for a strong leader who likes closure, but the change was remarkable. People would stay for 10 or 15 minutes, praying at the altar with a worker, or just sitting in the presence of God at their seat.

It may seem insignificant to offer such a short prayer time. But it doesn’t take away from the power of giving God an opportunity to move. We have seen God speak prophetically through our altar workers. People share the most important struggles and pains. Others simply hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as they seek God on their own.

I encourage pastors to give their people a chance to respond to God. Even though it can take some coordination, it solidifies His work in our lives through a way that we remember.