The Upper Room
Recently on a Sunday morning as we worshiped, the Lord showed me a quick vision of us coming to spiritual wells in the room to be refreshed, but the wells weren’t flowing at full strength. People gathered around them, but they weren’t providing enough “water” to meet the spiritual need of our community. Through that picture, I felt this encouragement from the Lord: The spiritual thirst of our church is growing and, He is inviting us to dig out the spiritual wells in that room so His presence, like water, can flow freely!
We want this to be a church where seismic shifts are taking place in people’s lives and hearts because we have dug the wells that God has for this church until “rivers of Living Water” flow into our gatherings and our lives.
When Kate and I became Pastors of Living Waters in 2014, we were coming off of several years leading a discipleship program focused on college-age students called “Anthem”. One of our greatest joys running that ministry was meeting every weekday morning in the sanctuary of the old church building to pray and worship together with our students and the Anthem leaders.
Those times of prayer became a training ground for our hearts to learn to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6). Over the years, that room became an Acts 2 Upper Room for us. We witnessed God move in so many ways through those prayer times and it profoundly impacted our lives, formed our leadership, and ignited our hearts.
Since those days, our desire has been to have this “Upper Room” type of prayer happening at the center of our church again, and we envision you being a part of a group of people who are choosing step into a Kingdom-centered, spiritually awake life of prayer and worship together that digs fresh wells at the heart of our church.
If the “Upper Room” is something that you feel led to be a part of, please read through the expectations below and submit your RSVP. Then make plans to join us one Sunday evening a month beginning October 4th from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Childcare and a meal will be provided.
A Call to Prayer
We are inviting you to help us dig and re-dig spiritual wells in our church through times of intentional prayer with a small group of people we are calling “The Upper Room.”
What we plant grows.
We’re inviting you to join our Upper Room Prayer Group to dig fresh wells of prayer and worship, asking God to move in us first before He moves in Living Waters. This isn’t about striving or perfection; it’s about cultivating hearts hungry for His presence—praying, confessing, forgiving, and loving boldly together. Galatians 6 reminds us: what we plant grows. If we sow humility and unity, we’ll reap a church alive with God’s Spirit. If we bring compromise or division, we’ll feel the weight of that too.
Expectations
These expectations aren’t a test but an invitation to take stock of your heart before saying yes. If something here stirs you to pause or adjust, we’re with you in that. You’re getting this invitation because we see your maturity and trust that you get our heart.
In everything we have laid out below, our heart is that we want you to join us free from anything that might hold you back – sin that entangles or burdens you (Heb. 12:1) – so you can step into this with a clear heart. Take a moment to reflect: is there anything you need to lay down first? If so, we’re here to walk with you.
(Feel free to pause this process and reach out to us—your freedom matters more than you attending this group.)
We ask that you join us on Sunday mornings as often as is possible so you can connect with people, experience what God is doing, and stay in tune with our current teachings and themes. This will give us a shared foundation as we gather once a month to pray for our church’s health and spiritual maturity.
For those who are married, we know you share our heart that your marriage is a cornerstone of your life and the well-being of your family—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—and you hold that as a top priority. If your marriage or kids need extra care right now, we encourage you to weigh this monthly commitment carefully. Investing time and prayer at home might be the wiser path, and we’d cheer that on. We long for a move of God, but never at the expense of thriving marriages and families. (In fact, we believe thriving marriages and families IS a move of God!)
We expect that you are stewarding your sexuality—whether married or single—with relational and physical wholeness, honoring God in your relationships, desires, and what fills your eyes and heart. If this is an area of struggle, hidden or not, we pray you’re finding freedom, not bondage. We’re here to listen and walk with you—reach out if you need support in this area.
We long for a community where relational disconnect, anger, or gossip—toward elders, leaders, or anyone here—finds no foothold. When we choose to believe the best, resist gossip, and mend broken ties through repentance and forgiveness, we build something beautiful together. This group, and the future of our church that we’re praying into, can become a place where reconciliation thrives!
Jim Cymbala, a pastor who’s seen this firsthand, once charged his church: “If you hear someone speak an unkind word or slander—about me, an usher, anyone—stop them mid-sentence. Ask, ‘Who hurt you? Let’s sort it out now, together, and pray peace back into this body.’ He said gossip and slander, not drugs or oppression, most easily destroy churches by grieving the Holy Spirit.’
Garris Elkins echoes this: “Honorable lives—where God redeems our words—starve the enemy’s influence and guard our peace.” Let’s hold this standard, not just for us, but for the community we’re shaping.
