Our next RWS Prayer Cohort kicks off this Wednesday, January 14. This cohort provides space to not only learn more about prayer, but to actually practice prayer as you build community with others in our church family.
The following illustration challenges me when I think about the importance of prayer for my life, and for our church family:
Imagine for a moment that you’ve been given the location of a buried treasure. You’ve been told where it is and given everything you need to dig it up. This treasure is vast: not only would it change your life, but with it you could do a great deal of good in the world. And yet, you leave it buried in the ground—of no value to you or anyone else.
John Calvin, the 16th-century pastor, said that’s what Christians do if they neglect the practice of prayer:
To know God as the master and bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of him, and still not to go to him–this would be as of little profit as a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him… It is, therefore, by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the Heavenly Father.
If you’re looking to deepen and strengthen your prayer life, I hope you’ll be able to join in for our Prayer Cohort.
In Christ,
Pastor Bijan
What is prayer? Who is the Holy Spirit? How does God speak, and how do we listen? In this cohort, we will explore and answer these foundational questions and more as we experience different styles of prayer. Join us for a five-session learning community that includes in-depth teaching, in-class individual and group prayer exercises, and at-home devotionals and assignments. Together, we will deepen our prayer lives and be equipped to pray with and for others as we grow in our relationship with God.
We are looking for leaders and hosts to help start a new cycle of Pilot Community Groups in 2026!
Pilot Community Groups are brand-new Community Groups (CGs) that commit to meeting for a minimum of seven weeks for the purpose of building gospel community. Pilot Community Groups are especially designed for people new to RWS or who have never joined a CG. Like ongoing CGs, they bring people together for Bible discussion, prayer, fellowship, and mutual encouragement to live out the Christian faith.
Upcoming
- Jan 13 | Sing, Play, Speak
- Jan 14 | KCG is back
- Jan 14 | Prayer Cohort 1
- Jan 17 | Middle School Girls Movie Night
- Jan 18 | Learning to Share Your Faith
- Jan 21 | Family Night
- Jan 22 | Grief & Loss Support Group
- Jan 25 | RWS Membership Class
- Jan 25 | WSY Interest Meeting: Mission Nassau
- Feb 11 | CFW Vocation Lab
- Mar 7 | Premarital Seminar
Get Involved
RWS Job Opening: Elementary Sunday School Teacher
Volunteer with West Side Youth on Friday nights.
Lend a hand at our monthly Church Family Meals.
Serve at our welcome table for one Sunday a month at RWS.
Subscribe to our Neighborhood Engagement Newsletter.
HFNY: Join Hope For New York in praying for unhoused neighbors in New York City on January 21 on Zoom.
