The Options Are Endless
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This page lists some examples of stations you can build. Some are more advanced and time consuming to build and some are quick and easy. Adjust the station to meet your needs and be creative and come up with new ones!
Normally, you section off each station with “empty space” or a physical wall. Building walls is described in the section after this one. If you have any ideas to add, please contact me!
Instruction, Rules and Examples
In general, for every station, you should print out and hang instruction on how to use the station. Even something that seems super intuitive to you might be confusing to someone else.
The other thing you can do, is make an example or two and put it at the station. If you seed the station with a example, it helps guide people and reassure them. Examples sort of work better since people tend to not read instructions especially with so much going on in a prayer room. Also no one wants to be the first to use a station, so the example gets things going.
Every station should have some purpose. Try not to repeat stations that have the same purpose. You don't need two private spaces for instance.
The Entrance
The entrance needs to be marked with a sign so people know it's a prayer room. It is also the place to set the tone for the prayer room. If the vision is clear, you can put something like “Come take a walk in the Garden with your Father”, “Step out of the boat” etc. Signage with instructions to remove shoes, be quiet and respectful is also needed.
We like to put a sign in sheet there as well so we know how many people are using the room. It allows other to communicate to each other that they've been using the room. It can be encouraging for some people. Other prefer anonymity and will not sign in. Generally, we don't like the users to be able to see much into the prayer room through the entrance, so there's a wall right away that block you from seeing.
Grafitti walls
This is a classic taken from 24/7 prayer style prayer rooms. What you do is get the big newsprint rolls and cut large pieces and hang them vertically covering entire walls. Place pens and markers along the floor near the walls. People can write their prayer requests on the walls. They can comment on other people's requests. They can decorate around each other's requests and draw art if so inclined.
If you have lots of walls, you can designate some walls for world prayer, or whatever themes you want. Write big headings on each section, or tape on printed art/pictures. Be sure to seed the walls with one or two prayers (with dates) so users know what to do.
Make sure you tape the paper up securely. Tack if possible. Especially in heat, the tape can melt and the paper will roll off the walls.
- Materials: Duck tape, tacks, pens, markers
- Setup Time: Med
- Space Needed: Walls
Journaling Station
A table or low coffee table where people can write their prayers into prayer journals. People can also read other people's prayers in the journals. Be sure to seed the journals with one or two prayers (with dates) so users know what to do.
- Materials: Journals, pens, light, table/coffee table (optional)
- Setup Time: Low
- Space Needed: Small
Art Station
A space where people can be creative and draw their prayers, visions or express what God is speaking to them about.
Advanced: It's nice to have a place people can hang and show their art. It also inspires other people as well. the one in the pic is just string tied together like a net and clothespins for hanging art.
- Materials: A table, 2 chairs, Paper or sketch books, pencils/pencil crayons/markers/paint/glue/tape/scissors. Optional: String and clothespins for hanging
- Setup Time: Low
- Space Needed: Medium
2D Tree
Here people can tack things onto the tree. You can choose any theme. It can be prayer requests or anything you want really. For example, “the Sacrifice Tree” with instructions to “Please post things that distract you from God and pray over the items on the tree”.
Construction: Precut the cork into a tree trunk shape. Cut into pieces for easy transport. Pre cut some long strips like branches. Assemble in the room and attach to wall. Bunch of some green table cloth as leaves and attach to top of tree.
- Materials: Thick cork, fancy tacks, paper/sticky notes, pens, green disposable table cloths
- Setup Time: Med
- Space Needed: Small
3D Tree - "Garden of Eden"
This one is a lot of work. But if you do it right, it's pretty amazing. It turns the room into a forest.
The trunk: So what you want to do is have some cardboard and roll it into a long tube (x2). Use ducktape to secure. Poke hole and use string to tie to really secure. Then cut one the ends on each tube and split it so you can attach it to the roof/floor. Put the unsplit ends together (one inside the other like a telescope). Lift the tube vertical and pull the telescope apart until the bottom and top are snug between the roof and floor. Tape the heck out of the joint to keep it from coming back down. If you need to, punch string through both tubes and tie to secure. Wrap the entire thing with crumpled brown paper (like we used in the cave station). put some around the bottom to look like tree roots.
Branches: Twist some of the brown paper into branches. Tape/tack to ceiling. It does not need to be perfect as you'll be covering it with leaves and vines.
Leaves: Cut a variety of large green leaf like strips. Cut streamers to make vines. Tack it to the roof and have it hang from the branches. Try to put lots. You can also scatter some smaller leaves on the floor as well.
Advanced: Use a desk lamp with a green bulb to add some directional lighting and cast shadows.
- Materials: Big cardboard, duck tape, tacks, variety of greenish table cloths (leaves), variety of greenish streamers (vines), giant brown paper bags (bark)
- Setup Time: High
- Space Needed: Med
Fish Net - "Fisher's of Men"
Basically at this station, people can write their prayers for the lost on a paper fish and then hang it off the fishing net. We try to drape the net to look like it is cast over water (blue table cloths). Sometimes we loop drape table cloths above to make it seem like it's under water. We also try to drape it high enough so people can pray under the net.
When cutting the fish out, stack a bunch of paper and then fold in half. Cut the fish out such that the top edge is on the fold. Then you can hang the fish without clothespins.
Make sure you post some instructions and put some examples so people know what to do.
- Materials: A Christmas light net, tacks/hooks, string, markers, construction paper, blue table cloths
- Setup Time: Med
- Space Needed: Medium
Waterfall
Waterfalls are a fun to build and turn out different everytime.
- Start with the mountain. Normally, you need to start from something high like the top of a dresser, stacks of chairs or a tent. It's a good way to hide things you can't remove from the room like stacks of chairs or tables. Cover the entire thing with a rock facade made from crumpled large brown paper bags, or brown/grey tarps. Shape to look like a cliff or mountain as much as possible.
- Then add the waterfall. Drape blue tarps or table cloths from the top to the bottom in a vertical water shape. Secure at the top.
- Then add the water pool. At the base of the waterfall add a pool using blue tarps, table cloths etc.
- Finishing. Add clear wrap to add rapids or splash effects. Add directional lighting or string lighting underneath the water. Add fake plants. Add river rocks. Fish, turtles whatever you want.
- Add a water sound track. Put a radio or ipod nearby to play a water sound effect on loop.
- Materials: Big brown paper bags or brown/grey tarps (rock).
- Setup Time: Med
- Space Needed: Medium
At this point I do want to note that we constructed an actual live-running-water water fall for one of our prayer rooms using water pumps and fog misters. It was super cool, but I do not recommend it. It was lots of work, there can be water leaks and electrical shock risk.
Books
This one is not really a station. But we like to scatter books throughout the prayer room in little pile of say 3 books. We place in random spots where there is empty space or often by sitting areas.
We include various books including children's books, books about prayer, books about rest, Christian Art Books. It's also a good way to encourage young people to start reading Christian books.
- Materials: Christian Books
- Setup Time: None
- Space Needed: None
Private Space
We like to set up a space where people can go if they need solitude. If the room you are using has a closet or side attached room, this is pretty ideal. If it does not, we have to section off part of the room. We use either a wall/curtain or we set up a small tent. Inside the space there is usually a journal, kleenex box, pens, candles etc. This is more important for big open spaces especially. If you are sectioning off the room with walls, it's not as important.
- Materials: Journal, kleenex box, pens, candles. Optional: Tent
- Setup Time: Med
- Space Needed: Med
Cave - Private Space
This is the same as above except you decorate the tent as a cave. We normally buy those giant paper bags used to pack leaves. You just cut and open them up and use the back side. We crumple them to make the cave walls and tape/staple them up. Then we scatter and poke vines/plants through it, especially around the entrance door.
- Additional Materials: Tent, Giant Paper Bags, vines,
- Setup Time: High
- Space Needed: Med