Every month, Southern Baptists have a chance to personally connect with and pray for International Mission Board missionaries in the Asia-Pacific Rim through a virtual prayer meeting.

Known as “Prayer Zoom Rooms,” the meetings began as a way to help missionaries stay connected with Southern Baptists in the United States during a season when the COVID-19 pandemic limited travel and short-term missions opportunities. They have become a powerful avenue for Southern Baptists to learn about ministry all over the Asia-Pacific region directly from missionaries and spend time interceding for them.

“It’s amazing the interest God’s starting to develop for this,” said Sharon Sigrest, an IMB missionary in the Philippines who was part of the February Prayer Zoom Room.

Each month, different missionaries are asked to host the prayer time. They share briefly about their ministry, and then they lead a time of prayer for specific needs. Everyone who joins the call is provided with a digital prayer card for the missionaries so that they can follow up and continue to connect if they want to.

In February, Sigrest shared about the damage Super Typhoon Odette inflicted on parts of the Philippines several months ago. Many areas are still recovering, and she asked everyone to pray that God will bring healing and give disaster relief workers wisdom to know how best to help.

In addition to providing a time of fellowship and intercession, the Prayer Zoom Rooms can also sometimes serve as a starting point for deeper partnership. Bruce Morrison, pastor of Church at the Butte, a Southern Baptist Church in Elephant Butte, New Mexico, first heard about the opportunity through an email update from some IMB workers who spoke at his church a few years ago.

He said he plans to attend regularly and often uses what he learns during the meetings to lead his congregation in prayer for missionaries during worship each Sunday. In the future, he wants his church to pursue partnerships with IMB workers in the Asia-Pacific Rim, and the Prayer Zoom Rooms help his church members understand the region better.

“I would recommend participation in the Prayer Zoom Rooms to all churches. It provides a direct connection to those serving overseas. If approached prayerfully, these occasions will grow your faith and plant a desire in your heart to not only be a prayer warrior but a goer to the field, either on short-term trips or as a career missionary,” Morrison said.

Prayer Zoom Rooms are on the second Tuesday of every month. You can register here.