Over the last few years, Christians have taken the ‘24-7 prayer room’ idea out of churches and into all kinds of unusual places… some would say that these unusual places are the places where the people are, and therefore where Jesus is… and therefore they are also the perfect places to make prayer more accessible. In the back of a skate shop.In the Houses of Parliament. On University campuses. In someone’s front room, or in their back shed. In an office basement. In hospitals and airports. In festival tents and New Age fairs. We’ve had reports of 24-7 prayer rooms in all these places. And in schools too.

Yep, schools. Primary schools and secondary schools. Church-linked schools and not- church-linked schools. Inner-city schools and rural schools. Pupil-referral units and sixth form colleges. Over the last few years more than 150 schools across the United Kingdom and Ireland have hosted some kind of prayer space, and it looks like this is set to increase significantly over the coming years.

The idea is very simple… you get use of a classroom, or part of a hall or some other public space in the school, and you set it up with a series of prayer stations, zones with different themes relating to prayer, e.g. ‘be sorry’, ‘be yourself’, ‘be thankful’, ‘be still’, ‘forgiveness’, ‘messages from God’, etc. You recruit (and train) a great little team from a local church, a group of churches, or from a local Christian schoolswork organisation (i.e. Scripture Union). And then you either have a timetabled week of classes coming for their lesson- time in the prayer space, or you open it during break and lunchtimes. It can work either way.

Prayer spaces get called all kinds of things – sacred spaces, reflective rooms, soul spaces – but their purpose is mostly the same; to welcome children and young people (and teachers!) into space where they can explore prayer in simple, honest, creative ways.

Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. Jesus, Matthew 6

I’ve never seen prayer displayed or experienced like this before. It’s made me realise how many different ways prayer can be appreciated. it’s opened up religion into my life again. Thank you! (student)

I have to be honest and say I never knew what I believed in God, if I did or not, but I feel an ‘enlightenment’…(student)

This simple idea – to host a 24-7 prayer-style ‘prayer space’ in a school – seems to have started, independently but simultaneously, sometime around the summer term of 2008. A team from Revelation Church in Chichester were invited by a local secondary school to contribute to the R.E. section of a cross-curricular day on the theme of prayer. They set up an example of a 24-7 prayer room for pupils to experience as part of a lesson. Meanwhile a team from Grassroots Trust were working with the Farnham assemblies team to set up a prayer space for pupils in a primary school, which subsequently developed to become Orison, a comprehensive prayer space resource for schools. In Colchester, Tim Abbott and Sanctum hosted their first prayer space in a state secondary school, which opened at break and lunchtimes, and saw over 100 young people… none of them were Christians.

The first direct request from a school came towards the end of that summer term. At an induction day for his daughter at her new school, Phil Togwell was asked by the head of sixth form if he could run a prayer room there. Their prayer space week in November attracted over 200 pupils and the school immediately began planning a further week in 2009. There were six prayer spaces in schools during 2008. In 2009 there were 12.

In 2010 we launched a simple Prayer Spaces in Schools website where we could host resources and post stories (go have a look!). And then we also formed a small team to run workshops and offer support to the growing network of teachers, schools and youth workers wanting to host prayer spaces in their local schools. Already this website, and the facebook page and Twitter feed that are connected to it, have become very popular. During 2010 there were 48 prayer spaces in schools, and these were spread right across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This simple idea is spreading.

I love the prayer space, because it gives me a chance to connect with God, unlike home.” “It has really helped me understand more about God and how to pray and how to express
my feelings in all different ways!

It’s a great spiritual experience that really makes you think.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Prayer Spaces in Schools, and especially if you’re interested in setting one up in your local school:

1) Please email one of our team at info@prayerspacesinschools.com or schools@24-7prayer.com
2) Visit the website. You’ll find lots of useful stuff there:

• the latest stories from prayer spaces in schools around the United Kingdom and Ireland
• news about events and workshops, and how to set up a workshop where you are
• resources to help you get started with a prayer space in your local school/s, including a
  simple registration system, which will enable us to support you fully
• resources to help you form a team and what kind of people you need (and don’t need)
  on that team
• resources to help you grow a good, long-term relationship with the school
• free-to-download prayer station/zone guides, including short how-to-use-them videos
• free-to-download Prayer Spaces and Schools Curriculum documents
• resources and guidelines on safety and risk-assessments
• and lots more…including the new Prayer Spaces in Schools video on Vimeo.

It has helped me to realise that I don’t have to be in church to worship God. It has helped me to be calm and silent. I don’t have to be loud to tell God that I am praying. Because he knows that I am communicating with him. I know that he loves me now matter what I look like, no matter what I do. Well done. It has changed my emotionally well being and physically as well. Thank you 24-7 prayer.

The Prayer Spaces in Schools team currently consists of: Phil Togwell (24-7 prayer UK, Romford), Rach Warwick (Orison, Dare to Engage, North London), Tim Abbott (Sanctum, Colchester), Emily Bosworth (LFIS, Leeds), Catherine Clayton (Oxford) and Mandy Moo (Stanford Boiler Room), and reports into 24-7 prayer’s UK team.