March 29, 2024

United Prayer Ministry Opens Meetings To Public

Carissa Lacson and Mikaela Plank, co-leaders of UPM. Photo by Nate McReynolds.

By Vicki Franks ’20
Arts & Life Editor

Gordon’s United Prayer Ministry (UPM) held their first meeting of the semester on Feb. 5, bringing 15 people together to pray in the A.J. Gordon Chapel.

In the past, UPM was a small group of four that included this year’s ministry leaders, Carissa Lacson (‘20), and Mikaela Plank (‘18), as well as two now-graduated seniors. Lacson and Plank inherited the club this year, and the two decided to re-envision what the prayer group would look like under their leadership.

Lacson and Plank have been fittingly prayerful about their vision for the ministry.

“Over the summer Carissa and I took over. [During that time we] were praying and fasting about it- just really trying to find out what God wanted for this ministry.” Recalled Plank.  

“And so we ended up deciding to open it up to the whole campus, to make it a space where people can come together and not just a small group thing,” Plank continued.

With the group now open to the entire campus, numbers have more than tripled.

“The best way to invite people was to invite everyone,” said Lacson.

With the group open to the whole campus, anyone is able to stop by the Chapel during their meeting times every other week at 9:15 p.m for prayer and fellowship.

The fall semester was spent planning and meeting with the chapel staff to organize the new ministry. The two have been meeting regularly to plan and pray for this ministry.

Now with the spring semester here, UPM hit the ground running with a core group of 10 prayer facilitators under the leadership of Lacson and Plank.

“It’s very easy to say it’s about the prayer, and that is the main point of it, but a lot of the underlying things are to deepen your relationship with God by having that conversation and doing it with the campus, with your fellow students,” said Lacson.

UPM’s vision for this year is all about inciting unity through prayer. As Lacson put it, “[United Prayer Ministry] is a place for the campus to gather to come together as one.”

UPM’s next meeting is open for all to come and pray on March 5 at 9:15pm in the Chapel.

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