A few years ago, Morgan, a youth pastor in Arvada, Colorado, challenged her students to list every school they attended.
Wanting to better understand their shared mission field, she called each school and asked for enrollment numbers.
The total stunned her: 14,000 students.
That number sparked something in her. She reached out to nearby youth pastors and invited them to start praying regularly for those 14,000 students. They even printed stickers to help students join in the effort.
What began as a moment of curiosity became a movement of prayer, a united cry for revival among the next generation.
That story is part of what inspired a growing initiative called Accelerate: a citywide or regional gathering of youth workers committed to reaching students with the gospel through collaboration, vision, and yes... prayer.
What Happens When We Pray Together for the Same Mission Field?
Over the past five years, National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM) has helped launch dozens of Accelerate events across the country.
These gatherings, whether a two-hour lunch, a one-day event, or a two-day retreat-are designed to bring youth leaders together to pray for students, align around strategy, and pursue gospel advancement in their cities.
At every Accelerate, we start with celebration, acknowledging the ways God is already at work in the region.
Then we dive into three core conversations...
1. Prayer Opens Our Eyes to the Mission Field
No matter what church or ministry we belong to, we're all called to the same students in our city.
We help leaders visualize this shared calling by introducing tools like the Every Student Every School Adopt Your School Dashboard, which shows the number of schools, students, and adopted campuses in a region.
When we pray with clarity, the mission field becomes more than a vague concept-it becomes personal. It becomes local. And it becomes urgent.
2. Prayer Draws Us Together
None of us can reach this generation alone. Accelerate gatherings remind us that we're on the same team-and that networking is not a bonus, it's a necessity.
We ask:
- Who do you already know in your city who's working with students?
- Who do you need to connect with?
- What would it look like to share resources, ideas, and encouragement?
Prayer softens the ground for true partnership. It creates space for humility, unity, and collaboration.
3. From Prayer to Practical Impact
To help leaders move from inspiration to action, we introduce a simple strategy. It's an adaptable framework that gives us a common language for engagement, no matter our background or ministry model.
Together, we ask:
- How can we raise the level of prayer for students in our area?
- How can we deepen our care for young people through tangible support and presence?
- How can we boldly and consistently share the gospel with the next generation?
These conversations fuel next steps-and give teams a shared pathway forward.
Every Movement Starts with Prayer... and It Starts with Us
We often end Accelerate events with a sacred moment: leaders gathered in unified prayer, crying out to God on behalf of the next generation. It's a powerful reminder that revival starts on our knees.
But we don't stay there.
The ultimate goal of Accelerate is to see long-term, measurable gospel impact: more campuses adopted, more students reached, more stories of transformation. And a year later, we gather again to celebrate what God has done.
So let's keep praying. Let's keep moving.
And let's keep reaching every student in every school, together.
Want to Host an Accelerate Event in Your City?
Let's talk.
Email us at network@nnym.org and either I or someone from our team will follow up personally to help you get started.