Paula D'Arcy, author of Song For Sarah, tells of belonging to a small church in New England. There were approximately 200 members on roll, with about 50 in church on any given Sunday. Usually there were about four in the choir. All was dull and dead: no new faces, no children, no laughter, no spirit to speak of. In time she and a friend began discussing the merits of looking for a new church home. However, they decided to remain until the end of the calendar year. In the autumn came the time for the annual women's banquet. Every year the same 12 or 15 ladies attended, nothing new, nothing inspiring.

That particular year, though, Paula and her friend decided to experiment. They phoned every woman on the church roll and asked, "Would you come next Thursday night? We know you have other obligations and don't ordinarily participate in this group, but just this once it's very important that you're here. Would you come?" On Thursday night, instead of the usual 12 or 15, 60 women attended. At the close of the dinner, Paula and her friend pointed out to those women a table near the door. On that table were 200 slips of white paper. On each slip was the name of a member of the church. Every person on the roll (whether active or inactive) had his or her name written on one of the pieces of paper. Paula said to the women, "On your way out, I want each of you to pick up three or four of these pieces of paper. Then, for the coming year, I just want to ask you to do one thing: Pray for the persons whose names you picked up. You don't have to talk to them, socialize with them or even like them. Just pray for them, that's all."

The women responded positively (with Paula and her friend taking whatever slips of paper that remained on the table as their prayer projects). "At the end of six months," she said, "things were different in our church. The choir was better. The preaching was better (proving either that sermons grow stronger in response to prayer or that people become better listeners when they pray for the preacher). People weren't in such a rush to leave after worship. Attendance was up. Young families were beginning to bring their children back. Occasionally a new member would be received. Folks were smiling and chatting in the halls. After a year," she said, "my friend and I didn't have to go looking for a new church. We were in one!" It all happened simply because of the power of prayer. People began to relate to one another differently, to feel better about themselves and others, and that spilled over into the fabric of the entire church.