WHAT IS KNOWN?
More Than Faces In A Room
Known is a church-wide prayer initiative at Rayleigh Baptist. Every person who takes part draws three names — two individuals or families from our church family, and one ministry area or mission partner.
For a year, you pray for those names. And more than that, you take steps to get to know the people behind them. A conversation after a service. A coffee. A message to say you’ve been thinking of them.
Prayer opens the door. Knowing one another is what happens when you walk through it.
HOW IT WORKS?
Three Names.
One Year.
BEYOND RAYLEIGH?
THREADS THAT REACH
BEYOND RAYLEIGH
“Some of those threads will reach further than this town. To the people and places we support around the world. Prayer has a longer reach than any of us.”
When you draw a mission partner from box two, you’re connecting with work happening far beyond Essex – in countries and contexts that most of us will never visit. Praying for them by name, and finding out more about their work, is how a local church stays genuinely global.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
WHEN EVERYONE
PULLS A THREAD
On its own, each connection is just one thread between two points. But when a whole church does this together – weekly, across the same year – something else forms. A pattern that no single person planned.
QUESTIONS
A FEW THINGS
WORTH KNOWING
HOW ARE THE NAMES ASSIGNED?
Completely at random. On launch day, two boxes are available and you draw your own names. No one chooses for you, and you don’t choose who you get. There’s something honest – and even freeing – about that. We’re trusting God to either assign the names – and to work through the connections He makes.
DO I HAVE TO BECOME BEST FRIENDS WITH THE PEOPLE I DRAW?
No. The draw gives you a name to pray for and a starting point for connection and conversation. What grows from there is invitation, not obligation. A simple “I’ve been praying for you” goes a long way.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A YEAR?
There’s an annual redraw – to bring in newcomers, include new ministry areas, and keep relationships fresh across the whole church. Anything that’s grown from year one keeps growing. The redraw doesn’t end it; it adds to it.
I’M NEW TO RBC. CAN I STILL TAKE PART?
Absolutely – Known is designed with you in mind. Drawing names is one of the fastest ways to move from being new to feeling genuinely connected. Speak to anyone on the Prayer Team or contact us via the website and we’ll get you set up.
WHAT IF I’M JOINING MID-YEAR?
You can join at any point. Names are held back specifically to include people who arrive after the launch. Talk to a member of the Prayer Team and they’ll walk you through it.
GET INVOLVED
