The concept of Prayercast was birthed, not surprisingly, out of prayer. In 2006, Michael Thompson, founder of OneWay Ministries, embarked on a 40-day prayer retreat to seek an answer for a question the Lord had placed on his heart: How can we reach millions of people with the gospel?
Seeking counsel from trusted mentors and missions leaders, Thompson asked, ”What is the one thing that, if the church gets ‘right,’ would make the biggest Kingdom impact?” The overwhelming and immediate answer was “prayer.” Further discussion with these leaders identified an opportunity to create compelling and skillfully produced prayer resources using the most effective tools of communication available to us today: music, the arts, and mass media. Thus, Prayercast was born to engage and activate the modern-day believer to world-changing prayer for the sake of the lost.
Nearly two years of prayer, research, and development, as well as waiting on the Lord, led to the creation of the first Prayercast resources. Prayercast.com was officially made public on Christmas Day, 2008. Volunteer and part-time staff continued to develop additional resources through 2010. In August of that year, Chris Ruge joined the OneWay Ministries team as the full-time Director of Prayercast.
Prayercast’s reach grew exponentially in late 2010 as the ministry partnered with Operation World for the release of the 7th edition of Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. By early 2011, Prayercast videos were being broadcast on Christian TV and radio in the UK and USA, and prayercast.com was accessed from 168 different nations by the end of the year.
Today, Prayercast videos are being used by God’s people around the world in personal devotions, prayer meetings, church services, conferences, and large international prayer gatherings. Prayercast.com is accessed from over 100 nations every month, and Prayercast videos are viewed in all 50 American states every week.
Through prayer and counsel, Prayercast continues to develop new and exciting resources that will serve to activate world-changing prayer for the sake of the lost.