My name is Brehanna Ryssemus. I’m a senior at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa, and member of Connection (Bettendorf Foursquare Church), pastored by Matthew and Angela Temple. I recently began leading the drama team at Connection.
In summer 2009, I went on a missions trip to Guatemala that opened my eyes to the Foursquare family I’m a part of in a way that changed my life every day. While there, we went to different Foursquare churches in villages all around Guatemala City. The impact Foursquare is having not only in big cities, but also in small villages, is so much bigger than anything I’d ever imagined. I realized I wanted to be a part of this family forever, part of something where there are no boundaries to where people will go.
I began praying and asking God what He wanted me to do with my future, where to go to college, and what to plan, because I love planning! God taught me that it’s OK not to know what exactly He’s calling me to do after high school. High school would be my ministry, and that’s all I needed to know. So before walking into my new ministry—Pleasant Valley High School—for the first time, God gave me this vision: to be love, show hope and give grace, to everyone.
Toward the end of my junior year, I began going to my school on Saturday mornings, praying and picking up trash. Sometimes friends would come, also. The summer after my junior year, I couldn’t stop thinking about school. I even prayed, “God, can you help me forget about school?” He replied by asking me this: “When a youth pastor goes away from his youth group for a time, does he just completely forget about them?”
I was once again reminded of my ministry! I began praying for my school, the teachers, the students and the lost. As I prayed, God started giving me a heart for students in other high schools in the Quad Cities. I began picturing students all over the Quad Cities coming together to pray. I thought, If we want to win the lost, we have to be willing to fight for them.
I pictured students from all over the nation coming together at their schools to fight spiritually for their friends. Not just a once-a-year thing, but a once-a-week thing, and from that, students being encouraged to fight for their friends daily.
I went to Traci Espeseth, a Foursquare credentialed minister and administrator for the Heartland District, about all of my jumbled up thoughts. She totally encouraged me, and helped me to put my pictures into motion.
1 Corinthians 14:8 says: “If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” (NIV). Based on this verse, the vision for the Prayer Warriors ministry is to encourage students to be prayer warriors for their schools on a daily basis.
Students meet at their respective schools once a week, and all students in the Quad Cities area meet once a month. These meetings are not required, just encouraged, because I want students to know that being a prayer warrior is, first and foremost, about what you do on a daily basis.
I know my senior year is coming to an end, and I’m excited about where God will continue to take this ministry. I meet with some student leaders once a month for coffee, and we talk about life and how we can move forward together. They are some of the most passionate and loving people I’ve ever met, so watch out Quad Cities!
Why stop there? Watch out world! This generation is made of prayer warriors!
