The Story of Harvest Prayer: Weekly Student-Led Prayer for the Nations

Every Tuesday at 6 a.m., Highlands College students gather on campus for prayer and intercession for the nations.

What began in 2022 at a Highlands College Chapel service with Larry Stockstill’s “Mandate of Missions” message has grown into a student-led movement of intercession that embodies Highlands College’s mission to send workers into the harvest field and see the fulfillment the Great Commission in our lifetime.

Harvest Prayer reflects the College’s vision to equip leaders who are spiritually prepared, empowered, and ready to make an eternal impact—both in the local church and the global mission field. In these moments of prayer, students are not only growing in their faith but stepping into their calling as laborers for the Kingdom of God.

We sat down with HC alumnae Leanna Johnson and Cassidy Carter to learn more about how Harvest Prayer came to be.

“I can still remember the moment,” Leanna remarked, “when Larry Stockstill said, ‘Highlands College needs a prayer group dedicated to the nations.‘ He shared stories of people who had committed to praying for the unreached every hour, which struck a chord with us. There was this collective realization among us that we needed to make this happen at Highlands College.”

Cassidy continued, “Starting something like this was daunting, especially because none of us had ever led a prayer group. Highlands College is known for high student involvement, but we haven’t seen a completely student-led prayer movement like this. I remember at lunch one day, we all bumped into each other and were like, ‘Are we doing this?!’ We decided to talk to Steven Pettus [Executive Director of Ministry Placement] and take our first step.”

Cassidy pulled the group together for their first meeting the following Tuesday morning, which was simple and powerful.

 Student participants watched a video called Sheep Among Wolves about the underground church in Iran, and it immediately resonated with everyone in the room. About 15 people led corporate prayer that day and closed out with the song Build Your Church. Cassidy continued, “This passion in the room made it clear this was the start of something bigger.

How Harvest Prayer Has Evolved

From that first meeting, Highlands College began to see how God used Harvest Prayer to ignite a deeper passion for missions and prayer among the students. The faithfulness of those who attended was astounding. One student approached Cassidy and Leanna, sharing her testimony of how it has affected her time at HC: “Harvest Prayer has been the most impactful part of my time at Highlands College.” Her experience opened her eyes to the reality of the unreached world, and now she’s planning to go on cross-cultural ministry trips.

The stories that came from those gatherings are amazing. Students started putting prayer maps in their dorms, praying for different countries—even if it was just 30 seconds a day. Leanna said, “Others told me how they’d started praying for the countries on the tags of their clothing, which I thought was a unique way to connect with the world.”

One of the most astounding things was seeing students from all different majors come together with a shared heart for the nations. Cassidy said, “Harvest Prayer isn’t just for Global Ministry majors. This is the heart of Jesus.

A Full-Circle Moment

Cassidy shared how Harvest Prayer changed her experience at Highlands College: “Leading Harvest Prayer also impacted me personally. I remember one time, we invited a guest speaker who talked about missionaries, and it hit me—I’m going to be one of the missionaries’ people pray for. It was such a full-circle moment, realizing that this journey had prepared me for my call to the nations.

Leanna remarked, “Harvest Prayer also allowed me to grow as a leader. We learned about building and retaining teams in class, but this experience put those lessons into practice. It was powerful to see how leading Harvest Prayer made us all more aware of God’s global movement and our role in it.

The Bigger Picture

Through Harvest Prayer, students have developed a heart for intercession. Cassidy says, “Prayer starts as a discipline but becomes a delight.” And “Personally, it’s been one of the hardest spiritual disciplines but also one of the most transformative. As future church leaders, we’re called to develop a heart for intercession, and Harvest Prayer has helped us catch a glimpse of that.

Harvest Prayer has allowed students to see beyond themselves and gain a global perspective on ministry. Cassidy often reflects on how praying for the nations has given her humility and a divine fear of the Lord, “We’ve understood that missions aren’t about a personality trait or a spiritual gift. It’s about knowing God’s heart and responding to it.”

The Lasting Legacy

Cassidy and Leanna are making an eternal impact in the harvest field as missionaries, but they will forever remember what God did in their hearts by praying for the nations at Harvest Prayer.

“Harvest Prayer has become a bridge to the more that God has for us.”

— Leanna Johnson, Class of 2024

Cassidy returns to Luke 10:2, “We love our theme verse that says, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’ Highlands College has allowed us to see that it’s about the local church and the importance of being a part of God’s global movement. We’ve been reminded repeatedly of the power of prayer and the importance of sowing seeds, even when we can’t see the immediate fruit.”

Harvest Prayer has continued to teach students and ingrained in the culture that we are an HC Family who pray for the harvest that Jesus speaks about in Luke 10:2.

 

The mission of Highlands College and student expressions like Harvest Prayer is simple: to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime.

 

Watch the Mandate of Missions from Larry Stockstill, D.D. (Doctor of Divinity), Pastor, Author, worldwide church planter, and overseer of Church of the Highlands.