Evelyn Christenson

Evelyn Christenson was born in 1925 in the American Midwest, in a family that attended a Lutheran church. She grew up in Minnesota in a home with a quiet faith. She was a lively and enterprising girl who wanted to serve God. She married Chris Christenson, a Lutheran pastor, and the couple served in several churches. They had two children, and she was devoted to her family and to her husband's work. Her early life as a pastor's wife was ordinary, and she did not think of herself as a leader.

In the 1960s, she felt that her own prayer life was weak. She began to read widely on the subject and to practice prayer more deeply. She joined a group of women who met to pray in her home. As they prayed together, she saw that the group had a power that she had not known. She began to teach others how to pray in a group and developed a simple approach. She called it conversational prayer, in which a group prays on one subject at a time, with each person speaking briefly and in turn. She stressed that prayer should be short, simple and directed to one need.

She began to lead prayer groups across the Midwest, and the movement spread quickly. In 1975 she published a book, What Happens When Women Pray, which told of her experience with the groups and of the answers that she saw. The book became a best seller and was widely used in churches. It sold over a million copies, and it was translated into many languages. She followed it with Lord, Change Me!, which spoke of the need for personal change as the first answer to prayer, and with other books.

She became a sought-after speaker. She traveled throughout the United States and abroad to lead prayer seminars. She trained women to lead prayer groups in their own churches, and she became a national figure in the prayer movement. In 1980, she took part in the great Washington for Jesus rally, where hundreds of thousands gathered to pray. She served as a leader of the National Prayer Committee and was involved in the National Day of Prayer.

Her ministry was marked by humor and plain speech. She often said that she was not an expert and that she learned by doing. She was open about her own failures in prayer. She also taught that God answers prayer in ways that we do not expect, and that we should keep trusting. She did not claim a special authority. Critics said that her methods were too simple or that she gave too little attention to sound doctrine, but many who attended her seminars were encouraged.

She was a devoted wife and mother, and her family was supportive of her work. She kept her base in the Midwest and continued to travel until her health failed. She died in 2011, at the age of eighty-six. Her life shows what can be done by a woman who is willing to learn and to teach others. A pastor's wife in a small church led a movement of prayer that touched many.