Our story

Meeste Hommik began with a text message from one friend to another: “I’ve been missing good fellowship in prayer lately — I can feel it.”

The other friend picked up on the passing remark and asked: “Could we find the time to meet tomorrow morning at Nõmme Church on Puuvilja Street?” So three of us gathered on Tuesday morning, 12 July 2016, at 7.30. One brother was going through a divorce, another was in a deep crisis in his marriage and work, and the third was a pastor just starting out. We also belonged to different churches and denominations: one Methodist, one Baptist and one from a free church. We met, made coffee, ate biscuits, read the Bible and prayed. It felt good! We decided to do it again a week later.

“Oh, that early?” was a friend’s polite outward response when he heard that the three of us had met on Tuesday morning a week earlier, had coffee, read the Word and prayed. Inwardly, to be quite honest, he was thinking: “Who goes to pray that early, and why? What do I have in common with these people? You go ahead — not me!”

Men are under pressure today. Studies show that two thirds of people in churches are women and men are in the minority. We believe that God wants to raise up men, our brothers, put us in the right places and use us in His Kingdom. We have seen that when men are in the right place and do God’s will, the women are happy too! 🙂

A morning together

Men gather every Tuesday morning. We eat and drink — these days we have a full buffet — worship in song, ask God’s Holy Spirit to be among us, and read from the Old Testament, Psalms or Proverbs, and the New Testament. We do not comment on the Word or teach; instead, we ask the Holy Spirit Himself to preach in each brother’s heart as we read. We share thanksgiving and prayer requests. We pray, some aloud, and finally all say together, Our Father, who art in heaven… and then May the Lord bless us and keep us…, following 1 Timothy 2:8: I want men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or doubt.

That last part needs to be seen and experienced! We pray for one another, encourage and support one another, and stay together.

All men are welcome

Meeste Hommik is open to everyone. Those taking part have included Catholics from Poland, Messianic Jews from Ukraine, and a Hindu from California, USA, who grew up in an Indian village where most people were Christians and attended Sunday school as a child. Non-Christians have also joined us, and a number of men — in double figures — have come to belong to God through Meeste Hommik.

Men of many nationalities have taken part: Finns, Swedes, Americans, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Swiss, Africans, Koreans, Chinese, British men and others. Meeste Hommik welcomes both men with very little income, whom life has treated harshly, and senior executives, business owners, politicians and people working in culture — everyone is welcome! Translation into Russian and English is available on site. You can also take part through Zoom, starting at 7.00 am.

At the beginning of summer, after the first year, we asked the brothers whether we should take a summer break. The response was a murmur and the question: “What break…?” As if to confirm that prayer needs no breaks, more than ten extra men came the following time.

The original account recalls Tuesday morning, 1 January 2018. Our organising group had decided that, for the first time in two and a half years, we would cancel Meeste Hommik. After the announcement, some brothers said they would come on 1 January at 6.45 anyway. Twenty-eight brothers were there: some had slept for two or three hours, others had come straight from New Year’s celebrations.

Why we gather

People have asked what the secret of Meeste Hommik is. Why do most men who have come keep coming, with more joining them? The answer is simple: we gather around God the Father, Jesus Christ our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, who enables us. HE is the One who calls us together, hears our prayers and answers them powerfully. Every time we begin, we say: “Welcome, Holy Spirit!”

Across church boundaries

Meeste Hommik differs from a usual church prayer morning in that men and brothers from different denominations gather together — at least two, preferably three. We seek to live out the Word that says:

“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34–35 · translated from the Estonian text

The founding members in July 2016 all belonged to different churches.

The friend who joined as the fourth man, and who had initially said “…not me!”, was there on the second Tuesday morning, because the Holy Spirit had spoken to him on Monday evening, saying: GO!