National Day of Prayer service slated for May 1
The local National Day of Prayer gathering will take place Thursday, May 1 at 6 p.m. on the Holmes County Courthouse lawn as the community unites in prayer.
The public is invited to come together Thursday, May 1 at 6 p.m. on the Holmes County Courthouse lawn to pray for the community, nation and world during the upcoming National Day of Prayer service.
This year’s theme is “Pour Out to the God of Hope and Be Filled.”
This year’s focus will be on hope, the unshakable promise found in Romans 15:13 that reads, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
“Let’s come together in faith, lifting up our voices and hearts, believing that God is our source of strength and renewal. Invite your family, friends and neighbors and let’s seek his kingdom together,” said Michael Stinson, pastor at Faith Bible Church in Millersburg.
Stinson said the importance of bringing people together to pray as one has become more important today than ever in a world and nation that seem to be seeking out division rather than unity.
Over the years National Day of Prayer has served as a method of uniting people of faith, who, while serving faithfully, can often get caught up in things within the various churches that not every church agrees with, rather than focusing on the concept that each church and all people of faith serve one mighty God.
“The hope through National Day of Prayer is to commune as one body and one church, even though we are many churches,” Stinson said.
The event will feature Stinson as the lead pastor, with several other Holmes County pastors taking on roles in leading the various main prayer topics.
Stinson said even though the pastors will serve as leaders for each different prayer session, all linked to hope, the desire of the pastors is the people will take on the role of praying.
“Instead of focusing on the pastors praying, our desire is to help people realize they are the body of Christ, and we want them to be praying,” Stinson said.
He said prayer as a community of believers extends beyond just one National Day of Prayer and should be a focal point every day of the year.
He also said it would be wonderful to see more community events bringing all the area’s church believers together more than just once a year.
“This event is very inspirational, and you feel the presence of God, and it is something that we need to create more of throughout the year,” Stinson said.
While the prayer will be a focal point, another aspect of the service will be the praise and worship music peppered throughout the service.
That aspect of the service will once again fall on the shoulders of Rocky Favia and his crew from Grace Church in Millersburg.
Stinson said the praise and worship music is a perfect way to move people into a more focused time of prayer.
The National Day of Prayer has been part of Holmes County for several years and was a step in the community faith leadership teams coming together as one to promote unity in faith.
The event has seen people of all ages and denominations getting involved during the time, and Stinson said one youngster as young as 7 years old led in prayer in the past.
With the nation being so politically divided right now, with everyone wanting to push people into various pockets, Stinson said what is needed is for people to see the church body building unity and peace, which builds hope.
He said when the world looks at the church and asks, “Why should I follow you and your gospel?” the church body needs to be able to show them there is a glorious truth and purpose in serving one great God.
While the event may be in Millersburg, Stinson said the leadership team has worked hard to involve churches from every corner of Holmes County, and the hope is many people will feel led to come together in a time of prayer and worship as they fellowship.
“It’s a time for everyone to come together as one and pray for hope in every aspect of our lives,” Stinson said.
Should there be inclement weather, Stinson said they will reach out to every source possible to share the change in venue, but the hope is the courthouse lawn will be host to an outpouring of prayer and unity on May 1.
If there is inclement weather, the event will be moved to Grace Church in Millersburg.