Stepping up Men start walking and praying

What: Men's Prayer Walk

When: 10 a.m. to noon July 30

Where: Friendship Baptist Church, 349 E. Wayne St., Lima

For details: www.limamenoffaith.com

By Rosanne Bowman

LIMA — The Rev. Jim Baker thought they should be doing something.

He's senior pastor at Northpark Community Church, and a prayer breakfast last year left him a little cold.

“One of the guys said we should do this again,” he said. “It was sort of out of frustration that I responded that we didn't need to sit around and eat again — we needed to step up and do something.”

Baker saw a lot of needs in his day job as a Lima Police Department lieutenant.

“We had two goals with this,” he said, “to have visible prayer for the city so people could see us praying for them and to get men in motion. There is a lack of men in the church.”

The Rev. Levi Collins, head pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Latty, added that he would also like to see the community come together.

“We see a need for us to come together, and by us, I mean Christian men,” he said. “It's time for men to take responsibility and step up. Also, I live in this city and there is a lot of violence here. We started praying that those kids would put down those guns and those drugs.”

There has also been a crossing of racial lines within the participants of the prayer walk.

“It brings together the black and white Christian communities, and that is happening because black and white brothers in Christ are growing together,” Collins said.

The Rev. Michael Lyons, head pastor of In Faith Ministries International said, “When they see the joy and love and fellowship, some of those barriers start getting torn down.”

The first prayer walk was May 29, 2010. Since that time, the group meets together one Saturday of each month. Once a location is chosen, a church in that area hosts the group. The men always meet and pray from 10 a.m. to noon.

“God drives me crazy because I am by nature a planner,” Baker said, “but our locations have really been God-directed.”

The group meets at the host church, and it is there that they are given that day's prayer walk directions and are lined up.

While the idea of praying out loud in a public setting may be intimidating to some men, Baker said that there is a place for every type of personality in the prayer walks. All men are welcome.

“We want all men of all denominations,” Lyons said. “If you believe in Jesus and in the power of prayer, you qualify.”

The group is led by men carrying a banner. Following the banner are the men who like to sing, followed by those who enjoy praying out loud. The end of the procession is brought up by those who would rather pray quietly or silently.

“Anybody that comes and isn't physically able to do the walk can stay at the host church and pray for those walking,” Baker said

Currently, the prayer walks average between 60 to 70 men. Men are also encouraged to bring their sons.

“Any male will do,” Lyons said. “We want to teach our young men that praying is a man thing to do, and they learn that by watching their uncle or their cousin or their dad be involved. We have had as young as 8 years old and the oldest maybe 75 years old.”

Although there have been good turnouts to many of the prayer walks since they started last year, Collins would like more churches to participate.

“We'd like to see all of God's children come together,” Collins said. “I thought if one thing we could come up with to bring the community together, it would be prayer, but we don't seem to have the motivation and enthusiasm I hoped for going into this second year.”

While the prayer walk has helped bring Christian men together and helped them grow in their faith, there has also been an impact on the community.

“On our last prayer walk, we actually had two people chase us down to pray for them,” Baker said.

Collins added, “We've seen people, when they find out we will be coming through their neighborhood, they are waiting on their porches or steps for us to come and lay hands on them and pray for them. We have even had cars and motorcycles stop and ask for prayer.”

Baker hopes to one day see 1,000 men participating in the walks. While this may seem like an overwhelming goal, Baker believes it is possible.

“Oh yeah,” he said, “I think that is doable in Lima because we serve a big God.”

“Even if we don't get up to 1,000 though,” Lyons said, “we have to remain steadfast because God can do a whole lot with only a little.”

If you have a story idea or an item you feel the community would like to know about for the Religion section, please contact Rosanne Bowman at bbowman3@woh.rr.com or 419-331-3958.