Holmes County to host National Day of Prayer

The public is invited to come together at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 7 on the Holmes County Courthouse lawn to unite in prayer for the community, nation and world during the upcoming National Day of Prayer service.

This year’s focus will be on I Chronicles 16:24: “Glorify God among the nations.”

Lead Pastor Michael Stinson of Faith Bible Church in Millersburg said the hope is to inspire people to seek God in all generations.

“We’re inviting everyone to come together in faith and lift 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,” Stinson said.

Stinson said bringing people together to pray as one has become more important than ever in a world and nation that seems to be seeking division rather than unity.

While the National Day of Prayer tends to focus on a somewhat political theme, Stinson said the goal of the local effort is to put aside the political talk and zero in on praying for families and communities in the area and healing throughout the nation.

Over the years National Day of Prayer has served as a method of uniting people of faith, who can get caught up in things 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; Curtis Raber, pastor of Gateway Church; Lamar Troyer, pastor at The Well; and others — the pastors not preaching but instead focusing on prayer for specific things.

The event also will provide praise and worship music led by John Bonistall of The Well, who recently released his new song “Oh, the Blood” on Spotify.

While the event is titled a day of prayer, Stinson 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.

“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. “We encourage everyone to invite friends, family and neighbors to be part of this moving experience.”

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, Stinson said what is needed is for people to see the church body building unity and peace.

He said when the world looks at the church and asks, "Why should I follow the church and its Gospel?" the church body needs to be ready and able to show others there is a glorious truth and purpose in serving one great God.

“This is a nondenominational, spirit-filled time of prayer, praise and worship where we can proclaim the love and grace of God and ask for his healing on us as a community and as a nation,” Stinson said. "It was created to bring people together.”

Should there be inclement weather, Stinson said they have reserved Faith Bible Church as a foul weather option, but the hope is the courthouse lawn will be host to an outpouring of prayer and unity May 7.