People turn to their spiritual faith for a number of reasons; be they happy or sad, personal or affecting thousands. And they show their faith in different ways with prayer, music, dance, body art, meditation, clothing choices, and more. At Liberty Bible Church in La Porte, there was a large gathering of people showing their faith in the best way that suited them. It was a “Prayer for the City” event. This is one of many more prayer gatherings that will occur in the city.
People packed the church Thursday evening. Something interesting to know about the La Porte location of Liberty Bible Church: it is the former location of the La Porte Lion Cinema which means that services and classes are held in movie theaters. Pretty neat, huh?
The service began at 7pm and clergy from all over La Porte took part in leading worship. I was able to get a few words from Mike Sutton, the pastor for Liberty Bible Church, before things started.
“This is organized by the pastors here in La Porte. We’re all from different denominations and we come together and pray for the city,” Sutton said. “We ask for God’s blessing on the city and in a lot of ways I think that the core issues in La Porte are not economic, but spiritual. We’re just asking God to have His hand of grace on it."
This is not the first time a “Prayer for the City” event has taken place. It’s a biannual event that takes place in different locations throughout La Porte. In December of 2011, citizens from La Porte gathered to pray for Mayor Blair Milo before she took office. Eight months later they came together again in August before the school year began.
This time prayers were sent up for the city government, local businesses and nonprofits, the students and schools, and the churches in La Porte. Everyone was warmly welcomed by Sutton who then led the congregation in prayer. Afterward, the Liberty Praise Band displayed their musical abilities while they lead everyone in singing. Reverend Billy Nickland of Door Village United Methodist Church in La Porte spoke the main message.
“This is the first time I’ve ever preached in a movie theater,” Nickland said lightheartedly to the congregation. “And you are all here because you all believe in the love of Jesus Christ. You believe in the transformative properties of God’s love. As we come together to pray for our city, we’re not just praying for the city, we’re acknowledging the word of God.”
Mayor Blair Milo was in attendance, and she lead the congregation in prayer as Sutton did.
“We thank You for the miracles that You blessed us with last year as well as the challenges for growth. And though we didn’t always like them, we were able to grow our faith from them.” Mayor Milo said during her prayer. “We ask that as we move into a new year with new challenges and opportunities that You continue to walk with us as we make decisions, interact with one another and as we face new obstacles.”
Small groups then formed within the congregation and they prayed out loud with each other about the topics that Mayor Milo spoke of. This was repeated by other pastors that were in attendance; each touching on a certain topic in their prayer, then the small groups following suit in their prayers. Here is an awesome example of power in numbers.
The night ended with Sutton giving the Benediction. It was a good night and everyone left feeling spiritually satiated. And I’m quite sure that the Man Upstairs was smiling.
To find out more about the “Prayer for the City” event, click here. Don’t forget to check out the Liberty Bible Church of La Porte website and to find them on Facebook.