In January, 192 Birmingham-area men, women and children decided to walk to Jerusalem by Easter. No, they didn’t walk across the ocean, but the group — connected through a program at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association — did log enough local miles collectively to have made it to the holy city.
The goal was 6,569 miles. Group members actually logged more than 8,200 miles as they walked, ran, biked and participated in aerobic classes.
"The program not only motivated people to become more physically active, but it also encouraged spiritual growth by focusing on weekly Bible verses and devotions that were provided for them," said program coordinator Debbie Moss, Dawson Memorial Baptist’s minister of health and wellness.
Known as In His Steps, the communitywide program was an adaptation of the popular Walk to Jerusalem and Walk to Bethlehem programs, which lead up to Easter and Christmas, respectively, and encourage participants to take time to exercise and use that time to focus on God.
When Dawson member Stephen Keith signed up for In His Steps, he was preparing to run a half-marathon in his fifth year to participate in Birmingham’s Mercedes Marathon in February. "I didn’t start out running to get closer to God," he said. "I did it just to get some exercise — but the two might be related, I think. Perhaps doing well by the flesh also does well for the soul."
Don Steen, executive pastor of Dawson and a program participant, sees the connection between the physical and the spiritual, too.
"I have always used my running time as part of my time with God," he said. But participating in In His Steps turned his attention toward Jerusalem, the Middle East and the church’s missions projects. "It helped me refocus what I was already doing," Steen said.
The program encouraged participants to pray over the needs of their community and the world.
Prayer was already a central focus of Keith’s exercise. "Running a race, or even just everyday regular running, is a prayer," he said. "It is God moving in me as I fight with all my physical and mental strength to defeat the demons within me and run."
For some, In His Steps turned what would otherwise be routine exercise into a spiritual journey, focused on prayer and meditation. Others began exercising to participate in the program but now it’s a habit they continue, Moss said. "From a senior who could contribute just a mile at a time to a marathon runner, it’s amazing what the family of faith can do."
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