As American troops marched off to war March 19, Alabama Baptists switched to support mode and sprang into action. Prayer rallies, care packages, military family ministries and other organized efforts became the order of the day. Across the state, an outpouring of individual, associational and church-based support for U.S. military personnel began.
The most common form of support is prayer for the troops, some at appointed times, others at organized events.
Many churches devoted sections in bulletins and newsletters to military prayer lists. And some regular Wednesday night services now include a time of prayer for the nation.
New Hope Baptist Church, Pell City, uses a personalized approach. “We have members or relatives of members in the military on a prayer list,” said Pastor Paul Brasher. “All are called out by name and we pray for them each week.”
Other churches are designating prayer times outside of regular church meeting hours.
Oakdale Baptist Church, Ramer, has invited all churches in Crenshaw and surrounding counties to join in a daily 11 a.m. prayer chain.
Many prayer rallies have taken place across the state, some originating in Baptist associations and radiating throughout the community. One of those rallies took place in Gadsden the same week war broke out.
“We were in pastors’ conferences when someone commented that we needed to be praying for our nation, our troops and their families,” explained Etowah Baptist Association Director of Missions Bob Thornton. “Someone else said our churches needed to let it be known we support our president and our country so it was suggested that we hold a prayer rally.”
About 150 supporters marched from the county courthouse to city hall and participated in a time of prayer, sharing and singing.
Another rally took place when Fayette’s National Guard Unit was deployed and the churches of Fayette Association joined the community in a departure ceremony.
“I grew up in a military family and was pastor in military areas,” said Fayette Director of Missions Larry Barnes. “It’s something I’m familiar with and the National Guard Unit here, being deployed, is very much on the minds of everyone,” he continued.
Fayette’s prayer efforts continued on April 2 with a citywide “Operation Prayer Support,” sponsored by the city’s interdenominational ministerial association. The rally drew a crowd of about 300 to the Fayette Civic Center.
On April 13, New Friendship Baptist Church, Arab, held a patriotic rally featuring patriotic music, prayer and the special speaker for the occasion Ernie Carroll. Carroll, who is director of missions for Friendship Association, is a chaplain in the National Guard who has been placed on alert.
According to New Friendship Pastor Fred Wilks, the rally had a threefold purpose.
“We wanted to have a special time of prayer for our troops, and we wanted to help everybody feel better. It gave our people the opportunity to feel like they were doing something. And we wanted to show our support for the troops,” he said.
Judy Norris of Cedar Grove Baptist, Leeds, started a big project at her church when she proposed that her Sunday School class become involved in military support efforts.
Their enthusiasm for what Norris calls “Packages From Home” resulted in an ongoing shoebox ministry in which members, local businesses and others in the community are contributing money and small items to be packaged and sent to soldiers.
The effort, said Norris, will continue until all troops are home. “What we want to do is send a soldier a little bit of home and maybe make his day. We can’t be there physically to help, but we hope to be there spiritually,” said Norris.
Boxes may include items such as pens, pencils, notepads, toiletries, snacks and even small toys.
Since there are restrictions on items that can be sent to soldiers overseas, Norris recommends checking with resources such as the U.S. Army’s Web site before beginning a shoebox ministry. (See story, this page.)
In addition to Cedar Grove, Dale Association’s Logan Road Baptist Church and Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, both in Ozark, are involved in shoebox ministries, as are the Team Kids of First Baptist Church, Leeds.
Supporting members of the military also means supporting their families, so several churches are concentrating efforts in that direction.
‘Feet to prayers’
Kevin Dewberry, minister to students at New Hope, knows firsthand the difficulties military families face and has asked for his church’s help in meeting some of the needs. An Army brat married to an Army brat as he describes it, Dewberry recently sent out inquiry forms seeking information on area military families and on potential resources for helping those families.
“We want to ‘put feet to our prayers’ as we seek to minister to our military and their families,” Dewberry wrote to the congregation.
Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster, sponsors periodic support luncheons for military family members and posts updates on the whereabouts of church-related military personnel via a bulletin board.
Just up the road from Westwood, the women’s group at First Baptist Church, Pelham, coordinates a ministry to help spouses of deployed service members cope with practical needs such as home repairs, child care and friendship.
“As Christian citizens, we need to support and encourage these folks who are bearing the burden of the battle,” said Pastor Mike Shaw.
Another ministry began at First Baptist Church, Clanton, with a dinner attended by nearly 100 family members of deployed military personnel. Every military family represented at the dinner received a Bible in honor of their absent loved one. The dinner was followed by a prayer service.
“Just getting these families together encourages them and helps us learn of any needs,” said Larry Michael, pastor of First, Clanton.
First, Clanton, also is expressing its support of the troops by prominently displaying a billboard near Exit 212 off Interstate 65 with “Pray for Our Troops” and “In God We Trust” on it.
Even though the billboard bears the church’s name, Michael said it is not the result of church efforts alone. “The VFW and American Legion contributed toward putting it up,” the pastor said, “and we’ve had the cooperation of the community in a lot of ways.”
Faces to remember
Another effort by First, Clanton, posts the photos of military personnel on a plate glass window in the church’s old fellowship hall that faces the street to honor them and as a reminder to pray.
Correspondence-related support is taking place at First Baptist Church, Jasper. The church distributed preprinted postcards addressed to President George W. Bush.
The message expresses a commitment of prayer for the president, his family, his staff, U.S. troops and the enemy “during this time of uncertainty and tumult.” Members signed the cards and mailed them on.
Also supporting the president in prayer is an interdenominational group at Inlands Building Company of Cullman. The group has been praying for President Bush since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Even though efforts to personally meet with the president have been unsuccessful, a presidential aide has contacted the group on at least two occasions to express the president’s appreciation for their prayers and to request their continued support.
“I feel great about being able to support our president,” said member Steve Walker, who is also a member of Good Hope Baptist Church, Cullman.
“And even though it’s been an aide calling, it’s still the president we’re hearing from,” he continued. “It’s been nice having someone in the White House who acknowledges God. We also appreciate our company allowing us to meet and pray here.”
As the major combat effort in Iraq winds down and troops begin to return home, military ministry organizers fear that support efforts may also wind down. They caution, however, that U.S. soldiers will remain in Iraq for months and maybe longer, so support from home is still important.
“We’ve won the war but we need to win the peace,” said Michael. “We still have a long way to go.”
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