Going public

For the second year in a row, Christians in Dale County took the disciplines of Bible reading and prayer to new levels and, in doing so, joined Baptists across Alabama who took seriously the observance of the National Day of Prayer May 5.
   
Beginning at 3 p.m. May 1 and ending at noon May 5, local believers volunteered to divvy up 90 hours of around-the-clock Bible reading in front of the Dale County courthouse in Ozark.
   
Members of various churches and denominations turned out to read on the courthouse lawn as part of the Bible reading marathon, which led up to a prayer service May 5. Some church groups volunteered collectively, such as youth groups and prayer groups.
   
“We want to do something our world needs to make a difference in our society, and just think — we get to do it right here,” said Wilma Hart of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Ozark. Hart contacted the more than 50 churches in Dale County, inviting their members to participate.
   
Martha Thompson, a Pleasant Grove member and retired associational secretary, participated with her husband, Harold, who is also retired. The two volunteered to read and took on many  hours most people couldn’t take because of work schedules.
   
“It’s just awesome,” said Thompson of her first experience with the reading marathon. 
   
“It was dark and there was nobody around but us and God. It was an experience we couldn’t have imagined — just being out and letting people know we’re not ashamed to stand for Jesus and what He stands for.”
   
According to Kenneth Hale, director of missions for Dale Association, the Bible reading marathon created a fresh awareness of the Word of God.
   
“This serves as a reminder of the importance of the Word,” Hale said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to express our freedom — not only in Christ but also in our country.”
   
Hale said sometimes people would park at the courthouse and listen. Hart  also invited passersby to read. They were able to minister to homeless people who gathered at the courthouse, — sharing food, the gospel and prayer. One local man on his way home from the grocery store stopped Tuesday night and accepted Christ as his Savior.
   
“It was straight out of heaven,” Hart said. “The whole experience was absolutely wonderful.”
   
Hart said she first wanted to start a Bible-reading marathon in her community when she read about the national Bible-reading marathon that has taken place each year since 1990 at the nation’s capitol.
   
In order to hold the marathon in Ozark, Hart had to gain permission from the city’s mayor, probate judge and council members. Not only did all the officials agree to allow the event but many also volunteered to read. Hart said she was prepared to face objections, but no one offered a word of opposition to the marathon either year.
   
“The mayor even read the last Scripture,” she said.
   
For Hart, as well as the other volunteers and other Ozark residents, the coupling of going public with their faith and reading Scripture has been a spiritual stretch and a positive experience.
   
“We plan to make this an annual event until we are stopped, and I pray that never happens,” Hart said.     “We’ve had people say this has changed their whole lives.”