Randolph Association adopts police officers in prayer ministry

As police officers throughout Randolph County face the daily challenges of their work, they are getting reinforcement from prayer warriors in their community through Randolph Baptist Association’s Shield the Badge in Prayer ministry.
   
Shield the Badge in Prayer is an effort to pray for all the law enforcement officers in the county and specifically pray for individual officers and their families, said Randolph Association Director of Missions Otis Bentley.
   
According to Bentley, there are approximately 75 officers serving in Randolph County as part of the county sheriff’s department and the Roanoke, Wedowee and Wadley city police forces. 
   
Bentley, who serves as a chaplain for the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department and the Alabama State Troopers, said police officers need prayer because of the various situations they face in their work.
   
“Law enforcement officers have a very dangerous job,” he said. “Statistics indicate that an average of 169 law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty each year.”
   
In addition to those killed, hundreds of officers are injured each year in the line of duty. Bentley added that statistics rarely take into account the stress the officers must deal with and the toll law enforcement work takes on the officers’ families. From traffic stops to drug arrests to domestic disturbances, these officers see people at their worst, he said.
   
“These officers often see only one side of society, and it’s easy for them to become cynical and think everyone is like the criminals they deal with,” Bentley said.
   
For that reason, he said, it is important for officers to know that people are praying for them.
   
Volunteers for the prayer ministry come from churches around the county, including youth and Woman’s Misisonary Union groups. 
   
The name of the officer remains anonymous to the prayer volunteers as they are given only a number, which represents a specific officer known only to Bentley. 
   
There is never any personal contact between a specific officer and the person who is praying for him or her.
   
“We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the law officer’s position or his ability to carry out his duties, so we don’t use radio call numbers or badge numbers,” said Bentley, who does occasionally hand deliver cards to individual officers. 
   
“This system has provided a good teaching tool — especially to the youth group. Their leader has explained that even though they don’t know the name of the officer they are praying for, God knows the name and hears their prayers for that officer,” he said.
   
Randolph County Sheriff Jeff Fuller said ministries like Shield the Badge in Prayer and Bible study and prayer time at the local jails help police officers by showing them a better side of society than what they usually see in their jobs. 
   
Fuller said that especially when children are the victims, it is comforting to him and other officers to know that people in the community are praying for them.
   
“Government can’t do it alone,” he said. “We need the church’s help, and it has been a blessing for me to see how these ministry programs can make a difference.”