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The Word Is Out and the Battle Is On.
Calling Warriors in Christ for Peace in the Streets
Written by Cynthia Johnson
Monday, 04 August 2008
Pastor Debra Garner and A Closer Walk Ministries is "Calling All
Warriors" to prepare for war.
Pastor Garner said she has received a charge from God to take back the
streets
spiritually from the gangsters, lawbreakers and murderers, and in
response, her church is hosting a week of revival Aug. 24 through 27,
starting with a prayer walk at Suitland High School on Saturday, Aug.
23.
"The streets have been lost for at least a generation. There are many
reasons, but chief among them are a shift in values," said Pastor
Garner. "My
hesitation was with our small numbers more so than safety; but God told
me what he told Gideon: Go with the strength that you have. Am I not
sending you?"
Pastor Garner's initiative couldn't come any sooner in the wake of the
recent
spate of irrational violence in Washington D.C.'s Trinidad community.
After a series of shootings and stabbings across the District in July;
eleven people were wounded and two died, including an out-of-town
13-year-old boy who was visiting relatives. These killings echoed a wave
of similar violence in and around Trinidad from May 30-31 which left
seven men dead.
The revival will kick off at Suitland High at 2 p.m. with a planned
March of Prayer and Evangelism around the football field in an effort to
call attention to the plight some students suffer with negative outcomes
such as teen dropouts rate as high as 75 percent in many urban schools.
On Sunday, at 3:30 p.m., Master's Movement liturgical dance and Mime
will minister along with Min, Cykeitha Henderson tackling "Weapons of
Spiritual Warfare."
Elder Kenny Yates of the Covenant Project, Elder David Bilhimer from
Ivanhoe, California, and Pastor Harry Jackson of the New Birth Christian
Faith Center in Capitol Heights, MD will minister at service themed
"Brothers, Balm, and Battle;"on Monday, followed by the sounds of "Women
Wailing for War," on Tuesday, featuring crime victim, Patricia
Yarborough, and domestic violence survivor, Linda Shaw,
Rev. Letitia Stone of Lakeland, Florida will preach "Warriors Prepare to
Strike," as the topic for the closing day of the revival.
"It's an invisible war," said Jackson. "We see the fallout from war. We
have to be mindful of the cross. All the programs out there don't
address the spiritual aspect --- That's up to the church."
Pastor Garner, who is a public relations officer for the Maryland State
Teacher's Association, said she plans to follow up on the revival by
organizing a group of 50 strong, godly male mentors to mentor young men
at Suitland High School.
"We have had programs and services long enough, and they're great, but
we have to find a way to bring the church into some action in tandem
with the things that are already out there," she said.
For more information about the march and revival, call Pastor Debra
Garner, at 301-728-4430, or visit
www.acloserwalkministries.org.
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