Good News August 2017 Broward

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8 August 2017 LOCAL Good News - Broward Edition
Shelly Pond
Good News
As students return to school,
people throughout South Florida
will once again gather in prayer
at their local elementary, middle
and high schools on the Saturday
before school starts to pray for
the local campuses. Initiated by
First Priority, a ministry passion-
ate about connecting the church
to reach the campus for Christ,
Back to School Prayer 2017 sim-
ply encourages every person
from every church to meet at
their school’s flagpole at 9 a.m.
and spend an hour in prayer. If
you cannot access the flagpole,
gather by the main school sign
along the road.
For PalmBeach County pub-
lic schools that will be Saturday,
August 12. In Broward and Dade
counties, they will meet on Satur-
day, August 19.
“Wouldn’t it be great to see
the body of Christ uniting togeth-
er – people from every different
church in that community gath-
ering on the local public school
to spend an hour in prayer for
that campus.,” said Chris Lane,
executive director of First Pri-
ority. “I am so excited about this
initiative… We want to see your
church involved.”
Building engagement
With about 25 schools en-
gaged in their first year of Back to
School Prayer, organizers hope to
build on the foundation that was
laid last year.
Lazaro Maseda, a First Prior-
ity volunteer campus coach who
participated in back to school
prayer last year at Imagine Char-
ter School, said “I believe that the
Lord wants us to come to Him
with the desires of our hearts. I
would love to see the Lord reach
the hearts of our children in a
very deep and personal way, and
coming to Him on behalf of these
kids is a way to bring the plight
of these children directly to the
throne of our Lord.”
Deanna Landis, a First Prior-
ity campus sponsor and teacher
at Coconut Creek High School,
agreed, “Last year was my first
year teaching high school and I
was a little intimidated at first,
so it was important for me to
invite God to go before me so it
wasn’t just me. We prayed that
God’s spirit would flush out the
nonsense and I definitely think it
made a difference.”
Looking back, Landis said,
“I bonded well with my students
and developed some great rela-
tionships all by the grace of God.”
Landis said she hopes to en-
courage more teachers to join her
in back to school prayer this year,
adding “Setting that tone helps
with our individual faith and our
confidence for the school year.”
According to Fred Revell, as-
sociated director of First Priority,
the idea for Back to School Prayer
2016 came after the First Priority
chapter in Nashville, Tennessee,
petitioned their governor to es-
tablish a statewide day of prayer
for the schools. “We’re trying to
do that at the grassroots from the
ground up,” he said.
While many people are fa-
miliar with See You at the Pole, a
student-led prayer event held for
more than 25 years that encour-
ages students to pray for their
generation at their school flag
pole in September, Back to School
Prayer is new and different. Rev-
ell explained, “See You at the Pole
is limited to students. And prayer
is such a good thing, we thought
why not engage the church in a
way that would encourage par-
ticipation even before school
starts.” He emphasized that this is
not just for high schools and mid-
dle schools, but for elementary
schools too. This includes public
schools, private schools, charter
schools and home schools.
Prayer resources available
First Priority has put together
a variety of resources to encour-
age participation on their website
at
er. These include promotional
postcards, posters, slides and
a video that can be used to an-
nounce the event during church
services. People are also encour-
aged to download and print the
Back to School Prayer Guides to
take with them the morning of
the event.
The guides are modeled af-
ter similar ones used by Moms
in Prayer, a national initiative that
brings moms together to pray for
their school throughout the year,
and outline four specific prayer
requests: campus safety, spiritual
awakening, student missionaries,
administration and faculty.
A summary of the Back to
School Prayer Guides follows
and each prayer point includes a
Scripture verse for reference.
Campus Safety
Pray for God to protect the
campus, for angels to keep guard,
and pray against evil. “In times
of trouble, may the Lord answer
your cry. May the name of the
God of Jacob keep you safe from
all harm. May he send you help
from his sanctuary and strength-
en you from Jerusalem” (Psalm
20:1-2, NLT).
Spiritual Awakening
Pray for an outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, for the lost to be
found, and for the gospel to grow
and bear fruit. “Restore to me the
joy of your salvation, and make
me willing to obey you. Then
I will teach your ways to reb-
els, and they will return to you”
(Psalm 51:12-13).
Student Missionaries
Pray for students to be salt
and light, for them to make dis-
ciples and to invite friends to
church. “I am sending you …to
open their eyes, so they may turn
from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan to God. Then
they will receive forgiveness for
their sins and be given a place
among God’s people, who are set
apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:17-
18).
Administration and Faculty
Pray for unity on the school
staff. Pray for joy in their calling
as educators and that teachers
would speak truth. “I urge you,
first of all, to pray for all people.
Ask God to help them; intercede
on their behalf, and give thanks
for them. Pray this way for kings
and all who are in authority” (1
Timothy 2:1-2).
If you would like to learn more
about Back to School Prayer 2017, visit
Back to School Prayer Lays a
Foundation for Success
Pictured from left to right: Lazaro Maseda, Samuel Bell, Travis, Gina Bell and Lissette
Santiago prayed at Imagine Charter School last year.