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The large chartered bus rambled down the narrow West Dallas streets lined with 1950’s built homes for the working poor. Filled with middle to upper class citizens from a large Carrolton church, this mixed ethic group had come to do one thing: pray.

Invited by local pastors and neighborhood leaders, they attended a prayer breakfast, where then Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert shared about faith and community. The breakfast would be the beginning of two significant events: One, it was the launch of the US Justice Department Weed and Seed faith based initiative called Bless West, and two, it would mark a day of no crime in the heat of summer, and the continued decline of crime for the next five years.

After the prayer breakfast, nearly 100 people began walking the streets of one of the higher crime areas of the city, led by three police cars (for protection), and praying for any resident who wanted help.

“It was quite a sight to see,” said Melva Franklin, West Dallas Weed and Seed director. “Local residents were not only open for prayer, they went back into their homes pulling out drug addicted family members for prayer.”

The Weed and Seed program, begun in 2005 in West Dallas by loal nonprofit leaders Norm Henry, Pastor Arrvel Wilson, Randy Skinner and Trey Hill, would become the lead agency to help transform West Dallas. Former Dallas County Attorney Bill Hill was instrumental in helping the site be named a part of former Pres. George W. Bush faith based initiative.

On that bright summer day, hundreds of other residents joined in clean ups, school renovations, landscaping, school supplies outreach and ended with a summer concert by local hip hop and Grammy Award Artist Kevin Thornton, who preached an inspiring message of hope. 

No crime would be reported in the area that day, and future tracking of crime would show that the collaborative efforts of over 50 involved leaders, was producing results.

“When we look at communities where transformation is taking place, prayer is a key element when it’s joined with strategic service projects.” says Randy Skinner, a local West Dallas missionary and strategist.

He continued: “Church growth experts realized a few decades ago, the expense of large evangelistic rallies (effective and impressive from the1950’s to 1970’s) were costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement, with little results. Thus, effective evangelism strategies like Evangelism Explosion, which centered with one-on-one techniques, were developed which has resulted in over 6 million being reached at minimum cost.”

Church growth strategists like DAWN Ministries, have long held the view that if organizers of prayer rallies, do not work with local pastors in suffering communities, preparing the community for “God’s response”, then there is little if no impact on the local community.

Nationally known African-American leader Rev. Mark Pollard, who

served as National Strategic Ministry Ambassador for the Promise Keepers men’s movement says, “Too many of the current prayer gatherings focusing primarily on moral issues, with an underlying political agenda, have had minimal results beyond sloganeering.”

He continued: Many of these leaders refuse to do their “time in Egypt” building relationships and fighting the injustices these communities face which among the black community is crucial to attain credibility.” 

Pollard ‘s reference is to the children of Israel learning curve during the 40 years spent in the wilderness prior to entering the Promise Land. Pollard says: " Prayer IS the first step but then activism must follow in the spirit of Amos 5:22-24."

Of the fifteen major cities where a Kansas City organization has held prayer rallies over the past decade, only one city (Las Vegas) showed a drop in crime, with no indications that the prayer rally had any role. These annual rallies, which focus mostly on abortion, gay marriage, politics, and US Supreme Court decisions, have cost millions of dollars, with little results.

In contrast, are National Day of Prayer events held in most major cities or “See You at the Poll “ annual school prayer events, grass roots movements that have had noticeable impact due to their attention to local community involvement.

Local service projects called “90 Days of Blessings” have been a key part in the Global Day of Prayer events held worldwide with great success. Following large prayer rallies on the Day of Pentecost, churches mobilized in the following 90 days to serve the poor, build homes, and transform inner city communities.
         
“Prayer is hard work” says Franklin, whose faith plays an integral part of her role with the US Justice Department Weed & Seed outreach in West Dallas. “It takes a personal touch and an encounter with the Lord to change someone, whether their issue is drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy or abortion. You pray as you build the relationship of caring.”

Skinner believes that until prayer movements not invested in laboring in the areas they pray about, understand that God doesn’t move heaven on behalf of earth without local involvement, will continue to have little or no impact on the culture of those cities.

“If all the thousands of people who have gathered in prayer demonstrations on social issues in the past forty years, would also have spent time in the inner city mentoring and laboring among the poor communities, we would have seen abortion cut in half, poverty reduced and crime diminished” says Skinner.

Skinner believes a new “younger generation of prayer activists” are socially engaged in their local communities, and will make a difference.

He concluded: “The apostle James was very clear, that prayer without good deeds is dead, I believe that faith is the fuel of prayer.  James says, ‘If you have faith and you don’t show it by your actions, that faith can’t save anyone, it’s useless and dead’. Those are powerful, but important words, and maybe explains when prayer really does work, and not only when it doesn’t, but why it doesn’t.”

On May 3, 2012 thousands of residents with gather across America to celebrate National Day of Prayer (NDOP). You may download NDOP materials for your church, organization, or prayer gathering (Click here)

For those wishing to participate in an official National Day of Prayer local service, you may with to attend Park Cities Baptist Church gathering at 7am to 8am on May 3, 2012. A light breakfast will be served at 6:30 a.m.Please RSVP at mlmcneil@pcbc.org.

For those wishing to attend a noon service: Trinity Church will host a prayer service from 11:30 to 1 pm at 4300 Cole Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75205.

Your tax-deductible gifts can also be mailed to Strategic Justice Initiatives. P.O. Box 222026, Dallas, Texas 75222.

About Strategic Justice Initiatives Inc. - SJI in 2009 became involved in laying the groundwork for the citywide movement called the Greater Dallas Justice Revival.  SJI was the parent nonprofit for it till 2011 when its mission of starting 25 school church partnerships, and placement of 700 chronic homeless into housing were accomplished. SJI then launched www.homesforourneighbors.com as the faith partner for Dallas Housing Authority and Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance support of 2000 chronic homeless were placed into permanent supportive housing. www.feed3.org was launched to support the school-church partnerships and hunger projects throughout North Texas. Both efforts carry on the misson of Greater Dallas Justice Revival.

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