Pastors Pray for Politicians
Local pastors are offering their prayers for local politicians.
Josh Hatcher, Outreach Pastor of Open Arms Community Church, made an offer to Bradford City Council on Tuesday, but first he told a story.
He said during a prayer meeting at his church, his children and another young boy were listening to things they were praying about – including violence and child abuse – then ran off.
When Hatcher went after them, he found them praying that God would be able to help those people. The next day, his 9-year-old son and his 8-year-old best friend wrote a letter to the mayor saying "People are being hurt, beaten and even killed. Please send cops to everyone."
He said the boys are grasping two concepts: Prayer makes a difference, and prayer is important, but we also need to take action.
That's what compelled Hatcher to attend Tuesday's meeting.
"As you guys are doing the business of running the city – which involves dealing with crime, dealing with drugs, dealing with poverty … It also involves working to get grants to make the city a better place."
"I personally believe prayer makes a difference," he said.
"I'm not like some of the Christians you see on TV who will come in and demand that council pray before you meet," Hatcher said.
"What I want to offer you is the fact that we are praying for you. As you guys are doing your daily business, getting ready to send a grant application out, or maybe you're noticing a neighborhood with a lot of crime … send an e-mail, and we'll work to make sure it's being prayed for."
"As a representative of the Christian community … all of the churches in town want to make this community a better place, so when you have things you know we can get involved with that can help, let us know."
He passed out an email address for all the council members and department heads to use if they have a prayer request.
"Anything from crime to grant applications or even your sick grandmother," Hatcher said.
Mayor Tom Riel told Hatcher "Everybody on council appreciates that very much …and we'll take all the help we can get."
Josh Hatcher, Outreach Pastor of Open Arms Community Church, made an offer to Bradford City Council on Tuesday, but first he told a story.
He said during a prayer meeting at his church, his children and another young boy were listening to things they were praying about – including violence and child abuse – then ran off.
When Hatcher went after them, he found them praying that God would be able to help those people. The next day, his 9-year-old son and his 8-year-old best friend wrote a letter to the mayor saying "People are being hurt, beaten and even killed. Please send cops to everyone."
He said the boys are grasping two concepts: Prayer makes a difference, and prayer is important, but we also need to take action.
That's what compelled Hatcher to attend Tuesday's meeting.
"As you guys are doing the business of running the city – which involves dealing with crime, dealing with drugs, dealing with poverty … It also involves working to get grants to make the city a better place."
"I personally believe prayer makes a difference," he said.
"I'm not like some of the Christians you see on TV who will come in and demand that council pray before you meet," Hatcher said.
"What I want to offer you is the fact that we are praying for you. As you guys are doing your daily business, getting ready to send a grant application out, or maybe you're noticing a neighborhood with a lot of crime … send an e-mail, and we'll work to make sure it's being prayed for."
"As a representative of the Christian community … all of the churches in town want to make this community a better place, so when you have things you know we can get involved with that can help, let us know."
He passed out an email address for all the council members and department heads to use if they have a prayer request.
"Anything from crime to grant applications or even your sick grandmother," Hatcher said.
Mayor Tom Riel told Hatcher "Everybody on council appreciates that very much …and we'll take all the help we can get."
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