Hundreds of residents in the northern part of the island of Grenada were the focus of corporate prayer during a special prayer caravan held recently. The activity was part of an annual ministry led by the Grenada Conference of Seventh-day Adventists as part of a comprehensive plan to bring messages of hope to communities across the island. Organizers earmarked the most northerly parish, St. Patrick, which is home to seven of the forty-nine congregations on the island, for an intense prayer vigil.
Scores of church leaders and members converged at six strategic locations in the parish to visit homes, share literature, and pray for residents. Leaders and lay representatives joined to address the community, offer support to families, and highlight the services and mission of the church.
“This is an extraordinary moment,” said Pastor Clinton Lewis, president of the Grenada Conference. “The decision to take our prayers to the community is part of Jesus’ method of mingling with the community.”
Pastor Oliver Scott, executive secretary and prayer coordinator for the Grenada Conference, said the goal was to pray for every resident in the area. “We could see how the people responded: they waved to the caravan, made prayer gestures,” said Scott. “You could see how touched they were that someone was praying for them.”
The more than 400 church members who were part of the prayer caravan stopped at the main town in the parish to connect with scores of residents who were shopping, said Scott. “Business owners welcomed prayer advocates who interceded for their success and safety.” As the motorcade wound its way through several towns, those caught in traffic received a free copy of the missionary book Hope for Troubled Times, by Mark Finley, said Scott.
The initiative is part of an annual prayer activity that has been held throughout Grenada for several years. Because of pandemic regulations, the prayer activity had been held virtually during the past two years, explained Scott.
Among those moved by the initiative was Alison Belforn Bernard, who shared she had been delivered from alcohol and substance abuse and was freed from the tendency to attend parties where such substances were offered. She was requesting prayer because of three strokes that have left her paralyzed.
As a result of God’s transforming power in her life, Bernard was celebrating six years of deliverance and a newfound faith. She thanked and praised God for the group of Adventist prayer warriors who visited and interceded in prayer on her behalf.
Church leaders are planning to hold another prayer caravan in another parish on the island soon.
There are more than 13,000 Seventh-day Adventists in the Grenada Conference worshiping in 51 churches and congregations. The conference oversees the islands of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.
The original article was published on the Inter-American Division website.