National Day of Prayer Task Force Expands Operations Through Gift from Harvest Prayer Ministries

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The National Day of Prayer Task Force, which mobilizes thousands of gatherings of the National Day of Prayer across all 50 states and in Washington D.C., is expanding its operations through a generous gift from Harvest Prayer Ministries.

Harvest Prayer Ministries, who for the past 25 years has equipped pastors and leaders across America to develop prayer ministries in their churches, has gifted its resource division to the National Day of Prayer Task Force. The gift includes the Church Prayer Leaders Network and its PrayerLeader.com online platform, PrayerShop Publishing with all published assets and the Prayer Connect Magazine.

Combined, the gift adds more than 20,000 constituents, plus hundreds of print and online resources, to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and arms the organization with a publishing house capable of producing up to eight books a year, a quarterly magazine and a store fully equipped with a processing center and fulfillment system.

“At a time when our nation is reeling from another heartbreaking tragedy, when people are looking for answers to their pain and a way forward for us to heal and be whole again, it has never been more important for Christians to pray fervently for a spiritual awakening in America,” said Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

“This is precisely why we are so thrilled for Harvest Prayer Ministries’ generous gift. These resources strengthen our ability to equip pastors, ministry leaders and churches to be more effective in gathering and calling their communities to prayer. Most important, the gift broadens the scope of the National Day of Prayer beyond a single day, helping us to mobilize Americans to pray daily for our nation and our communities.”

“America might need a thousand solutions for the challenges we currently face, but no solution we can come up with will be able to accomplish more than our unified prayers,” Dr. Floyd said.

For Dave Butts, president and founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries, donating a significant portion of the ministry he and his wife Kim started was a matter of seeing the larger picture.

“As we see the desperate need in our nation for revival and spiritual awakening, individual ministries like ours must stop protecting their own turfs and work together toward the greater purpose of God’s Kingdom,” said Butts. “We believe in the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s mission to mobilize Christians to unified prayer for America, and we pray this gift will expand, strengthen and take this mission to a new level.”

As part of the gift acquisition, Jonathan Graf, vice president of resources at Harvest Prayer Ministries, and an additional employee will join the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Graf will bring his expertise in digital content marketing to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, expanding its content creation and resource division.

“I am both humbled and excited to join the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Together we have the opportunity to reach more people, equip more churches and create a prayer movement that can change America,” said Graf.

Officially, the acquisition will occur in March, but the two ministries will complete the gift acquisition after the 2018 National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3, when millions of Americans will gather in Washington D.C. and across thousands of events in all 50 states to pray together for America. Anchored around Ephesians 4:3, this year’s National Day of Prayer theme is “Pray for America — Unity.”

Media note: Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, is available for interview. Please email mediainquiries@thekcompany.co to schedule an interview.

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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the senior pastor of Cross Church and president of the National Day of Prayer, which each year mobilizes millions of Americans to unified public prayer for the United States. He’s the immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Follow him on Twitter @ronniefloyd.

The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the amended law designating the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer. Every year, millions of Americans, in tens of thousands of meetings across all 50 states, come together for unified public prayer for America. Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

Website | www.nationaldayofprayer.org             Facebook | National Day of Prayer

How Americans Can Deal with Our Pain

Pain-blogThere is a lot of pain in America. In the last five years, Americans have lived under great stress, deep division, nuclear threat, terroristic intimidation, political unrest, gender confusion, multiple crises, endless tragedies, mass shootings, and continual revelations of sexual harassment and unethical behavior.

While some members of older generations hang their heads in discouragement, some members of the younger generations raise their fists in defiance. At times, some of the media serves as the wind that fans the flames of all generations. Pain is piled upon pain and sooner or later it either oozes out slowly or flows out swiftly.

With the Backdrop

Today I write with the backdrop of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that cost the lives of seventeen innocent people. We see this pain revealed through crying, shock, and anger. Additionally, I have to deal with my own pain as I watch our nation hurt so deeply. Many times, tears fill my eyes for our nation.

4 Actions Americans Can Take with Our Pain

1. Ask yourself the tough question: What is happening with me right now?

 Rather than gaze at others and their pain, look inward and ask yourself what is happening within you. Identify your own personal pain:

  • Am I scared?
  • Am I angry?
  • Am I disappointed?
  • Am I worried?
  • Am I fearful?

Be honest with yourself. Discover what is happening within you. This is the first step to understanding and resolving your feelings.

2. Confess you want Jesus Christ to be #1 in your life.

Beginning with Jesus is beginning with the Truth. I am speaking about the Truth of God’s Word, the Bible.  Recognize that when the Bible speaks, Jesus speaks. He is speaking these real words to all of us.

  • Jesus is compassionate: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
  • Jesus is calling: “Come to Me.” Matthew 11:28
  • Jesus is comforting: “…all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
  • Jesus is commanding: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19

3. Permit Jesus Christ to minister to your personal pain.

When you permit Jesus Christ to minister to your personal pain, see what occurs.

  • Peace replaces fear.
  • Freedom replaces bondage.
  • Calm replaces stress.
  • Hope replaces despair.
  • Joy replaces sorrow.

I am thankful that Jesus ministers to our personal pain like no one else.

4. Place confidence in a trusted person.

Everyone needs a safe person to share your feelings with; what I call a true and trusted friend. This trusted person could be:

  • Your spouse
  • Your teacher
  • Your coach
  • Your minister
  • Your friend
  • Your mom or dad, or both of your parents

This person receives you for who you are and does not judge you or anything you say. Therefore, place confidence in a trusted person.

A Final Consideration

When we handle our pain in the proper way, God frees us from our own negativity and destruction. This is why we need the Lord.

Jesus is still the answer for our lives today.

Now is the Time to Lead and to Pray for America,

Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, National Day of Prayer

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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, President of the National Day of Prayer, and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry.

To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.

Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Follow Dr. Floyd on Twitter and Instagram @ronniefloyd