The Student Association (SA) will host the second Developing Love for a Developing World event March 28 through April 1. Students, faculty and staff are invited to a week of prayer dedicated to countries around the globe.
“A member will speak about what it was like to go to that country and try to bring Christ to the people there,” senior Spiritual Life Committee head Garrett Bender said. “We also have students who grew up in those different countries, who will tell us what they saw and experienced as a Christian or becoming a Christian there, before praying over that country.”
The prayer time will take place on the mapped floor of the McInteer Rotunda at 7 a.m. each day.
According to senior SA Secretary Brent Hall. each day is dedicated to a specific continent and the struggles people experience there.
“The purpose of this event is to better understand the plight of Christians in other areas of the world and how we can better pray and partner with them,” Brent Hall said. “From this, we are able to pray specifically for those countries with a better knowledge as to what is happening there.”
Bender said his overall goal for this event is for students to gain awareness of world events, but also to learn to appreciate how God is working across the world.
SA President senior Kyle Johnson started Developing Love for a Developing World last spring. He said his idea was to find a time when students could come together and pray about specific areas and learn a little more about Christians in those areas.
Senior Kelly Hall studied at Harding University in Australia and attended Developing Love for a Developing World last year. Kelly Hall said she was very excited to hear that the event was going to be continued this year.
“Coming back from overseas your heart misses those countries and people you visited,” Kelly Hall said. “It was a beautiful experience to have people pray over a country that is near and dear to my heart.”
According to Bender, the Spiritual Life Committee is looking forward to student involvement this year.
“We received very positive feedback from last year and had an even bigger turn out than we expected,” Bender said. “The only thing that will differ from last year’s event will be the speakers, so we can possibly gain a new perspective.”
One speaker will be Dr. Tim Westbrook, a Bible professor at Harding who will be sharing what it was like to live in Hungary for eight years.
Midnight Oil will provide coffee, and the SA will provide donuts.
