VANCOUVER — Members of Clark County Prayer Connect are inviting area residents to join them in prayer for Southwest Washington high school students who are headed back to school.
It’s the third consecutive year for the event, which will take place Sun., Aug. 20 through Wed., Aug. 23.
“For the two prior years, we encouraged prayer walking in different settings,’’ said Dennis Fuqua, executive director of Clark County Prayer Connect.
Video courtesy Dennis Fuqua.
Fuqua described prayer walking as simply praying “onsite with insight.’’
“When we pray at a specific location, we pray differently because of what the Holy Spirit allows us to see and sense,’’ Fuqua said. “We did it one year around the parks and one year we started it at different churches. Three years ago, we thought ‘let’s broaden it out and focus it specifically on high school students.’
“The four years of high school are extremely formative years in a person’s life,’’ said Fuqua, citing the habits the students form, the friends they make and the things they learn. “Those things will influence them the rest of their lives.’’
Fuqua said he has reports that 22 Clark County teens had committed suicide since the start of 2017.
“That’s not OK,’’ he said. “We are looking forward to a report that there have been zero teen suicides in Clark County.’’
Fuqua said the prayer gatherings will take place each evening at 7 p.m. around the flagpole of the scheduled schools and will last about one hour. Here’s the four-day schedule:
- Sun., Aug. 20 — Battle Ground, Columbia Adventist, Evergreen, Hayes Freedom, Heritage and Ridgefield.
- Mon., Aug. 21 — Camas, Firm Foundation, Hudson’s Bay, La Center, Prairie, Skyview, Summit View, Union, Vancouver School of the Arts.
- Tue., Aug. 22 — CAM Academy, Hockinson, King’s Way, Mountain View, River HomeLink, Clark County Skills Center, Vancouver iTech Preparatory, Washougal/Excelsior High School.
- Wed., Aug. 23 — 49th Street Academy in Vancouver, Columbia River, Fort Vancouver, HeLa High
For more information, visit Clark County Prayer Connect on Facebook or http://ccpc.prayersummits.net/ .
