Gabe Stark
Reporter

Trenton Assembly of God is inviting the community to gather Sunday, Aug. 16, for its annual school prayer walk, an event church leaders say is intended to bring residents together in prayer for students, teachers, staff and the coming school year.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. in C.F. Russell Stadium with a time of praise and prayer before participants walk a mapped route around the school grounds. Freedom Sound will provide music during the opening gathering.

Darcie Taylor, women’s ministry director at Trenton Assembly of God, said the prayer walk predates her leadership of the ministry and has changed over time. This will be the eighth prayer walk she has helped organize.

The event originally coincided with See You at the Pole, with adults walking and praying while students participated in the student-led prayer gathering before school. Taylor said attendance became difficult because many adults were working during the morning hours, prompting organizers to eventually move the prayer walk to the evening.

Participants will begin at the stadium, where organizers will pray over students and teachers and explain how to use a web-based prayer walk map. The map includes links tied to different locations along the route, with each stop providing a specific prayer focus.

At the stadium, for example, participants will be encouraged to pray for student-athletes. At the playground, the focus will turn toward younger children and topics such as friendships. After the opening praise and prayer time, participants will disperse and follow the trail at their own pace.

Taylor said the event is rooted in several biblical passages, including Jeremiah 29:7, in which the Israelites in exile are instructed to seek the welfare of the city where they have been sent and pray on its behalf.

“And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare,” reads the scripture.

“That passage really struck with me because at the school we are in a place where it’s worldly, obviously, and the lord told Jeremiah that no matter where you’re at, you are to pray for the peace of that situation,” Taylor said.

She also pointed to 1 John 5:14-15, which speaks about the confidence Christians have in approaching God in prayer according to his will.

“We have a responsibility to cover our children and our staff and our schools in prayer, knowing that that’s what God asked us to do,” Taylor said.

For Taylor, the event also carries a personal connection through her years working in education. She retired after 29 years in the school district, but will return part time under a critical-shortage arrangement for what will be her 30th year.

Taylor said she has made prayer a regular part of her own classroom throughout her career. She recalled people telling her over the years that her classroom felt different when they entered it.

“I’m always very quick to say, ‘Well, that’s because I pray over my classroom. It’s not me,’” Taylor said.

That experience has helped reinforce her commitment to continuing the prayer walk each year. While the event is organized through Trenton Assembly of God, Taylor emphasized that it is intended for the broader community rather than only members of the congregation.

“It brings the community together,” Taylor said. “It’s not just an event for our church. It’s an event for all. Everybody can come. It’s an open event.”

Taylor said the prayer walk has generally drawn between 50 and 70 people in recent years. Although most participants have traditionally come from Trenton Assembly of God, members of other churches have also attended. Organizers have increased publicity this year and selected C.F. Russell Stadium as the starting point in hopes of making the gathering feel welcoming to the entire community.

Following the prayer walk, Trenton Assembly of God will host a youth after-party from 7 to 8 p.m. All area youth are invited to attend, with games and walking tacos planned.

“We want our schools to be a place where all are welcome and peaceful,” Taylor said.