DBU Celebrates National Day of Prayer

For over 20 years, Dallas Baptist University has hosted a special breakfast for faculty and staff on the National Day of Prayer. Kristi Coleman, Director of the Rogers Intercessory Prayer Ministry, hosts this breakfast to take the time to pray for our campus, our leaders, and our country. 

This year's event began with an introduction from Kristi Coleman and Jonathan Teat, DBU Senior Vice President. Dr. Jon Choi, ‪Director of M.A. in Christian Ministry and M.A. in Worship Studies, led the group in a responsive reading of 2 Samuel 22:29-31, followed by multiple faculty and staff members lifting up prayers for specific groups. They prayed for international leaders, the military, local leaders, first responders, families, and communities. The event ended with a prayer for Dallas Baptist University by Dr. Karla Hagan, ‪Director of the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction program.

Kristi Coleman explained the importance of the National Day of Prayer, "Scripture tells us to humble ourselves together and pray for God to heal our land. The concept of corporate repentance is a prerequisite for God to change the direction of our land, but it feels foreign to us Americans. Furthermore, our prayers tend to be limited to our own best ideas of what God should do for us and our immediate family. We miss out on God's bigger work in our nation and the world. This special day reminds us to pray corporately for our leaders on every level."

The DBU Rogers Intercessory Prayer Ministry was founded in the spring of 1988, shortly after Dr. Gary Cook became President. DBU was in a rough spot, and God showed Dr. Cook that the only way forward was through a concerted focus on prayer. He began to gather people who were willing to pray daily for DBU. The University has been marked by a culture of prayer ever since. Kristi sends a daily email to all DBU Faculty and Staff to share the prayer requests of the DBU Family. "When I click 'send,' I know that in just a matter of seconds, many people all over this Hill are going to reach out to the person in need of prayer through encouraging emails and phone calls. These simple gestures are vital in reminding each other of God's goodness." 

Kristi sees the beauty of prayer and God's faithfulness throughout the DBU campus. Through the smile of an international student, the completed housing buildings, the fountains, trees, etc. Everything on University Hill has been earnestly prayed for. "Every beautiful building, fountain, flower, and tree on this campus is tangible evidence of God's answers to specific prayers lifted up by people in the Prayer Ministry." 

DBU's most significant prayer need is for leadership among the administration and the student body. Kristi explained that it is easy to become discouraged when reading the headlines about the future of Christian higher education. "Our administration needs daily guidance from the Holy Spirit. And in the future, DBU will need leaders who earnestly seek God's wisdom with humble hearts for creative ways to move forward." 

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