At Livingstone Adventist Academy, prayer is very important. Prior to school starting, the entire staff and local pastors gather in each school room to dedicate it with prayer. Music and English teacher Katrina Koch says, “It starts the year off right when we pray in every room of the school. It’s powerful.” The staff meets early every morning for worship and to pray for students' individual needs. By the end of the year, the entire student body will have been lifted up in prayer.
Though this spirit of prayer may begin with the staff, it certainly does not end there. Following the example given them, the student body has initiated their own prayer ministries. Two senior ASB officers, Judy Edwards, spiritual vice president, and Shane Akerman, president, lead a student prayer group every Wednesday morning. “I love prayer groups,” says Edwards. “They really put things in perspective.” From school-wide Prayer-at-the-Pole participation to individual class worship, prayer is as much a part of the day as math and reading.
Parents and constituents are equally committed to this prayer ministry. Sandica Constantinescu, mother of a seventh-grader, was impressed during a board meeting to start a parent-led prayer ministry. She explained, “I felt that the presence of the Lord should be in this school.” As a result, parents gather on the first Monday of every month to pray together for the school.
The student body of Livingstone Adventist Academy in Salem, Ore., gathers for Prayer-at-the-Pole.
