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    Men of Destiny observe ‘National Day of Prayer’

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    MEN-OF-DESTINYMen of Destiny observe ‘National Day of Prayer’

    By J.G. Session

    The community is cordially invited to attend the annual Observance of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at the local City Halls beginning at 12 noon until 2 p.m., throughout Broward County.

    The Honorable Bishop Douglas Russell, Jr., has been selected to deliver the Community Prayer at the Commissioner’s Chambers, City of Fort Lauderdale, City Hall, 100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He serves as a public elected official for Broward Soil and Water Conservation District, Group four and is the Founder of Men of Destiny Community Outreach, Inc., of South Florida and Retired Bishop of Historic Royal Assembly Church of the Living God, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and as the former Vice President of the NAACP, Pompano Beach Chapter.

    Men throughout the com-munity will be in attendance in prayer for building stronger family ties as fathers in the communities, educational and employment opportunities, equality and justice, health, government leaders and numerous other issues affecting all people locally, state and globally.

    The mission of the National Day of Prayer Task Force is to mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture. The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families.

    The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

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    Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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He has grown his flock from the 25 or so students who showed up at his first services to more than 200 each Sunday. Sometimes, it’s standing room only. “We’ve been trying to figure out what to do next because on Easter Sunday we had 342 people, and some were standing in the back,” he said. Word In Black talked to Lockett about the secrets of his success: how his adjustment of Sunday ser-vices got people into the pews, why his philosophy for guiding students on their spiritual journey centers on independent thought, and how his “Spin the Block” initiative is shaking things up on campus. The in-terview has been edited for length and clarity. Word in Black: The first thing we want to know is, how do you get so many young people to chapel every Sunday?. Lawrence Lockett: Well, first of all, I changed the time of service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I realized a lot of the students like to sleep in late. It gives them time to do whatever they need to do. I’m sure many of them still like to party hearty over the weekend. So they have a good chance just to kind of refocus, recali-brate, get themselves lunch, and then come over to the chapel for service. When I started in November, maybe 20-25 students came, but now it’s over 200 that come every Sun-day, and it’s pretty cool. So now we’re repositioning ourselves to go after the freshman class this year. If we have the same success as last year, there’s definitely not going to be any room. Word in Black: Tell me about pastoring on a college campus. Lawrence Lockett: Morgan actually started as a biblical institute, so the Christian traditions have al-ways been here. As a pastor or shepherd, I’m walking students through their questions, not always just trying to preach answers to them. It’s about being vulnerable. I tell them I was in their same position, just trying to figure it out. And it’s not me just trying to give them answers. 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