Kentucky teens seek to make Christ
known by ‘prayer-cleaning’ stadium

Teenagers put faith in action at Ky. Horse Park stadium

By Drew Nichter
News Director

Lexington—After half a day of worship, prayer and music, it was time to get to work.

The more than 300 teenage girls and adult leaders gathered for the annual Exalt conference April 16-17 learned a little something about putting their faith into action by volunteering at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

The teens spent part of Saturday afternoon wiping down seats at the park’s new outdoor stadium. Their work helped park officials prepare for the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, which was held last weekend.

But the girls’ efforts were not entirely about cleanliness.

“We encourage them to pray for all the spectators that are coming and all the different people here for the World Equestrian Games,” said LaRaine Rice, Kentucky WMU youth/college consultant who coordinated the outing.

As the teens wiped down each of the stadium’s 7,300 permanent seats, they also prayed over the seats and the numerous people who will sit in them between now and the close of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park Sept. 25-Oct. 10. It is the first time the event—held every four years—will take place outside of Europe. An estimated 600,000 people are expected to attend the games, making it the largest sporting event ever held in the United States.

The fact that many of those people may not know Jesus Christ or have even heard His name was on the girls’ minds.

“These people who have no idea what Christianity is about, we’re praying for them, to just help bring them closer to God,” said Debbie Ferguson, 14, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington.

National Acteens panelist Brandie Hagerman, 17, a member of Living Faith Baptist Church in Hartford, agreed.

“You can only hope that somebody might be sitting in that seat and something will change their life and they’ll get saved,” she said.

Although the work may seem small, the “prayer-cleaning” could have an eternal impact, Hagerman said. “You’ve got to know that God will be here and He will do something miraculous.”

The Exalt volunteers were the first to represent Affiliated International Ministries, an ecumenical group of churches and other organizations coordinating a variety ministries around the World Equestrian Games.

Rice, who is the volunteer coordinator for AIM, had all of the participants wear AIM’s official “More Than Gold” T-shirts that will be worn by AIM volunteers during the games.

The More Than Gold theme, used by ministry volunteers at the past few Summer and Winter Olympic Games, has been adapted for the horse show crowd. The five-color horseshoe logo provides a means for volunteers to easily share Christ.

Currently, AIM is enlisting volunteers for the number of events it will be participating in or hosting. The volunteer application form can be found online at www.aimky.org.

According to AIM director Larry Martin, many of the equine-themed events where volunteers will be needed all will take place outside of the Kentucky Horse Park.

For those who wish to volunteer inside the park during the games, they must sign up as an official World Equestrian Games volunteer. That can be done at www.AlltechFEIGames.com/Volunteer.

AIM’s new office space even has provided a perfect spot for volunteers to pray over the park’s 1,224 acres.

Martin said the AIM office now is located at Cane Run Baptist Church, which sits directly across the street from the entrance to the Kentucky Horse Park.

“From the Cane Run parking lot, you can look across and see the outdoor stadium easily,” he noted, adding that the park’s two indoor arenas also are visible, providing a perfect opportunity to pray for the games and the hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Western Recorder issue date: April 27, 2010