Prayer Booths Set Up Near 9/11 Memorial to Turn New York Back to God
A group of evangelical Christians have been offering prayers to passers-by in front of St. Paul's Chapel close to the 9/11 memorial site in New York City recently.
Young Korean-American volunteers from the International Calvary Church, Virginia, have gathered in New York to work with a New York-based missionary evangelist, Rev. Don Geraci. Wearing bright red t-shirts with signs saying: "Prayer changes things," they invited people from the streets of New York to pray in a specially set up prayer station booth promoted by Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
The place chosen for the prayer station has meaning, according to Rev. Don. He says that in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy many people turned to God for comfort and strength, but as time passed more and more people have stopped turning to God with the same passion.
Rev. Don referred to September 11, 2001, when the two skyscrapers of the World Trade Center were destroyed by airplanes hijacked by Al-Qaida terrorists. The attack resulted in more than 2,700 deaths.
"After the 9/11 tragedy happened, people turned to God but shortly afterwards they didn't turn to Him anymore. I feel in America, people are turning back to God. (…) Many things are happening now in the economy and just recently the Colorado tragedy also happened," Rev. Don told The Christian Post.
The missionary evangelist added they "want to offer an opportunity of prayer for people to know they can turn to God. That He can listen and answer their prayers."
According to YWAM founder, Nick Savoca, on the organization's website, the prayer stations are "undoubtedly an extremely effective evangelistic tool. They give people opportunities to connect with other people in a non-confrontational way, to exchange names and a smile, a brief word of prayer whether the person is a Christian or not."
