MARIONVILLE – Brad Weaver isn’t exactly a circuit-riding preacher, but this summer this youth pastor plans to be a prayer warrior on wheels.
Weaver, 31, will stop each night of his coast-to-coast bicycle ride and hold a prayer meeting in a local church.
The goal of the ride is to encourage Christians to tap into the power of prayer. His ride begins Memorial Day weekend from Nags Head, N.C., where Weaver will dip one of his bike tires in the Atlantic Ocean and will finish in late July in Huntington Beach, Calif., where Weaver will dip his bike tire in the Pacific Ocean.
“If we are going to change our country, prayer is going to have to be a major tool,” Weaver said.
Weaver is a youth pastor at Freedom Baptist Fellowship in Brewster, Ohio, where his father-in-law, Rev. Dale Calloway, serves as pastor.
Last summer while relaxing during his family’s annual vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the idea for Praying Across America was born. Weaver said he felt convicted about the need to improve his own prayer life after reading a book titled The Power of Prayer by R.A. Torrey, an American pastor and evangelist during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
“People ride to raise awareness for certain causes. I thought, ‘What better thing to do than raise awareness for prayer,’” he said.
The prayer meetings will consist of 20 minutes of prayer for national concerns and 20 minutes of prayer for the individual needs in each congregation. Weaver already has several meetings scheduled, including a June 17 speaking engagement at Shiloh Baptist Church in Marionville, the church he attended while visiting family in the Ozarks.
Besides prayer meetings, Weaver will be sharing his faith and handing out cards encouraging others to seek a relationship with Jesus Christ. Weaver has been praying fervently about the ride and God has already answered several prayers. One of the first answers came from his boss, who agreed to pay Weaver’s salary for two months while he is pedaling across the country. Weaver admits he didn’t expect him to be so gracious. He was hoping not to lose any vacation time or seniority.
“One of the biggest things I learned was don’t pray too small,” Weaver said.
A member of Weaver’s church recently stepped forward and offered to build a website to promote the ride. In addition to the website, the store that Weaver believes God directed him to while shopping for a new Bike, Raber’s Bike Shop near Millersburg, Ohio is donating supplies for the trip. After going to Raber’s to be fitted for a bike, a chiropractor offered to give Weaver free chiropractic care before the ride.
“God has blessed me so greatly. I have nothing to complain about,” Weaver said.
Weaver’s goal is to raise $6,000 for the trip which is about $100 a day for food and supplies such as gasoline for the support vehicle that will be accompanying him. Weaver is about halfway to his goal and is convinced that God will supply the rest. Weaver plans to spend his nights in churches to keep lodging costs down.
“It’s bike, bike, bike … I’m going to be riding 80 miles a day, five days a week,” Weaver said.
You can contact Weaver, chart the progress of Weaver’s trip, donate to his cause and follow his travel schedule by visiting prayingacrossamerica.org or the Praying Across America Facebook page.