As we continue to pray for our communities in different ways, this month, we want to focus on praying for our schools. On Sunday mornings, if you join us in person, we encourage you to pick up one of the orange "Pray For" cards. Those will have a school listed, and we encourage you to intentionally pray for that school all month long. If you join us online, we encourage you to pick a school in your community and pray for them.

WAYS TO PRAY FOR OUR SCHOOLS:

Pray for the administrative leadership of that school. Pray for the principal, secretaries, assistants, and other administration, and that God would guide them as they guide the school and all those who work and attend there.
Pray for the teachers. Pray for their protection, safety, and leadership of each and every student who walks in their door.
Pray for the students. Pray that they seek God's path for them, and that they can either be a light among their students, or if they are not believers, that they would see God through their classmates and leaders.
Pray for the families. From the families of the leaders, to the families of the students, pray for their support, guidance, and safety throughout the school year as well.

With the upcoming election, we want to pray for our national leaders, regardless of their/our political affiliation. Would you join us in praying for our current national, state, and local leaders, as well as those who are nominated for those positions?

LOCAL LEADERS AND CANDIDATES

Because local ballots are so varied on who you are able to vote for, even within a city, we want to give you a few links to view the local leaders and candidates you can pray for.
To view your current local leaders, visit this page. Type your address into the box on the upper right. Once the next screen comes up, you'll see a green box in the upper right corner of the map that says "Federal." Click that box and select from federal, state, county, township, municipal, and school. There, you can view the current leaders in each of those counties for your area.
To view your local candidates for this year's election, visit this page. Type in your information (if you don't know your precinct, you can find a precinct map here), and you'll be able to view your ballot for the upcoming election.

STATE LEADERS AND CANDIDATES

Governor/Lt. Governor: Eric Holcomb/Suzanne Crouch (C), Mike Braun/Micah Beckwith, Jennifer McCormick/Terry Goodin, Donald Rainwater/Tonya Hudson
Attorney General: Todd Rokita (C), Destiny Wells
District 59 State Rep.: Ryan Lauer, Ross Thomas
District 69 State Rep.: Jim Lucas, Trish Whitcomb
District 73 State Rep.: Jennifer Meltzer, Hollie Payton

FEDERAL LEADERS AND CANDIDATES

President: Joe Biden (C), Kamala Harris, Donald Trump
Vice President: Kamala Harris (C), JD Vance, Tim Walz
US Senate: Mike Braun (C), Todd Young (C), Jim Banks, Andrew Horning, Valerie McCray
State Representatives: Erin Houchin (C), Greg Pence (C),Russell Brooksbank, Timothy Peck, James Michael Sceniak, Jefferson Shreve, Cynthia Wirth

Check out the video below for how to navigate the prayer walk, and pray for and through Reach More. If you're not in the Columbus area, you can still pray through the prompts below, regardless of where you are.

Pray for 100% of our church to participate in Reach More. Ask God how he wants you to to engage, and pray for God to prompt other Ridgers as they consider it, too.
Pray for all the people who will be impacted by Ridge Counseling Services (counselors, those receiving counseling, etc.), and ask God to use it to make an impact on the mental health needs in Bartholomew and Decatur County.
Pray for God to reach more people, and for wisdom on how best to reach Decatur County for Christ through a multisite location.
Pray for people who step foot in our building to have a positive experience, and pray that as people who don't have a church home engage in non-Ridge events they feel welcomed and more open to an invitation to church. Also pray for opportunities to give back to our community through our facility.
Pray for your specific community: family, coworkers, spouse, neighbors, yourself, etc.
Pray for your job, school, worries, hopes, etc., Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He's doing in your life.
Take time to walk and listen to God.

THE CROSS

Kids: While the grown ups are doing this activity, grab some chalk and get creative! Share your favorite Bible verse, or draw a picture on the blacktop to show the world how much you love Jesus.
Colossians 2:13-14 - You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Pick up the nail from the box. As you hold it in your hand, this nail represents your sin, the worst thing you have ever done. Whatever it is, God is aware of it. It matters to him, and he loves you anyway. This is the truth: if you have surrendered your life to Jesus and follow him, your sin is nailed to the cross.
There is not one thing you can do to make Jesus love you more, and there is not one sin you can commit that can make Jesus love you less. He knows you, and loves you, and forgives you. That sin and all the shame that comes with it gets nailed up on the cross with Jesus. And because of the cross, that nail in your hand is no longer a symbol of the worst thing you’ve ever done, but now it’s a symbol of the greatest thing that could ever have been done on your behalf. Because of this, we can leave those sins nailed to the cross.
Take a moment to hammer this nail in the cross as a reminder of the forgiveness and love of Jesus.
Now pray for God to use Reach More to help everyone in our communities know the life changing love of Jesus.
Once you've done the prayer walk and put a nail in the cross, you're invited to participate again as many times as you like. Feel free to also follow these prompts at home, and pray in these specific ways at any time, in any place. If you would like for us to pray for you, you can also click the link on this page.

HOW CAN WE PRAY FOR YOU? WHAT IS "REACH MORE"?