JEFFERSON CITY – The 9th annual Prayer Service for State Government Leaders will be held here Jan. 9 at Concord Baptist Church.
Bill Vail, pastor, First Baptist Church, Poplar Bluff, will be the speaker. Vail is a longtime Missouri Baptist pastor who has served on the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Organizational Study Committee as well as on the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) level with the Executive Committee.
The event brings together Missouri government leaders and citizens for a time of worship and prayer for the new legislative year. The governor along with many members of the Missouri General Assembly, the Missouri Supreme Court, and their families and staffs are expected to attend.
One of the undergirding principles of the prayer service, which is sponsored by The Pathway, the Christian Life Commission, and the host church, has been that Christians have a responsibility to be good citizens of the state.
At the 2012 service Gov. Jay Nixon said it was good for him to be the recipient of prayer.
“As we look ahead to this new legislative session, I can tell you that the prayerful support of Missourians is not only something we want, but something we need,” he said. “This service highlights how all of us need God’s guidance in making the decisions that affect our state, and I very much appreciate the prayers that are being lifted up.”