Latest / WashCo Insider / Bill Burns & Pat O'Brien
Transcript
- speaker-0: Welcome back to the Washco Insider. Today we're talking about an event that's bringing churches, ministries, and community organizations from across Washington County and beyond together for an afternoon of food, fellowship, service, prayer, and worship. The Washington County Prayer Gathering is happening September 13th at the Washington County Fairgrounds with a vision of bringing our community together in a really unique way. Joining me today are Pat O'Brien, president of Men of Honor Ministries. And Bill Burns, Executive Director of Neighbor to Neighbor, two organizations playing a huge role in making this event happen. Pat and Bill, when we come back. Gentlemen, thanks so much for joining me today. It's good to see you. We do see each other quite a bit. Bill, if you would, I'd I'd like to start off and kind of set the stage. tell us about neighbor to neighbor. I think the work that you guys do should be well known across Washington County and beyond, but I really want to start there and and let people hear the great work that you're doing in our community. speaker-1: ⁓ Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah, well Chase, thank you. And and the Washington Co Insider here. It's a pleasure to be sitting at this table and share ⁓ with my friend Pat and Men of Honor Ministries ⁓ about the Washington County Prayer Gathering. So I really appreciate the opportunity and and more than anything, ⁓ as a local boy, you know, born and raised in Washington, went to Trinity, went to WJ, and my wife Amy and I live in Candysburg. ⁓ our heart is for the area, it has been. And we firmly believe, you know, that we have been established here for this time. ⁓ and as you all will get to hear, there's a lot of unfolding in all of our lives and I think in the wise. So neighbor to neighbor, long story short, ⁓ essentially we are just a a grassroots community outreach organization. When we started this, I I personally had been involved in outreach ministry. ⁓ I've been very fortunate in life to have mentors ahead of me and behind me ⁓ that have just been so influential in in just great role models ⁓ for how to do things the right way. And what I mean by that, ⁓ there's a couple that I I have to give my hats off to, Gary and Amanda Brocker run an organization called the Pittsburgh Dream Center out of Allegheny County. And they had started the ministry back there somewhere around twenty thirteen. ⁓ and by happenstance I crossed past the volunteer group of theirs that was going out with them the first night. ⁓ and little did they know, I was searching in my heart for an opportunity to serve and that opportunity came literally knocking on my door. So with that said, I decided to be ⁓ anything that I could ⁓ to help them and support them so that I could learn and watch ⁓ genuinely what it looked like to love other people ⁓ better than myself. And so with that said, ⁓ after a number of years serving with them, I became the team leader for them for about five years on the south side of Pittsburgh. I ran up and down Carson Street from 12 AM to 2 a.m. on Sundays into Mondays ⁓ Monday mornings ministering to homeless people. We were looking for the worst case scenarios. We would load backpacks with the immediate like hygienic supplies ⁓ immediate resources. Because at that time of the year, especially going into the wintertime, if you're not in the shelter network by after a certain time period, you're outside. ⁓ so I watched them, learn from them, and eventually life took a twist for them in a different direction and put me in a leadership role that I God obviously felt I was prepared for. So after a number of years I was dragging friends of mine from Washington County to go to Allegheny County and serve with the Dream Center. ⁓ so that had gotten, you know, local servant-minded individuals from all different denominations and churches and ⁓ different belief systems with that. ⁓ at the end of the day we we went up there and one night on the way home, ⁓ Pastors Lance and Debbie Whitlock were we got connected and they were riding with me in the van and one night on the way home they said, why don't we do this where we live at? And the question had just never been posed. We've been up this for a better part of a decade. ⁓ So we decided to gather at the Harmony Life Cafe at the time. ⁓ on a Tuesday, I think it was in February 2018, and talk about what street outreach would look like in the city of Washington. ⁓ so that was the genesis of neighbor to neighbor. And then from that point, the backstory behind that part of it ⁓ ended up ⁓ looking for the population and hence our partner, the City Mission, who's involved ⁓ with this incredible day ⁓ that's been laid at our feet, ⁓ does a tremendous job. you know, personal feelings, opinions aside. From my own experience being outside in the community and the population, they do a wonderful job because there's not that many folks that are not housed. They're there, trust me, they're there. ⁓ but when you take a group of servant minded people that are used to working in Allegheny County and all of a sudden you're looking in Washington County and you come across twelve to fifteen, you could do that in ten minutes up there. So we started looking for a population to serve. And ⁓ as life would have it, I was actually ⁓ grew up in one of the subsidized housing properties here in Washington County with my mom and my younger brother. so we were looking for a general population of people ⁓ with a significant need ⁓ and a high concentration that we could affect the most and be most efficient with it. So I went right back to the apartments where I grew up. And for that first year we went back and served that community with our first coat distribution, which we'll talk a little bit more about later. ⁓ and from that point word got out amongst the property managers at the housing authority. So we went from one housing project to two to four to six to eight to ten. So currently monthly ⁓ between Washington and Green County, we operate in thirteen housing projects. ⁓ the low income thing I don't like labels. If you haven't learned that about me, that's one thing I try to avoid. ⁓ but for the sake of conversation, communities are have a need. ⁓ but we operate monthly and inside that thing. So this past year we've expanded our reach due to generosity. ⁓ We are an official 501c3 faith-based. We incorporated in 21. I am the executive director, but we how have ⁓ expansion into will be this for the first time this year, we're we're been in Washington, Green, Beaver, Fayette, Butler, and Allegheny County. So what started here in Washington is expand regionally, so hence the neighborhood neighbor of southwestern Pennsylvania. So that's the nuts and bolts of of what you're looking at from where I sit. speaker-0: Well, I I think you hit my radar and I met you ⁓ last year when you were honored at the ⁓ Washington County prayer breakfast. And one of the things that I learned about you is that ⁓ your organization will ⁓ essentially rent an entire ⁓ laundry shop and open it. Tell us just a little bit about that. speaker-2: Yes. Awesome. It was there's a wonderful backstory to almost everything that we do. Everything that we do, there's a real life thing that has led to an an a a visual awareness of a need. ⁓ unfortunately I was in between jobs and some different life situations, and I was at a laundromat. And it was the very first place I can honestly say where I felt led to pray for someone publicly. And I had never done that before. And it was such a compulsion. I have twenty five years of sales and marketing background. I'll talk to anybody. But that moment that day, me and this individual in this laundromat, I I literally ended up hiding Pat in the back of the laundromat for 45 minutes because I was scared to death to do what God was asking me to do. And for no reason, it just it was just me tripping myself up. So through that, ⁓ there was an incredible experience with that gentleman that day. But over time, I started looking for opportunities when I would hear that little tug on my heart to share with people. And but in the midst of it, looking for not just the spiritual aspect, you're looking for a practical aspect as well. We've learned that a lot of the times people don't care what you have to think spiritually until they until they know that you really care about And there's really only one way that you can do that. It's by serving them and being consistent and being truthful and honest and loving. ⁓ and then that softens up the heart to be able to have those real conversations. So go back to the laundromat. There we are, the first time I'd ever talked to someone about my faith in that capacity. ⁓ But I was sitting there one time, and I know it was costing me probably forty, fifty bucks just to do my own laundry at the time. And a mom walked in with her three kids and they had five fifty-five gallon bags of clothes. So I, again, through the outreach and community and network, you're looking at almost a couple hundred dollars for that family just to wash their clothes. And I firmly believe, you know, from how I grew up in subsidized housing and those different things and and feeling a little different, ⁓ self-worth, dignity, ⁓ not even. Pride, you know, just being able to carry yourself and not smell different than other people or look different than other people ⁓ tends to go a long way for a person ⁓ and being able to offer that to people. So we decided to go into the laundromat. So once a quarter, no pun intended, ⁓ we operate. ⁓ this past year we do ⁓ once every three or four months, we'll commandeer the laundromat, as you said, for four hours. Anybody walking in, no questions asked, no registration, no sign-up, we'll cover the cost of your laundry. And after we put the quarters in the clothes and the wash, and then the conversations start. And then as Pat would share with you, you know, for our relationship and our friendship, to me it's always about the invitation. You know, we're there for a purpose. We want to serve you that day, we want to love on you, do the best we can. But the hope is that there's always something out ahead to give you to look forward to, us to look forward to, so I have another opportunity to get to know you and serve your family again. And hopefully that has caught on. And that's ultimately, I believe, what's led me to this seat with you guys, is just a genuine love. And I and I have to say this, ⁓ that's not something internal, that didn't come from me. ⁓ if you know me, we we laugh all the time. I'm I'm quite the wretch. If you if you if you if you strung me down and looked at it. but i I hope that my life is a reflection of the change that has occurred inside of my heart, and that's again through Jesus Christ. speaker-0: Well, I think when some people retire from their jobs, they slow down. Maybe most people. But for Pat O'Brien, he has sped up. And maybe maybe he was running a marathon before, but he's running a sprint. And Pat, you've retired this year. You've ⁓ kind of taken the helm of men of honor ministries. You run your own ministry. Can you tell us a little bit about the the background of Men of Honor and also the ministry that you run in your own hometown? speaker-1: ⁓ yeah. Well Chase, first of all, thank you ⁓ for having me. Bill's Great to be with you as well to to tell a number of different stories. But Men of Honor Ministries, I'd love to talk about that a little bit first ⁓ and need to give ⁓ appropriate honor, ⁓ Men of Honor to a man of honor ⁓ by the name of Paul Powers. And ⁓ Paul was a very ⁓ important friend to me and and spiritual minister to me for many years, ⁓ but particularly in these last ⁓ six or seven, ⁓ before he passed away in 2024, he just poured into me. And ⁓ he poured into me ⁓ what was behind Men of Honor Ministries, which he founded ⁓ Chase and Bill fifteen years ago, give or take. And it was focused initially around just bringing men together ⁓ once a week ⁓ to pray for the city of Washington. ⁓ but ⁓ the Lord ⁓ Paul was always in in in in ⁓ wanting to serve the Lord and wanting to just raise people up in their walk with the Lord. ⁓ he knew quickly that it wasn't just about praying for the city of Washington. It was about helping those men in their walk as Christians. And everybody has a challenge in their walk as a Christian. Paul's heart for his entire life ⁓ of ministry was to help men walk that path ⁓ of ⁓ of faith in in a better way, in a more obedient way, in a narrower way, quite frankly. And ⁓ so ⁓ as men of honor began to meet on a regular basis fifteen years ago under Paul's leadership, it quickly came into focus that it was about ⁓ us coming together as men, as Christian men, desiring to walk that path better. And he would he would mentor us, he would coach us, ⁓ he would bring scripture out to us, he would preach to us to help us walk that path better as husbands, as fathers, as grandfathers. ⁓ as employees, as employers, ⁓ whatever our walk is as a Christian man, ⁓ Paul wanted us to ⁓ walk in that way better, closer with the Lord, ⁓ closer in line with his word and how he wants us to live. So that families were blessed through that and relationships were blessed through that. Companies, communities were blessed through the men walking that path better. So that's what men of honor about, ⁓ Men of Honor is all about. We meet once a week ⁓ 7 a.m. at the Harmony House Cafe on ⁓ North Main Street. And ⁓ we just spend time in the Word of God. ⁓ we pray together ⁓ for special intentions and bigger needs and praises and joys. and and ⁓ we're in the Word of God. And then one of our members gives a a message each week. And it it's about walking that path better. ⁓ so our our ⁓ scriptural ⁓ foundation our foundational scripture is iron sharpens iron. We're together every week ⁓ to sharpen each other's iron. speaker-0: I think that Men of Honor is has become synonymous with the Washington County Prayer Breakfast, which I got to attend ⁓ this past year. So ⁓ the prayer breakfast was twenty speaker-1: Twenty years? Twenty eight. Twenty eight years. Yes. Yes. speaker-0: And and what we're talking about here on September thirteenth. Talk a little bit about maybe why it was time to rethink the breakfast and and where that that vision has come from to grow this event. speaker-1: ⁓ the vision isn't dramatically different than before in that Paul's desire in putting together the Washington County Prayer Breakfast ⁓ was to bring people together, both people of faith and people that were seeking the truth of the gospel, and ⁓ bring people together in fellowship around great food, great worship music, and a message and an invitation to faith. And Paul continued to ⁓ invest in that. It it grew. Hundreds of people over the 28 years attended that and ⁓ learned and grew from it in their faith. ⁓ the vision for this year, though, ⁓ really comes out of the fact that ⁓ there are so many things going on in this country where ⁓ people are seeking truth. There's tremendous division in our country right now, but people know from that that there's something better. and we are convinced that people are desiring the truth of the gospel. And so ⁓ we as we had this vision for the Washington County prayer gathering, it it we we just thought it needed to be bigger. It needed to be in a place, quite frankly, too, that people would be more comfortable to come. If you invite somebody to the four walls of a church, or even to the four walls of a hotel room, which is where the breakfast traditionally was held, sometimes there's hesitation to that. But when you go to the Washington County Fairgrounds, it's open air. People are comfortable going there. They've been going there for years. So speaker-0: Co required. speaker-1: Exactly. No tie, no coat, ⁓ shorts and a T shirt are fine. Come as you are is the Washington County fairgrounds. And so ⁓ we our vision went out there first because we knew more people would come to that environment and the Lord just kept on ⁓ adding to it ⁓ so that it's grown to the point ⁓ of ⁓ of where it is now, which I know we're gonna be able to talk more about. speaker-0: Yeah, and we're talking about September twenty twenty six. I think we started talking about this in maybe December twenty twenty four. speaker-1: Yeah. It's it's almost a two year ⁓ conversation. speaker-0: And I I know, you know, the original thought was, hey, can we pull this off for twenty twenty five? And it was gonna be tough, right? We wanted to build it big and w we wanted it to be right. And ⁓ you know, I'm excited that we did take that time to to really put a group together. Can you talk a little bit about some of the different organizations that have come together to kind of help lead the the building of this event? speaker-1: I sure can, yeah. And and Chase, it goes right back over to you for a moment. And I want to thank you for ⁓ getting together with me in 2024 and John Switek and and and taking this this vision ⁓ that we were having and helping to form it up in a way that ⁓ did start to make sense. ⁓ and it wasn't long ⁓ after those initial meetings in 2024 that it it made sense that if we were gonna draw the churches of Washington County. And draw other people of Washington County to come together for this large event that we needed ⁓ partners at the table that could touch those churches and had great relationships with those churches. And it so happened in the at the Washington County prayer breakfast of 2025. ⁓ we honored Bill Burns and neighbor to neighbor ⁓ with the Love God, Love Your Community Award. And so I really got to know what his organization was about. Hmm. He's touching how many churches Bill on an annual basis. ⁓ I don't know, hundreds of churches possibly. Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. ⁓ City Mission as well is a significant partner of ours. And we know that the City Mission is doing this great work with the homeless population and the population that that struggles with addictions and so on. And we know they also had a tremendous connection with the church community. And so ⁓ neighbor to neighbor, City Mission. speaker-2: We've lost track. speaker-1: Washington County Tourism, because Chase, we knew you would help us tell the story as well as anybody could. And then ⁓ I also have a great relationship with Word FM in Pittsburgh, and it is the Christian radio station of southwestern Pennsylvania. And so they were just a natural partner for us to team up with as well. So ⁓ those five partners ⁓ began to come together in 2025, ⁓ started praying about it, ⁓ most importantly. ⁓ started planning and ⁓ that's how the group came together to put this event together. speaker-0: Now in case we forget to mention this in the future, this event is 100% free. This is a free event. When you create an event, you have to raise a lot of dollars to be able to operate said event. And so, Pat, can you talk about ⁓ the role that City Mission and and how ⁓ any net proceeds are going to go back to them and then maybe talk a little bit more about the work that they're doing in in Washington. speaker-1: ⁓ I I I'd be happy to, yes. ⁓ a and ⁓ just to tag on to what Chase said, we've had trem a tremendous outpouring of generosity to bring this event together. Again, we're gonna feed five thousand people that day free of charge. And ⁓ that's ⁓ a daunting ⁓ number in and of itself. ⁓ but the generosity that's come out to make this happen is unbelievable. ⁓ and we know that ⁓ we already have ⁓ sufficient funds to pay for our expenses, and we've said from the beginning That we want any excess proceeds ⁓ from this event to go to City Mission and to bless them for the great work with ⁓ and to compliment all the great work that they're doing at the City Mission. So when we end this event, Chase and Bill, not one cent in the bank. We're gonna we're gonna ⁓ push it all over to the City Mission. The City Mission, ⁓ my ⁓ the work that they've been doing for eighty-five years now in Washington County is unbelievable. A hundred and fifty beds at least for homeless men. Twenty-two beds for homeless veterans, ⁓ which just tugs at all of our hearts to think of any of our v our of our veterans who have served our country to be on the street. ⁓ but there's a twenty-two-bed facility for that for the veterans. And most exciting, just in this last year and a half, ⁓ the City Mission has ⁓ completed and opened ⁓ a shelter for women. ⁓ homeless women in our country and in our area, it's the fastest segment growing of the homeless population. Homeless women and homeless women with children. Talk about tugging on somebody's heart to think that that that ⁓ a a mother and kids are sleeping in a van or sleeping on a couch somewhere. City Mission took that challenge on head on, and they built a fifty bed facility for homeless women and homeless women with children. It's open now. And ⁓ the the waiting list, which was typically about fifty women at any given time, that need has been met. And and so they're the i and I g I I guess I gotta talk about success rate for a moment as well. When you compare City Mission ⁓ and their success in helping people get back to a stable life, ⁓ back into society, a productive role in society, their numbers far exceed the other homeless shelters throughout the entire country. The difference is they do it at at the core of it is that Jesus saves, it's right on the front of the chapel. And ⁓ they approach it from Building someone up in their faith in Jesus Christ, ⁓ they they minister to them, they love them, they take care of their medical needs, they take care of ⁓ the their identification needs, they take care of job training for them. So those people, when they get through that program and they get over the challenge they were having emotionally or from an addiction perspective, they're they're ready to get back into in into society. And the success rates speak for themselves. speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Bill, why do you believe Washington County needs this event at this time? speaker-2: I ⁓ as Pat had mentioned earlier, th there's there's a hunger for truth. whether it's in the boardroom or at the soup kitchen. ⁓ that pe people it's so hard to to to filter through what is and what isn't. People start to lose their identities and and ultimately unfortunately start to lose hope. And being able to be on the ground and and work with tremendous organizations and and go face to face with our community, ⁓ we've been tilling that soil for quite a while. And it's not that there's never an end. You know, Jesus says in his word that the poor you'll have with you always. And sometimes we fall into that trap where we believe if we go into a community and we completely wipe out every need, whether it's physical, emotional, spiritual, whatever that is, that the work is done. And unfortunately it's quite the opposite. There's gonna be another batch that'll come behind there. So what you have to do is kind of plant your heart and your mind to that mindset that there's always gonna be somebody that needs you. And with that said, while you guys were in midst of conversation in twenty twenty four, ⁓ nothing, no offense to our friends at Word FM, but Caleb Radio had reached out. ⁓ to us back in May of last year ⁓ via rand via random phone call on a like a Tuesday afternoon. Pittsburgh had been picked as one of their nine cities nationwide for the Unite the City event. I had never heard of a Unite the City event. ⁓ and truthfully with the number coming from a foreign area, I did like most people did, I just bounced it to voicemail and I thought I'll deal with that later. ⁓ but as listening to it quickly prompted me to a return phone call, if you can imagine. And here they had found a message board ⁓ post about one of our little outreach events. ⁓ as they were coming through it, they vetted it and found it and they'd picked Pittsburgh. Now little did they know when they select neighbor to neighbor, actually as their host organization that we were housed in Washington County. And if you can imagine having tentacles in Allegheny County, I was getting tugged in a lot of different directions. ⁓ but I firmly believe that God chose us. ⁓ so that day we went to I think it was one fifty West Bow Street down there at the Blue Prince building, at the Plaza building down there, knocked on the door and Trena, a friend and a and a partner of ours at Blue Prince was welcome to the idea of allowing us to use that parking lot. So on that day, well you guys were little did I know, working towards this event, which I found out shortly after, ⁓ we had invited 30 churches to participate that day and twenty-seven of them actually showed up. And the only three only didn't show up because of scheduling conflicts. So we invited our friends at the mission through working in relationship. They come down, so they fed, I believe, over a thousand hut dogs. So just our community, thousand people come down and got lunch that day. ⁓ we had some wonderful generosity provided to us. A local business helped us fund a boot and a coat drive specifically for residents in Washington. So within a five hour window, we filled that area down there right across from the shop and save, the Doritza shop and save, right across in the parking lot. ⁓ we had five different unique testimonies. Each testimony that was offered that day was the first time each of those individuals had ever told their story about how God had restored their life. ⁓ in the midst of that, we were singing over top of the crowd, we were praying with them. The idea, and for the first time in my lifetime. I'm not saying it hasn't happened or couldn't happen or wouldn't happen again. ⁓ obviously that's not the case, but we really feel like the foundation was being laid for the physical event that we're gonna see come to fruition here in September. ⁓ so it's made it I wouldn't say easy, dare I say that. ⁓ but it's given us a boldness and a confidence to go knocking on doors which traditionally others would not knock on and invite them to come to this table that's been laid before us. So now's the time. speaker-0: Speaking of knocking on doors, so this is a nondenominational event. We've reached out to three hundred churches, and it would have been more if we could have fi found more addresses. ⁓ but let's let's get into the event. So September thirteenth, right? Pat can I give you the honor of walking us through the first portion and and just to set the stage, right? So the doors are gonna open at noon. and the event is kind of split into two di distinct pieces. So We call it just because it's easy for us to communicate to communicate. The time to eat and the time to pray and worship. So Pat, I'm showing up at noon, kind of walk me through that first portion of the event at the Washington County what? speaker-1: Prayer grounds. And could I tell you that story real quick, Chase? the Washington County Fair Board of Directors ⁓ recently voted ⁓ to call the Washington County Fairgrounds the Washington County Fair prayer grounds. ⁓ and that is ⁓ not only for September thirteenth, two thousand and twenty-six, it's for the second Sunday of every September from now into perpetuity until the Lord comes back. And ⁓ that's very exciting. And I and I have to tag on to that too. The Washington County commissioners just last week voted to make September thirteenth, two thousand twenty six the Washington County Day of Prayer. ⁓ so ⁓ we have a lot of momentum within the leadership of Washington County ⁓ for this day to come about. And it it's gonna be the largest church barbecue ever. ⁓ and we've been labeling it that from the start. And ⁓ it may be the largest, at least in Washington County, because I'm not familiar with any church barbecue that's fed five thousand people before. But as Chase said, ⁓ we've invited every church in the county to come out. and and to be part of this event that day. We're inviting the entire community to come out that day. And ⁓ we're we're preparing for five thousand. the more I see the Lord work here, I think it may be more. ⁓ we'll see, ⁓ but we'll be prepared f if that happens as well. But as people arrive, Chase, ⁓ they'll ⁓ park out in the in the large parking lot at the fair and come in that main ⁓ that main gateway across the trolley tracks and ⁓ Bill has done a tremendous job of working ⁓ to get ⁓ the h the hallway of prayer, the hall of prayer designed. Bill do you wanna just talk about that hall of prayer for a moment? speaker-2: Yeah, our friends ⁓ Charity Richards at the fairgrounds was kind enough to walk us through what it might look like and and if you can imagine bringing that many people in at one time. You know, it's not spread out throughout an entire day, it's an abbreviated time period. ⁓ but that was this nice central point. So where we're all familiar with when you go to the fairgrounds, the picnic table area in between the two buildings, between number two and number four. We're used to walking in there and seeing all the food, you know, from Frank ⁓ Frank and his stuff and and our friends at the Springhouse and so many others that bless that thing. So you come to that's a gathering place naturally. Well, that morning the picnic tables are gonna come out and ⁓ tastefully, respectfully, subtly, we wanna we've we believe that we've been given an opportunity to invite a spirit of of what the hope is for the day of prayer. ⁓ so we're calling it the hall of prayer. You'll walk through, there'll be banners with just subtle reminders of God's goodness surrounding you. There will be teams there to walk in and just greet you. This is not a ⁓ a ⁓ pushy event, it's nothing like that. We just want to guide you through the day. And ultimately there's three different areas where we have a chance to eat, which will take us into the flow of the afternoon. ⁓ but as they walk in, ⁓ the idea is to greet you with love and dignity and respect and say you're welcome here. ⁓ and each of us, each, every single one of us will walk into that place that day with a different need that we can petition God for. And that's the idea behind the prayer gap. speaker-1: Can I talk about an aroma for a moment? And ⁓ w when people come together in prayer, it it's a sweet aroma to our Lord. And ⁓ we're gonna have some ⁓ physical aroma that day too, because ⁓ when I talk about the largest church barbecue ever, ⁓ Chase and Bill, ⁓ we're gonna have a huge grill there that day. ⁓ and our friends at Range Resources are donating their hu huge grill to us that day. I know that's eight, nine foot long grill, man, it's powerful. And we're gonna be grilling ⁓ brisket, we're gonna be grilling grilling chicken, we're gonna be grilling lamb. And you want to talk about a sweet aroma for everybody walking down ⁓ that ⁓ hall of prayer, it's just gonna just gonna pull them in in in such a wonderful way and just gonna have that great aroma of a of a barbecue going. And as Bill said, people will sit down and eat. And if you can picture the dollar bank show tent, ⁓ we're gonna have this great local worship music going on. We have three local groups that are going to be playing for us there. We're gonna have testimony going on at the at the show tent. ⁓ Bill has worked with a lot of local organizations ⁓ to to come out and interact with the the the our guests as well. Bill why don't you talk about those guests for a moment. speaker-2: Yeah, we we've ⁓ again as this has unfolded. ⁓ I think what if we we started with the vision that you guys had brought to the table and then obviously God had a different plan. And his ways are not our ways, and we're thankful for that. ⁓ but again through partnership, ⁓ relationship, ⁓ common common, I guess, desire, heart, ⁓ we've been kind enough and fortunate enough to be able to establish relationships. I'm I'm not exaggerating, probably forty to fifty other nonprofit organizations regionally. ⁓ so we've been in a position where again You can't recognize a need until you see it. And going into the community and talking with others and getting to know them, you start to find out internally where the biggest needs are. So we have been intentional ⁓ about organizations that we feel will help meet the needs of the community that will be showing up that day. Our friends at Blueprints will be there, our friends at the SPHS Center of Excellence, Washington County Drug and Alcohol, Washington County Department of Human Services. These are all organizations. ⁓ that have designed to meet specific needs. You know, it goes beyond what we always our our thought is this I can come into your home and I can knock on your door and share with you and tell you how much I love you. And but at the end of the day, just because I walk away, it doesn't mean necessarily that everything you need help with is taken care of. Now we believe that from a spiritual standpoint with Christ, all things are taken care of. He has all of those things, but there is a time where he expects and asks us to do things, and again, through relationship and love, sincerity and truth. We've built relationships with these incredible organizations that their heart desire is to do their mission, the things that they do, and we've invited them to this table. So we've created an area called the Fellowship Village ⁓ where you're gonna be able to go in and explore and talk to again with no pressure, no stigma attached to it. And of course they're invited to eat that day as well. ⁓ but ⁓ fifteen of those organizations have been confirmed are gonna be on site, and we were intentional about the organizations that are there. speaker-0: Pat, let's go back for a minute. I know the answer to this, but I want to ask it because I want to hear it again. Right. So ⁓ when we started we said, we're gonna feed some people. I don't know how many people. We're gonna feed some people, right? Yeah. And and then it became five thousand people. How did we make that jump? When did that happen? speaker-1: My ⁓ it's a great story. the prayer and planning Committee, the leadership committee of the Washington County Prayer Gathering has been meeting in and praying in the upper room, ⁓ which we love the name of that, by the way. There's a lot of biblical reference ⁓ from that perspective. But the upper room is in the table coffee shop on East Chestnut Street in Washington. And every Friday morning for the last couple of months we've been meeting there at 830. ⁓ prior to that, Men of Honor has their normal regular meeting as well. So after we're done, ⁓ several of us come over. ⁓ Grab a cup of coffee at the table and head up the stairs. Two flights of stairs, narrow stairs, I might add as well. And ⁓ one week, ⁓ John Hopper, a wonderful men of man of honor from Men of Honor, came up those steps. Bad knees, bad hips, ⁓ a heart that's been compromised. But he was coming to that meeting to that day because he had a message. And ⁓ We could hear him coming and we were starting to talk a little bit in the meeting and and but we could hear him coming up the steps. He sits down, I mean he's out of breath, God bless him, but he came all the way up and he said, Pat, I got a vision for you. He said, ⁓ Washington County prayer gathering, the feeding of the five thousand. And I don't think he said a another word for the rest of the meeting. speaker-0: No, I think that was at the end of the meeting too. He had sat there quietly and at the very end he said that. speaker-1: Yeah, you're right. It was at the end. And and I I I couldn't get away from it at that point in time. You know, we knew we were probably gonna be feeding a couple thousand people, ⁓ but when he said that, I felt convicted, quite frankly, by the Holy Spirit that that's what we had to do. Obviously there's a wonderful reference to Jesus feeding the five thousand ⁓ in scripture, and it just the Holy Spirit said, Here it is, this is what you're gonna do. speaker-0: It's one thing to think about it, it's another thing to execute on it. And it's nice when you have a guy. We've met a guy through you. I I'd love for you to talk a little bit about Victor Nager and Fire of Coal's ministries and how ⁓ he has made feeding five thousand people possible. speaker-1: Yeah, and I have to give credit ⁓ to our keynote speaker first, Mike McIntosh, ⁓ who will be our keynote speaker at the Washington County prayer gathering. Mike is coming to us from San Diego, California. Mike has had almost fifty years of ministry experience. During his time, he ⁓ planted 150 churches, ⁓ was part of a team that smuggled one million Bibles into China when the regime there was even tougher than it is now. ⁓ and he has a a ⁓ nationwide group called the United States Prayer Force, just an extremely accomplished man. It's gonna bring a great message to us that day. And I came to know him ⁓ through Pastor John Thomas out of ⁓ Calvary Chapel in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. And we're talking, we're sharing the vision, and then he's hears about feeding five thousand. He said, You're gonna do what? ⁓ in Washington County? 'Cause he knows we're we're a little bit rural here. ⁓ and he said, Yeah. And we said, Yes, that's the vision we've been given. And he got a big smile on his face and he said, I think I got somebody that can help you. So ⁓ a couple hours later I get this text. ⁓ call Victor Nager, he's a Chaldean, he'll f teach you how to feed 5,000 people. That's all he sent to me, and Victor's number, of course. So, you know, walking in faith, I I call Victor Nader up, who also is from San Diego, and you want to talk about ⁓ a ball of energy. The guy's 76 years old. And during his ⁓ fifty years of ministry, he has an expertise in coming along big events and creating wonderful food ⁓ to feed a whole bunch of people. And he's been alongside ⁓ some of Mike McIntosh's ⁓ gatherings and crusades. He's worked alongside Franklin Graham's ⁓ some of his crusades as well. He's adept at coming into an area, ⁓ taking a team like us and ⁓ finding ways to g to ⁓ Get the food we need, get the facilities we need, get the volunteers we need to prepare a large amount of great food for a large amount of people. So that's how we kind of got to Victor. He was in back in August. ⁓ Boy, during that time, we fed ⁓ 250 people down at the City Mission. ⁓ we fed the commissioners that day, we fed the residents of City Mission, we had firefighters and policemen and EMTs there, and ⁓ Mississippi to Mesopotamia barbecue that day. And guess what? Just for fun, two days later, we fed three hundred people up at ⁓ Friendship Baptist Church ⁓ and ⁓ the same kind of a menu. ⁓ you guys were both part of those events. And so Victor demonstrated to us what it means to come in and prepare really good food for large amounts of people. speaker-0: That's an understatement. Really good food. ⁓ man. This is not hot dogs and hamburgers. This is really good food. speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ so ⁓ yes, Victor's come in, he's helped us with our vision, helped to mold that. And it's unbelievable the number of people have rallied around that. And so we have a lot of people on the ground here locally that are ⁓ food preparation experts that are coming into partnership ⁓ to help get this done that day. speaker-0: All right, so we're talking about the f this is the first half of the event, right? Great food, testimony, local praise and worship bands, the fellowship village Bill. What is neighbor to neighbor doing in the fellowship village during that first portion? speaker-2: Yeah, we one one of our ⁓ heaviest carries in the fall, ⁓ this was just a natural fit. ⁓ we've been running a program since two thousand and sixteen called Coats for Kids. ⁓ again through the blessing in the community and different organizations and foundations. it's a l ⁓ we like to refer to it as low hanging fruit. It's an easy opportunity to bless families ⁓ as we head out of the fall into the winter season. everything that we do is remote. ⁓ we don't own a building. We actually just got our first ⁓ van to thank the Washington County Community Foundation. Joanne Nazar stuff, our friend down there, say blessed us with a grant this past year, so we got secured our first van. ⁓ so we'll go out in the community and establish basically a clothing store, if you will, of brand new coats for children zero to eighteen years old. And the prayer gathering was just a natural fit. You know, when we step back, ⁓ we're trying not to diminish the intention of the day and why, ⁓ but we want to consider everyone, from our littlest people to our biggest people, or from our youngest to our oldest. ⁓ as they approach and gather. So was just a natural fit to provide an opportunity for families to bless their children as well as the adults and everyone else that's there. So children, zero to eighteen, no registration, no sign up. If I run out of coats, I'll go get you one, we'll find it. ⁓ the kids come out and they can pick out their own brand new coat. ⁓ they're still have the tags on ⁓ We do pop the tags, we suit ⁓ up, we set ⁓ off and off they go. So that hopefully that they're at least reminded. ⁓ you know, there's some s there's some wonderful scripture stories about the father placing garments on his children. And I would encourage you to dig into those a little bit, but it talks about mostly identity and protection. And that's the hope that we have for these kids as they head into the winter season. So that's gonna be going on during that time period from one to twelve or one to two PM, sorry. speaker-0: Bring your kids. Kids must be present, right? No questions asked. Any child. Mm-hmm. All right, let's move on to that second portion, right? So what blows? speaker-2: Yep, that's the only caveat. speaker-1: ⁓ the shofar. Right. ⁓ the shofar is ⁓ an old testament instrument ⁓ made from a ram's horn, ⁓ a sheep's ram's horn. And if you read about the trumpets in the Bible, ⁓ the sounding of the trumpets, and at Rosh Hashanah, ⁓ that is the calling of of God's people to prayer and to repentance and to worship. And ⁓ also ⁓ in end times, ⁓ those trumpets will also be blown again. And ⁓ so at 3 p.m. when we switch from the time to eat to the time to pray and to worship, we're literally gonna have ⁓ two or three people there that day that are skilled in blowing shofars. And we're gonna sound the trumpets ⁓ for everybody to move down to the main infield of of the Washington County prayer grounds ⁓ for that worship and prayer time. speaker-0: Take us through it, Bill. speaker-2: Well maybe back up just a little bit. Pat had mentioned Rosh Hashanah. Now unbeknownst to us, after the date had already been selected, we found out that that specific weekend is the Feast of Trumpets, and that specific day is Rosh Hashanah. So while in Israel is blowing the Shafar, we'll be down at the Washington County prayer grounds blowing the Shafar. That was a gift to us from the Lord because none of us could have prepared or planned for that. And then unfortunately that's how it's playing out. So we know that God is in this. ⁓ so as we gather together and close up the meal portion, we were gonna head on down ⁓ basically what we're calling the gathering. We're going to gather together. To this point, we've offered an invitation out to every church, as you've mentioned earlier, Chase, over 300 just in Washington County. The door does not stop in Washington County to participate and be on site with us that day. What that looks like, we're offering a space for any church free of charge. This is not, again, not to diminish the the intent of the day. We don't want to become a competition or gimmicky, if you will. But we want the churches to represent. You know, when Jesus prayed in the garden, he prayed for three specific items. One was for himself, two was for his disciples, and the third was for the future church. And he said that they would all be brought together as one. So when we gather together as one, that does nothing but bless the Lord because we are his bride. And he said he's coming back for a spotless bride. So as the church, regardless of theology, and we're not saying the theology's not important, we're not saying that doctrine's not important, but that day we want to worship Jesus and Him alone. Prayerfully and as you know, ⁓ these doors have been opened up. So people will move from the from the meal area down to the gathering area. We're gonna outline so far we have forty-four committed churches. There is still time. ⁓ we're gonna run it up ⁓ I think ⁓ all the way up until the Friday ⁓ before. So I believe that is the fourth ⁓ sa ⁓ Friday, September fourth for your church can register online at prayer gathering dot com. You go in there, it doesn't cost you anything. We just ask you to just bring a couple things. The first is a ten by ten canopy. ⁓ the second is a six or eight foot table. There's room for up to four chairs. You can bring your chairs. very three simple items. A one pager about your church, a couple cases of water to fill our hygiene station, and Bibles. We can't think of better things to bring. And we're like so we're trying to avoid the chotchkis and things like that. ⁓ again to keep the thing the thing as we've been talking about. So as we occupy that space there it still is time. You can sign up online if your church wanted to be represented. That doesn't mean that you can't come ⁓ it doesn't mean that the church is not officially represented, but it we're grateful for those who have just raised their hand and said we just want to be we want to be seen as a unified body of Christ that are willing to come to them. speaker-0: I so now hopefully you can kinda have a an image in your mind of of what the stage looks like down here at the at the programs. So moving in moving into the program, can you tell us about some of our speakers and other special guests? speaker-2: Yeah, ⁓ I it's well, ⁓ the the MC of the day, the the our friend and and she's probably not gonna appreciate this, but we've we've had some significant support in the back end and Paul Power's daughter Lydia ⁓ and yourself are gonna be very helpful in moving things along on the back with along with Pat. ⁓ but we felt it in appropriate. ⁓ obviously Pastor Mike McIntosh is gonna be the keynote for the day. Pat tau touched on him a little bit, but there's a very, very special young man that's gonna participate in this event. ⁓ that Pat knows much better than I do, but a young fellow by the name of Rocco Welsh. I'm gonna ask Pat if he could just kind of fill us in a little bit on Rocco and his part in that day. speaker-1: I I'm so excited that Rocco has agreed to come that day. Rocco Welsh is a Washington County native. He lives ⁓ down in my direction, Deemston Borough, down by Fredericktown. And ⁓ Rocco wrestles for the Penn State Nittany Lions. And the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team has been the NCAA Division I championship team. I I think it's seven years running. It may even be longer than that. And ⁓ Rocco is a two-time All-American. He wrestles 184. He is sculpted, and I tell you what, he could tear me limb from limb. ⁓ but as fierce and successful as a wrestler that he is, he's got a heart for the Lord. And ⁓ when when the microphone goes in front of him after he wins a match, he's not beating his own chest and saying, Hey everybody, look at me. He's pointing to the Lord, and he says, That's from where my strength comes, that's where my success comes from. And ⁓ so he wants to tell his story. ⁓ to everybody there that day. So we're gonna be able to spend probably good ten, fifteen minutes getting to know Rocco, getting to know what makes him tick, why he's been successful, and ⁓ getting to know ⁓ how he's come to know the Lord and why he knows that's where his strength and success come from. speaker-0: Here we have music. speaker-2: So we're gonna hear music. What's a what's ⁓ what's a what's a good church service without good worship? Another element that has been added unto us in this gift of this day. ⁓ there are two gentlemens in their band ⁓ that'll be joining us. ⁓ you may or may not heard of them. If you haven't, I encourage you to dig in and dig in quickly because you will be blessed. ⁓ young man ⁓ named Jonathan Trailer, ⁓ who we connect with ⁓ invited him to come and participate, him and his band. ⁓ he sang a song called Fires. You Get the Glory for this. These are songs which if you go back and listen to, you've heard them. They're on the radio. These are national challenges. Recording artists. And Jonathan brings that spirit of worship. He brings the excitement, the the the glory, the fun, the joy of the Lord. And he's going to bring it that day. He's a matter of fact, he's going to open us up. That's the intention after the initial ⁓ hellos, if you will. ⁓ and then we'll have a time, like I said, of reflection and prayer. Pastor Mike will speak, ⁓ which will take us into another path, potential for baptism, which we'll talk about here in a moment. ⁓ but Jordan St. Cyr. ⁓ Many of us, if you listen to Christian music, even in the peripheral, you've heard the song Weary Traveler. his gifting, he's Jordan's a storyteller and he loves he's more of a folky type artist, but he's more individual, he's more one on one. And his ministry, if you will, ⁓ he's gonna talk to your heart. There's a lot of us that have been through so much, even just go back as far as COVID, ⁓ the brokenness, the homes, the heart, the family, all the different addiction things, these are things in his life that he's dealt with. And he's coming not to preach at you, he's coming to minister to you and offer you healing through music. And I don't know about you guys, but I love music. Music is such an integral part of my life. ⁓ so those guys are gonna come lead us in a time of just worship and song, again, just to enhance the day. And and it's it's an exciting part of it. ⁓ but if I'm not mistaken, I said somewhere during the during that path period, we'd mentioned the word baptisms and ⁓ Pat, I'll deflect to you if you'd be interested in just sharing a little bit about how that'll come about. speaker-1: ⁓ yes. ⁓ i as we've ⁓ just again praying about ⁓ the event and how the the day would evolve and and what would happen. ⁓ w w c Guys, let me just be real straightforward. We're praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that day. We're praying for a revival of our church, ⁓ the the body of Christ, ⁓ revival in faith, a zeal for the Lord to be renewed. And we're praying for an awakening to faith ⁓ in Jesus Christ for those that don't know him. There are souls perishing today ⁓ that that do not know the Lord, and my heart ⁓ it it it it aches, it's torn for them. And so this event. We want everybody there that doesn't know the Lord to hear this truth of this gospel. And ⁓ so when you talk about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it makes me think of Pentecost. ⁓ and ⁓ that ⁓ that day that Peter stood stood up in front of all of Jerusalem and it it was ⁓ he was just filled with the Spirit and he was ⁓ he was speaking in a way everybody could understand him. He was a fisherman, come on. ⁓ and and he stole stood up boldly and and the Holy Spirit came like a rushing wind. And and people were cut to the heart by what he had to say that day, ⁓ by the Holy Spirit's power that day. And then what happened? There were people crying out, say, what are we to do? He said, repent and be baptized. And so ⁓ Chase, Bill, we're praying for that kind of a ⁓ transformational ⁓ Pentecost kind of an experience that day. And ⁓ we are confident there are people that are going to want to make that public proclamation of faith, that they're going to be just captured by faith in the Lord that day, and they're gonna say, What are we to do? And we're gonna be able to answer them in the same way. Repent and be baptized. And to do that, Bill has a very good friend who has a phenomenal ministry that provides baptism. Bill, I'll throw the ball back over to you. speaker-2: Yeah, no. friend good friend of mine, Jeff Fouts, ⁓ Eternity Spring Ministries, he he does ⁓ homeless ministry in downtown Pittsburgh every Sunday night. I know they need volunteers. Him and his wife prepare meals in their home. ⁓ you're talking hundreds of meals every Sunday night they go. ⁓ but he has a free mobile baptism ministry. And then Jeff's a he he's he's a character. ⁓ I call him Jeff the Baptist. So he ⁓ he loads up his truck, he has a rig set up for it. They heat the water, they pump it, they fill it, they flow it, they have ⁓ thing he set it up. He doesn't ask for anything. ⁓ he just wants to see people fulfill that part of their walk. And ⁓ he brings he's bringing that to our table. So we figured like you said, rep repent and be baptized. Here's water. What's stopping me from being baptized? That's what the eunuch said. So we're excited to have Jeff with us that day. He bought an extra trough for the day. ⁓ so we'll be double barreled, ⁓ literally, down there having having a good time. You're encouraged, it's not required to sign up. We again to protect this the solemn exercise of baptism. ⁓ we're not cheapening it. ⁓ we're going through, we want to make sure you understand it's an outward expression of an inward change. ⁓ you know, we're being very intentional about those conversations. And and and I should say this seriously, that Jeff does protect that heart of that ministry. ⁓ so for those that may or may not have any type of concern, it's done ⁓ with a right spirit, a right heart and in the right way. ⁓ so but we are very blessed to be able to have him down here with us that day. speaker-0: Well as we start to wrap up here, let me let me hit you guys with a couple of easy, rapid fire questions. Quick answers, quick questions. All right. Does somebody need to belong to a participating church or even regularly attend church to come to the event? speaker-1: No, we want the entire county to come that day and beyond. ⁓ the admission is free, the food is free, ⁓ the bread of life is free. speaker-0: What should somebody think about maybe packing for the day? What should they bring with them? speaker-2: Very simple. ⁓ the grass area where the gathering will occur. We're encouraging you. You're welcome to bring a blanket. We do encourage you to bring ⁓ chairs will not be provided in that area except for our handicapped friends or some of our seniors. ⁓ but on that side of it they'll be able to ⁓ bring a bring your lawn chair, bring your folding chair. Just think you're going to the park for the day and you need to have comfortable seating. ⁓ we encourage you to do those things. We'll provide refreshments ⁓ on site. The meal is obviously provided for free. So just be be prepared to either stand or have a comfortable seat bring with you. speaker-0: Speaking of handicap, let's talk about parking and some shuttle service that'll be available that day. speaker-2: Yeah, so the City Mission has agreed at this point to shuttle folks directly from the mission back and forth free of charge. ⁓ we are working on a second location in Washington, but ⁓ for the sake of confirmation we'll kind of hold back on that, but we will announce it electronically in in different ways. ⁓ the lower I believe it's the North Main Street extension, if I'm not mistaken, on the main entrances people refer to it on the bottom part. The field across from there will be for our handicapped friends to park there. We will have traffic control. We will have people there available to help you. There actually is a tent area specifically being provided for those folks as they come through. So we're trying to make it as easy on folks as possible across the board ⁓ as they come in that day. speaker-0: If ⁓ if a church hasn't gotten involved yet, is there still time to do so? And I'll parlay that question. Same for volunteers. Do we still have volunteer opportunities available? speaker-1: as far as churches go, by all means. ⁓ up until September the fourth, we're gonna keep registration for churches open. Just go to our website, prairgathering.com, and you can fill in ⁓ the information and then we'll begin to communicate with you. speaker-2: Yeah, just to follow up with that with the volunteer piece, or we will the shutoff for volunteer will be on the twenty ninth. Obviously there's room. There's no hard line on this in the sense, but we are trying to gather it up. ⁓ guys have been kind enough to provide some t shirts for our volunteers that sign up. ⁓ so we don't want you to miss out on that opportunity. However, ⁓ s ⁓ Saturday, September fifth, ⁓ at the prayer grounds at eight thirty AM, we are gonna invite all of our volunteer base to come on out for a walk through. We're gonna have a prayer walk that morning. ⁓ and then beyond that there will be some opportunities for Zoom calls ⁓ coming up that'll be through. So there's gonna be plenty of information out there for you as as it becomes necessary. But at any time if anybody has any questions, they can reach out to us directly through the contact form at prayer gathering dot com. speaker-0: For someone that's listening who ⁓ maybe isn't able to volunteer but wants to support the event at this point, what is w what can they do? What is the best thing that you would tell them? speaker-1: ⁓ I'd start with prayer. And ⁓ we we just ask everybody whether you're coming or not coming to lift this event up in prayer. ⁓ we want transformation for our county and if that spreads throughout our country, we're good with that. ⁓ so prayer is first and foremost. If someone would want to donate financially, because again all of our access proceeds will go to the city mission, ⁓ go to our website again, prayer gathering dot com, and there's an opportunity there where you can donate right through the website. speaker-0: Guys, I can't thank you enough for coming in today. You have ⁓ officially earned the position of our longest podcast to date. And I've enjoyed every minute of it. So speaker-2: Thanks for having us. Thank you very much, Chase Fri. speaker-0: So if you're out there and you have stuck with us to the end, please let this be a personal invitation to join us at the Washington County Prayer Gathering on September thirteenth at the Washington County Prayer Grounds, the Fairgrounds, from 1 to 6 PM. We want to see you there. We want to feed you. We want to pray with you. And we want to worship with you. You belong there. For more details, we've mentioned a few times, but check out prayer gathering.com. Until then, we'll see you on the podcast next week. But we want to see at the prayer gathering on september thirteenth. speaker-1: Okay. Chase. Billy boy, good job.