Each Thursday morning, a group of mothers come together in the fellowship hall of Clarke-Venable Baptist Church in Decatur with a single purpose — prayer.

“We’re praying hard for our children, but also for the schools they attend — the teachers, staff and students,” said Janine Vincent, East Central Mississippi’s coordinator for Moms in Touch International, a prayer ministry focused on children and their schools.

The mission of Moms in Touch is to encourage mothers — as well as grandmothers, aunts or anyone — to meet and pray regularly for children in schools (kindergarten through college).

“The Moms in Touch vision is that every school in the world would be covered with prayer,” Vincent said. “Our desire is to be a positive support and encouragement for public and private schools — praying that our schools may be guided by Biblical values and high moral standards.”

A mother’s worst fear

In the fall of 1984, Fern Nichols’ two oldest children of four were entering junior high school. Concerned they would be facing their greatest test in resisting immoral values, vulgar language, peer pressure and philosophies that would undermine their faith, Nichols’ prayed for their protection, as well as direction for them to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and make good decisions.

Nichols asked God to give her another mom who felt the same burden, and who would be willing to pray with her concerning their children and their school.† She was led to another mom and, eventually, others were invited to come. They began meeting the following week for prayer.

Other groups began to spring up all over British Columbia where the Nichols family lived at the time. When the family moved to Poway, Calif., Nichols formed groups in the district’s schools. In time, prayer groups began to form around the state and across the country.

Today, Moms In Touch groups are in every state of the United States, and representatives in more than 110 foreign countries around the world.

Vincent first learned of the ministry several years ago, while living in Burlington, Texas.

“Moms in Touch was really big there,” she said. “It really made a difference in the students and the overall school atmosphere.”

Her husband, Mark, is a pastor, and wherever he was called to serve, Vincent was actively involved in the Moms in Touch prayer ministry. However, when the family moved to Mississippi a little more than a year ago, she had trouble locating the prayer ministry.

“There aren’t many Moms in Touch groups in the state, which is amazing, since this is the Bible Belt,” she said. “Everywhere we’ve served, we’ve tried to make it available for moms to get together in this capacity.”

The ministry’s format involves praise, confession, thanksgiving, intercession for members’ students, teachers, administration and school concerns. The main goal is to have a centrally located area in proximity of the school being covered in prayer to allow other moms to be involved.

Although the ministry is in its infancy to the area, response has been positive. Vincent said she is encouraged that participation will continue to increase.

“If any trouble were to ever come to our area or region, it’s comforting to know there’s Moms in Touch groups praying for each school,” Vincent said.

The prayer ministry is not limited to public and private school moms. The ministry also encourages participation from homeschool mothers.

“The Moms in Touch Web site refers to the scripture åWhere two or more are gathered in agreement, there He is also.’ There’s strength in numbers,” Vincent said.

FYI

Moms in Touch meets Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall of Clarke-Venable Baptist Church in Decatur.

Individuals, churches or groups interested in hosting a Moms in Touch group should call Janine Vincent at (601) 635-4445. For more information on Moms in Touch and its impact nationally and internationally, log on to the Web site www.momsintouch.org