Catlettsburg Elementary Wrapped in Prayer and Supported by the Oakland Avenue Faithful
Gary Newman
The Ashland Beacon
In the 2006 movie, Facing the Giants there is a character, Mr. Bridges who is seen walking through the halls of the school, stopping at various lockers and praying for the students. Some of the staff thought him to be eccentric, but he was unphased. This character in this movie was so influential that his prayers are reaching students in Boyd County and so many other places 17 years later. Oakland Avenue Baptist Church Pastor Mike Blankenship remembered, “That sparked a lot of churches' interest in doing something similar. Before school would start each year, they would go to their local school and meet in the hallways or the welcome center, hold hands and just pray. So, we started doing that.”
Oakland Avenue has met at and prayed for Ponderosa Elementary, Catlettsburg Elementary, and Kenova Elementary and has memberships that include employees of Catlettsburg, Boyd County Middle School, Boyd County High School, and Wayne County School System. “It’s just something we feel is important. We all understand that everything needs prayer, but certainly our schools, our administrators, the staff.” Blankenship explains, “It’s interesting that this year before we really even publicly set the date and time we’re going to do it, administrators at Boyd County said, ‘Hey, are you going to come and pray this year?’ I was quite honored by that; they see the importance of it as well.”
From a timing standpoint, there really is a great need for the work Oakland Avenue is doing. People are hurting, frustrated, confused, and need something. Blankenship candidly shared, “Whether you’re a believer or an unbeliever, most people understand they face things in their lives that are beyond their ability to handle. I know many times, I speak with people who are not Christians and say, ‘Yeah, I pray if I need help with something; I’ll call on God.’ Given the climate that our schools are in today, the threats that are out there, everything from school shootings to other immoral things that we see as threats to our kids, that parents and administrators are beginning to understand – listen, we need to reclaim some ground that we’ve lost. We need to restore some values and some principles that we’ve abandoned. Our kids, our communities, we need more of a Godly influence.”
Blankenship suggests a growing sentiment that the way things have been going isn’t making anything better but is in fact making them worse. “I think even the community at large is beginning to understand we need to start addressing some things.” He concluded, “The way we’ve been addressing them is not necessarily addressing the problems, so we need to return to more Biblical principles and values. The community sees that this is an integral part of our community life, of our school life.”
Oakland Avenue isn’t content with standing on the sideline and talking the talk; they actively work to walk the walk. They see the schools as a mission field, and because of that, they support Family Resource Centers with monthly contributions, shoe drives, coat drives, and backpack ministries, where backpacks are filled with food for the weekend each week. Blankenship shares weekly with athletes on sports teams, serves on the school board, and is the Public Address Announcer for ball games.
The praying for the schools initiative began while Mr. Osborne was Superintendent of Boyd County Schools and has continued into the current administration with Bill Boblett. Usually, church members leave evening worship on Sunday evening and head to the school, and pray prior to students coming in. Blankenship detailed the experience, “This past August, we had about 35. I usually tell them to get into groups of four or five. I tell them, ‘You’re going to stand in the welcome center. You’re going to go to the gym and pray for the students. You’re going to go to this wing and pray for the staff. You’re going to go to the lunchroom and pray. Sometimes, folks from the school just show up to be prayed for. It’s very exciting.”
Oakland Avenue has a number of educators and administrators who attend the church. Blankenship shared, “They are in some respects handcuffed by how they can express their faith in the public school system. They understand the importance of having a Christian influence in the public schools, so that to the degree that they can and they will allow us, we try to have that type of influence. Our folks are really excited about it.”
The overall picture of why one church would pour all those resources and time and energy into this is abundantly clear. There is a greater desire in the heart of the pastor and the congregation. Blankenship joyfully declared, “Without a doubt, the biggest win would be seeing people come to Christ, which we have seen. I baptized one of the football players weeks ago. He graduated from Boyd County and is playing football at KCU, and he called me and said, ‘Hey, I need Christ in my life.’ We talked, and I had the pleasure of baptizing him. We’ve had families who’ve come into our church and given their lives to Christ; their kids have. It hasn’t been enormous numbers, but one here, two or three there, kids coming through our doors. Also, souls coming to Christ is the main thing, and getting the gospel out there. That was one of the things I shared with Coach Ferguson, the high school football coach. These kids listen to so many other voices; I think it’s time they start listening to the Bible, the voice of the Gospel. He said ‘I agree,’ and that’s how I was able to get 10 minutes a week to tell them there’s another way, a better way than what they’re hearing from everything else in the world. In my opinion, that’s a win, and if they come to know Christ, that’s the ultimate win.”