On Saturday, the Roanoke church community came together for a powerful public witness of faith. The citywide “Prayer at the Curb” event invited congregations to step outside their sanctuaries and onto sidewalks, transforming street corners into spaces of peace, prayer, and connection.
From noon to 1 p.m., church members dressed in white shirts and denim lined the streets, offering encouragement and spiritual support to anyone passing by. The initiative wasn’t about promoting a single denomination—it was about unity. Ministries from across the region joined forces to make faith visible and accessible in everyday spaces.
What Brought This On?
WDBJ reports it was inspired by what so many church people ssee in the city. “We’ve just seen so much going on in the city… a lot of violence, a lot of people hurting, a lot of people in need,” said Olivia Ward, event organizer and leader at Perfecting Unity Church. “I just wanted to bring churches together to pray and be visible in our community”.
That visibility mattered. Pastors and parishioners didn’t just pray—they showed up. They stood in neighborhoods throughout Roanoke, offering hope and healing through simple, heartfelt interactions. As Ward put it, “This is a day and a moment where the city can see that we are together.”
Pastor Jay Hamm of Back to Life Church echoed the urgency: “We know that in the time we’re living in, prayer is the only thing that’s going to change things. Prayer is needed. So we’re always here to offer it to anyone who’s ever in need”.
Sign up for Roanoke City-Wide Prayer At the Curb
The Roanoke church community event sparked more than a moment—it launched a movement. Organizers plan to host another “Prayer at the Curb” on Saturday, September 20, from noon to 1 p.m. Churches interested in participating can sign up and help bring healing, one prayer at a time.
Prayer For Roanoke Church Community
Lord God, We thank You for the Roanoke Church Community—for every heart that stepped out in faith, every voice lifted in prayer, and every hand extended in love. Today, we ask You to bless this citywide movement and breathe life into every street it touched.
Let sidewalks become sacred ground. Let street corners echo with hope. Let Your Spirit move through Roanoke like a healing wind.
We pray for unity—not just among churches, but across neighborhoods, families, and generations. Where there’s division, sow peace. Where there’s pain, bring comfort. Where there’s silence, raise up voices of compassion and truth.
Make us bold, Lord—not for attention, but for transformation. Let the Roanoke Church Community continue to be a light in dark places, a refuge for the weary, and a witness to Your love.
And as we prepare for the next “Prayer At the Curb,” stir hearts again. Call us out. Send us forth. Use us to heal, to listen, and to love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Rick Penn is an ordained pastor, writer, and the founder of Get-Prayer.com, a resource built to help believers develop a consistent, grounded prayer life.
With more than 20 years of preaching the Gospel, Pastor Rick brings deep theological training and lived pastoral experience to everything he writes. He holds a Master of Divinity from Virginia University of Lynchburg, an M.A. with a concentration in New Testament Studies from Baptist Bible Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Averett University.
His writing reflects a personal commitment to making prayer accessible to everyday Christians. Whether he is writing a prayer for someone in a hospital waiting room, walking through fear about the future, or sitting down with a blank prayer journal for the first time, Pastor Rick writes from a place of both theological grounding and pastoral care.
Pastor Rick hosts In The Moment, a Christian television program airing on Roku through AIM Christian Television. Viewers can watch the show at aimchristian.com/yourmoment and listen as a podcast on Spotify.
Before founding Get-Prayer.com, he served in the U.S. Navy, where he built his communication skills as a writer, editor, and public affairs professional. He now applies those disciplines directly to ministry and teaching.
Every article on this site reflects his core conviction: Prayer is not a performance of faith. It is the daily practice that holds everything else together.
Pastor Rick Penn is the author of all content on Get-Prayer.com.
Rick currently resides in Pennsylvania, where he continues to teach, write, and encourage believers to deepen their walk with God through prayer and the study of Scripture.
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