100 ‘Prayerwalk’ Through Tough Area Evangelicals Aim To Drive Devil Out Of Drug, Crime-Ridden City

Dave Holland left his house Saturday morning wearing a casual shirt, good walking shoes and the armor of God.

Holland and about 100 volunteers donned their armor - their faith in Jesus Christ - for a “prayerwalk” through some of the toughest neighborhoods in Brockton, one of poorest, most crime-plagued cities in Massachusetts.

The walk was organized by two dozen evangelical churches with the aim of healing the city by driving out the devil.

“The evil that we see in this world is a manifestation of the devil’s work,” said Holland, pastor at the Foursquare Gospel Church. “Wherever you see a lot of crime, drug abuse or prostitution - this is evidence of demonic influences oppressing people.”

Tim Folup, a professor of American religious history at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., said the idea of prayerwalking was popularized by Frank Peretti’s book “This Present Darkness.”

“The story is about an evangelical minister in a small town dealing with evils. It reflected the idea that a Christian should not only be involved in spreading the message, but also should be involved in a more cosmic battle of fighting evil forces,” Folup explained.

Prayerwalking has caught on in other cities, such as Los Angeles.

Evangelicals see much evidence of evil in Brockton, a city of about 90,000 people 20 miles south of Boston.

In 1994, the most recent year for which crime figures were available, there were 40 rapes, 793 assaults, 1,200 burglaries and nearly 2,000 thefts, the state’s Executive Office of Safety reported.

Much of the crime is drug-related.

In response, evangelicals have plotted a spiritual battle with the regimentation of a military maneuver.

Organizers divided the city into four quadrants, then divided it again into groups of streets. The praying volunteers had strict orders: no jewelry, no expensive sneakers and no “enticing” clothes - for women, that is.

Volunteers were asked to attend a training session before Saturday’s walk to learn how to pray and walk safely through a dangerous neighborhood. Additional men were assigned to the rougher neighborhoods.

Despite the wary instructions, the kickoff Saturday morning at the Olivet Memorial Church had the joyous rumblings of a tent revival.

“We’ve got to do this with more rhythm,” the Rev. Eduardo Andrade cried, as he demonstrated the proper swaying and stomping technique, while worshipers sang “I Hear the Sound of the Army of the Lord.”

Volunteers then embarked two-by-two on their mission.

James Lillis, a newly sober 31-year-old with spiky salt-and-pepper hair, practically burst with purpose as he strode past an abandoned factory and a man hauling papers in a grocery cart.

“I feel like I’m walking through Jericho,” he said. “You know, ‘Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.”’

Lillis waved one arm before the buildings. “Father, break the chains from this house,” he whispered. “I bind the enemy.”

His partner, Samuel Bordeaux, gestured toward cars waiting at an intersection that they shouldn’t wait for him to cross.

“See, these people aren’t used to kindness,” he said, while shouting a prayer to one driver. “These people will be blessed. They may not know it but they’ll be blessed.”

C. Peter Wagner, a Pasadena, Calif., theologian who advocates prayerwalking says it draws the power of Jesus to a specific area to take it back for God.

“Where you choose to put your body, your spirit can also function full force,” he wrote in “Churches That Pray.”

Andrade and his followers needed no proof of that power.

“Social and political reform is being taken care of,” Andrade said. “What we’re saying is prayer is the place to begin.”