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It was early in my time as director for Young Life in Craig that I realized my priorities in the ministry were wrong. My daily to-do list and my time with the youths were at the top of my list.

Essentially my performance-based focus led to anxiety and stress because I was too focused on gettin' er done.

I realized that my previous training as a journalist, which came with a main focus on 5 p.m. deadlines each day, led to minimal thoughts of a bigger picture because I took each day as it came.

Ministry and journalism are similar because every day is different, but I realized in ministry that seeing the "Big Picture" was the only way I could continue.

That big picture was that God is good, all the time. I knew I needed to give credit where it was due and part of that was making prayer a priority. As Paul wrote to the Philippians: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7.

With the help of others, I decided that a prayer team needed to be established. The goal was to have a group of people who surround our ministry in prayer daily. People who felt gifted in prayer signed on and I started sending them a prayer calendar every month with daily requests. I'm also in consistent communication with our prayer coordinator, Kate Grobe, when I know of youths or other Young Life areas that need prayer.

In August, Kate helped organize community prayer for schools in Craig and Hayden. The following is what she wrote about those times:

"This past year, we have been building a group of people dedicated to praying for Young Life. I was excited to have the opportunity to pray at Moffat County High School, Craig Middle School and Hayden High School before the school year began. The prayer time at each school was simply awesome, and connecting with fellow believers who share this vision was amazing.

"The first group met at Moffat County High School and walked around the building. The prayers offered at each entrance to the building were heart-felt and powerful. This group then traveled over to the new entrance for the middle school and prayed over that school as well. A couple weeks later, I met with the second group at Hayden High School and was overwhelmed by the turnout. I praise God for the time spent walking around the building that houses the high school, middle school, and administrative offices.

"I was amazed as God met us at each location and heard the prayers of his people. I look forward to continuing this mission to cover Young Life with prayer. As Paul states in Ephesians 6:12, 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.' It is not enough for us to send the leaders into the schools with our blessings. We need to cover them regularly through prayer and supplication. We need to remember that the battle for these kids has more levels than just those we can see or even understand. I am excited to see what God does as we bring Him our requests on behalf of Young Life."