Baylor parents bond over call to prayer

WACO—While her children attended Fort Bend Baptist Academy in Sugar Land, Evelyn Janssen already was in the habit of gathering weekly with fellow parents to pray for their children, teachers and school.

Once Janssen’s children, Hayley and Corbin, moved on to college at Baylor University, she found a natural extension of that call to prayer through the Fort Bend chapter of the Baylor Parents League.

Baylor parents Robin and Ricky Baker are actively involved in “First Call to Prayer” as part of the northeast Tarrant County chapter of the Baylor Parents League.

Each month, 67 groups of Baylor parents from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., Minneapolis to the Rio Grande Valley, meet together for “First Call to Prayer,” blanketing the Baylor campus in prayer and bringing peace of mind to participants.

“It’s been such a gift to be able meet together and pray for the kids,” said Janssen, whose family attends Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land. “It’s such a support for the parents, especially those of freshmen. Our kids even look forward to it. They give us lists of things they would like for us to pray about for them. For the kids to know that all the parents are praying is really special.”

Judy Maggard, director of the Parents League at Baylor, said the Parents League creates a network of parents who receive encouragement and support from each other through shared experiences. As one of many activities, the League’s call to prayer allows Baylor parents to “stand in the gap” for Baylor students, faculty and administrators through monthly prayer and fellowship.

Maggard said the First Call to Prayer has three objectives:

• Encourage, support and gain strength from other parents as they spend time talking with God about the needs of the students, faculty and administrators.

• Unite with individuals who are not able to join the group physically but will join online to pray at the same time

• Gain peace of mind in knowing each student is blessed with prayer.

As the fall semester winds down at Baylor, many Parents League chapters throughout the country combine taking care of their children’s spiritual as well as physical needs. The Keller home of Jim and Lori Horvath was loaded with healthy snacks and homemade treats for the Dec. 2 gathering of the northeast Tarrant County chapter of the Baylor Parents League. While parents assembled care packages for their students, roommates and friends, they focused their prayer time on their students’ health as they study for finals.

Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays Email Address Baylor parents involved in the Boerne chapter of the Baylor Parents League met at the home of Debbie and Mark Littlestar for a combined First Call to Prayer/Boxing Party.

“Our December prayer was based on exams, covering heavily over health during exam time and flu season,” Lori Horvath said.

A mother of two Baylor graduates, Ryan and Daniel, and a Baylor junior, Garrett, Lori Horvath said the call to prayer has been invaluable to Baylor families.

“Even though our children may be from different walks of life on the Baylor campus, their common denominator is that all of their moms and dads get together every month and pray for them,” Lori Hovath said. “We give such thanks that there’s a place like Baylor that stands firm on that commitment and doesn’t waver and continues it in their Parents League with First Call to Prayer.”