Drive‑through prayer ministry sparks unexpected prison outreach

By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist

Drive down 6th Street in Lambert on any given Tuesday morning and you will be guaranteed to receive a sign to pull over and pray.

This sign won’t “come from above,” however, but from the sidewalks surrounding First Baptist Church, Lambert, inviting passersby to take a moment of their morning to be prayed over — all from the comfort of their car.

“Drive Thru Prayer” is Linda and Frank Logan’s favorite time of the week. Come rain, shine, or freezing cold, the couple and their two teammates — First Baptist Church, Lambert, pastor Millard Caulder, and a friend of theirs from Belen Baptist Church in Marks — wait outside the church and wave at passing cars. 

In 2024, the church committed to coming together for prayer on Tuesday evenings. Linda, who serves as prayer coordinator, and her husband Frank began to sense a need to start a drive-through prayer ministry, of which they had seen the benefits through a community outreach led by Highland Baptist Church in Senatobia.

Last April, the team of four committed to having the drive-through prayer ministry every Tuesday morning, no matter what.

“People drive from all over the county for prayer,” said Linda. “We don’t want to disappoint them.”

A typical conversation begins at the recipient’s car window with a simple question: “How can we pray for you today?” 

“We firmly believe whatever a person shares with us as their need is what we’re committed to lift up in prayer,” said Linda. “There is no shame. We take our responsibility seriously. Our sole purpose is to be willing to serve God by being available and, whenever possible, share the Gospel.” 

Both men and women have poured out their troubles to the team, and many return to express gratitude after feeling blessed by the prayers. 

“Watching Frank pray over one woman as she cried, it became clear to me that this is what we’re here for,” said Linda. “People can be real with us and we have to be authentic and be prayed over ourselves. We pray over ourselves before we start and our church prays for us. That helps our counsel undoubtedly, and it helps our confidence to receive people who are willing to be vulnerable and ask for prayer.”

The prayer ministry blesses everyone, young and old. On a weekly basis, a senior service bus stops for prayer. The team stands in the bus aisle and holds hands with the seniors, one of whom recently volunteered to pray for the team as well. 

On the way to school, parents or grandparents will drive in with their children. Even the kids have begun to open up and ask for prayer over tests or encounters with bullying throughout the day. The Logans are encouraged that kids are seeing the importance of prayer. 

With every soul that drives in with a temporal need, the team makes an effort to meet their deepest eternal need: a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior. Through material available from the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB), they pass along Gospel presentations and witness to the recipients through prayer and conversation. 

One man who drove in for prayer returned as a result of an invitation to attend the church. After hearing the Gospel, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. He showed up because his sister told him, “You go back up there where those people pray for you.”

“We have become such good friends with the community of Lambert,” Frank affirmed. “Some people won’t come in a church no matter what you do, so we have come to the other side of the wall to meet them halfway, and they receive that as a blessing.”

For a few weeks, a woman continued to come for prayer, “always down and always crying.” A situation in her life was causing constant misery. “Then one morning, she turned down our street, and we could see her smiling from two blocks away,” said Frank. “She drove in and loved on us and thanked us for talking to God for her. She said, ‘Y’all’s prayer fixed my home problem.’ And she still rejoices about it.

“We have come to a closer, godly love for these people by receiving them and knowing them. They are just such a blessing, and they have situations just like we do. God tells us to love everybody like you do yourself. I understand better what that means because of this ministry.”

Often, a car will drive in as the team puts away their signs for the day, but it’s never an unwelcome sight. “It just tells you that people depend on the prayer when they’re willing to take a risk and ask for it at the end of the morning,” Linda reflected. 

From Prayer to Prison Ministry

Not long before Thanksgiving, the Logans had no idea that right around the corner, God would use their prayer ministry to reach inside walls they had never entered. For four weeks, a pickup stopped for prayer. The men came from a local Community Work Center for Mississippi State Prisons, only five miles south of First Baptist Church, Lambert. On the fourth week, they asked the team to pray to help find them a preacher.

“We contacted the MBCB since we recalled they were involved with Mississippi prisons,” said Linda. “That led us to key contacts from both the prison and the MBCB.”

The Logans were introduced to Robert Hyde, the director of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension Center at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. With the assistance of Hyde and Parchman Chaplain Michael Palmer, members of First Baptist Church, Lambert, were led through the ministry volunteer application process and orientation. 

Dwayne Parker, director of the MBCB Discipleship/Sunday School department, aided the volunteers in choosing a discipleship course, while Jon Martin, MBCB chief strategy officer, provided prison ministry training and practical advice.

First Baptist Church, Lambert, pastor Millard Caulder joyfully accepted the request to preach and teach in the work center. Every class, the residents listen and respond attentively to him.

“Disciples Path” books and a supply of Bibles were delivered to the prison. The first night, 20 residents and officers gladly awaited the volunteers. Although the numbers fluctuate, the highest attendance so far has been 35 out of a total 75 residents at the prison. 

“Our volunteers see the number of residents showing up each week as quite exciting and pray the appetite for worship will spread,” said Linda. “Sometimes, our volunteers take handouts of favorite songs and lead in singing. It’s not clear who enjoys the time more — the residents or the volunteers.”

“This ministry has given our church a new insight into missions,” Caulder confirmed. “Our church has always had a missional heart, but this has helped us move out into our community. I’m praising the Lord for those opportunities. If not, we would still be sitting in our four walls.”

Love Your Neighbor

Linda reflected that neither group of people — those who drive through for prayer nor those in the work center — were on her prayer list before. She had no opportunity for interaction with them and knew nothing of their struggles. Now, because of her obedience to start a drive-through prayer ministry, God has opened her eyes and heart to her neighbors.

“These ministries have deepened my desire to understand what God wants of me,” Linda said. “I have loved people that I didn’t know and would have lived my whole life without ever getting to know. That has been an unexpected blessing.”

The Logan’s faithfulness to engage with their community through prayer continues to set a tone for missional engagement at First Baptist Church, Lambert.

“Frank and Linda have an exceptional vision of getting outside of the church and out into the community,” Caulder affirmed, “and that is really working well not only for them, but for me and for our church.”