Though classrooms are typically the last place on Earth students would want to be on a Sunday afternoon, Butler County schools will be uncharacteristically packed with parents, teachers, administrators and students alike this Sunday for the fourth annual prayer walk.

Sponsored by the Butler County Ministerial Association, the county-wide gathering aims to gather the entire community together to pray for a successful school year, both inside and outside the classroom.

“I think the most important thing we can do is pray for our schools today,” said Butler County Ministerial Association president Allen Stephenson. “We thought that if we could come together and involve the parents, teachers, administrators and the children themselves praying for the schools that we could make a difference.”

Simultaneous prayer walks will be held across several sites, including Georgiana School, McKenzie School, W.O. Parmer Elementary School, Greenville Elementary School, Greenville Middle School, Greenville High School, Fort Dale Academy, Bright Beginnings and the Butler County Board of Education Office.

Conducting multiple prayer walks at the same time across the entire county can prove a challenging task, but the Butler County Ministerial Association has taken a divide and conquer approach to ensuring things run smoothly at each site.

“We will have at least one ministerial association representative at each school, but some of them will have multiple members of the ministerial association,” Stephenson said.

Participants are asked to gather at the front of each facility, where they will then receive instruction from a Butler County Ministerial Association representative.

“We’re hoping to get as many parents, teachers and administrators involved themselves, so we’re inviting the public, even if they don’t have a child in the schools,” Stephenson said. “Every one of us has a vested interest in the welfare, health and growth of our children.”