For John, Christ Journey Church became more than a place of worship. It became the place where prayer, fellowship, and faithfulness shaped decades of his life.
At the time, he and his family had only been attending the church for about a year. It was a Sunday in 1996 when something during Pastor Bill White’s sermon caught John’s attention. As a teacher, he had spent years listening carefully, not only to words, but to what might be happening underneath them. That morning, he sensed that Pastor Bill might be carrying something heavy.
The next day, John stopped by the church and found his way to Pastor Bill’s office. Standing at the doorway, he simply asked if he could have a moment. He shared that he had noticed something during the sermon and wanted to know if he was doing okay.
Pastor Bill admitted it had been a difficult week and invited him in.
What could have been an intimidating moment quickly became something personal and meaningful. Pastor Bill pulled chairs together, sat down with him, and the two talked honestly for a while. Then came a question John never expected.
“John, are you a praying man?”
John remembers gulping before answering honestly that he mostly just had conversations with God. Then Pastor Bill asked if he would pray for him.
So he did.
He prayed for Pastor Bill, for his family, and for the ministry of the church. That simple moment of prayer became the beginning of something much bigger than John could have imagined.
Afterward, Pastor Bill shared that a small group of men had recently started gathering on Sunday mornings to pray together before church. He invited John to join them. Men like Roy, Basil, Henry, and Philip were among the first names he remembers.
That invitation marked the start of a tradition that continues nearly three decades later.
At some point during those early gatherings, while praying over the future Sunset property, someone suggested they stop meeting in the office and begin praying directly on the property itself. The next Sunday, they gathered there instead.
Week after week, before sunrise, someone would arrive early to unlock the chain-link fence so the others could drive in. On cold mornings, they would light a fire and sit around it together. They prayed for each other, for the church, for Pastor Bill and his family, for the city of Miami, and for the challenges surrounding the church’s growth and legal battles over the property.
And they never stopped.
Over the years, the group became a brotherhood. Some of the men who faithfully gathered in those early mornings have since gone home to be with the Lord. Yet their presence and prayers remain part of the legacy they built together.
For John, those quiet Sunday mornings at 6:30 in the dark have become one of the greatest blessings of his life. It is a place where friendships deepened, burdens were shared, stories were told, and voices were lifted together in prayer and worship.
As Christ Journey Church celebrates 100 years, John’s story is a reminder that some of the most powerful ministries happen far from the spotlight. Sometimes they begin with a quiet conversation, a simple prayer, and a group of faithful people willing to keep showing up.
And after all these years, none of them want to give it up.
