If you have been around church or other Christian circles very long, you undoubtedly have heard about the influence of praying mothers.

That influence will be reaching new heights in Joplin and around the world on Nov. 14. That’s when Moms in Touch International, based in Poway, Calif., will be hosting “Arise! Cry Out!: A Worldwide Day of Extraordinary Prayer for Children and Schools.”

Locally, the free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at NewCreation Church, 19th Street and Connor Avenue.

“We will have a DVD that will cue at various times for us to break up into small groups for prayer,” said Karen Brock, host-site facilitator at the Joplin church. “Although the DVD is formatted to last the entire four hours, people are welcome to come and go as they can if they cannot stay the whole time.”

Moms in Touch is hosting the prayer gathering in conjunction with celebrating its 25th anniversary. The idea is to invite Christian women from around the world to arise and cry out for our younger generation through prayer. The inspiration comes from Lamentations 2:19, which reads: “Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”

Taping for the Nov. 14 event is winding up today at Rock Church in San Diego. Featured on the DVD will be Fern Nichols, president and founder of MITI; Miles McPherson, pastor of Rock Church and president of Miles Ahead Ministries; and the Crimson Bridge Worship Team. All are from California.

Although MITI emphasizes mothers’ prayers and reaches out to moms who believe that prayer makes a difference, the organization encourages anyone who is willing to pray for a specific child and school. In fact, MITI defines itself as “two or more moms who meet regularly to pray for their children, their schools, their teachers and administrators.”

Moms in Touch International began on a small scale but has now spread to every state and more than 120 countries around the world.

It began innocently enough with Nichols, like any concerned mother, when her two sons were entering junior high school in the fall of 1984. Despite her apprehensions and worries about her children facing perhaps their greatest test ever in an effort to resist immoral values that could undermine their faith, Nichols cried out to the Lord to protect them and help them to see the difference between right and wrong.

When the burden to intercede for her boys grew overwhelming, she asked God to give her another mom who shared the same burden. She found someone willing to pray with her and then another and finally an entire group who began meeting for prayer. And that is how MITI started ... moms in touch with God, their children, their schools and one another through prayer.

The grassroots effort by a group of mothers in Poway soon spread throughout the state of California and across the nation and, then, throughout the world.

Anyone wishing to attend the Joplin event may register at www.MomsInTouch.org, call Brock at 438-3608 or contact Jennifer Dunn at myrabbisdust@yahoo.com.

Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802.