MARCH 7, 2005

2005 L.A. Marathon WRAP UP
by Pastor Connie Larson DeVaughn
and Matt Bassett

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the world, that we may declare the mystery of Christ…so that I may reveal it clearly as I should. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone." Col. 4:2-6

This was the spiritual focus this year for the 48 people who went to the LA Marathon on Sunday, March 6, as a witness and encouragement to 25,000 runners and the spectators on the streets.

It might be a marathon day for us with the amount of time we spent preparing, performing and encouraging, but doing God's work always seems to give us the strength we need.

Matt Bassett spearheaded our efforts, for the third year in a row. We worked with Run to Win, an organization dedicated to using athletic venues to spread the gospel. They coordinated 11 Christian music stands along the course of the Marathon. Run to Win worked with the Marathon officials; all we had to do was plug into the spot provided for us. ABC's location was on mile 23.

The early crew consisted of a dozen early birds getting our equipment in place by 6:00 AM before the streets were closed off. We provided over eight hours of live music, ABCs Celebration Band and Gospel Choir made up the bulk of it, flanked by SOG Crew (SOG = Son of God) at the top of the morning, and the Salvation Army Impact Band finishing the day off. This year we were not only able to play for the runners, spectators and wheelchair racers, but also the bike riders in the Acura LA Bike Tour. The bikers were very grateful for our presence since many music groups do not show up that early.

The majority of our group was involved with the music (sound, instruments, singers). However, we also had 10 "encouragers." These important support people gave out free items (candy, tracts, Bible verses, and the "Free Gift" CD, our very own Celebration Band and Gospel Choir recording). They tried to interact with spectators. In particular Peter Larson had some very good conversations, as the majority of spectators near us spoke Spanish. Peter prayed with one man who wanted a Bible for follow up, and another who asked for prayer to be able to stop drinking. And the encouragers also cheered the runners, which task became more important after the first string of super athletes passed. The people in wheelchairs, the ones who were cramping up, and the ones who were just plain exhausted were our special focus. Based on our verse, our job was to stay focused on praying for all the people around us, making the most of every opportunity when speaking about Christ.

Throughout the day, many runners would point to the sky, or fold their hands in the sign of prayer, or wave as they heard familiar Christian music, forming an instant bond with us as brothers and sisters in Christ, which was just as encouraging to us as we were being to them.

Overall we had an exhausting day, but it never seems to be too hard compared to the runners passing by. It is our prayer that many seeds were planted on Sunday, and that God will continue to help those seeds to grow.