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Nearly every last Friday of the month you can find a group of dedicated ladies standing in front of the BP gas station, located right off the Argo exit on Interstate 59. These women can be seen praying with passersby from the community as well as people who are just stopping in Argo for a quick pit stop on a long road trip home.

No matter the person or where he or she is from, these women make a point to impact each individual who stops. With the thought of making an impact never leaving her sights, Paulette Clements said that she came up with the drive-thru prayer as she was watching the news several months ago. Clements said that she saw a church in another state that was hosting a prayer drive-thru, and she knew that God was calling her to do something similar in Argo.

Clements said that initially she had thought about hosting the prayer drive-thru at her church, Clear Branch United Methodist. Clear Branch is off the same Argo exit as the BP station, but Clements thought that the church’s location might be too hidden. She said that she kind of forgot about the idea until a couple of months later when she turned onto the Argo exit and saw the gas station. Clements said that God let her know in that moment that the BP was the location where her and her friends would be making their impact.

Clements then reached out to her Bible study group (the Clear Branch Friday Morning Women’s Bible Study) about her idea and asked that they join in.

The small group loved the idea and jumped on board, and now you can find these ladies lined up on the freeway near I-59 and near the BP station praying for all who are in need.

Bible study leader, Beth King said that there were around ten to twelve individuals prayed over every time they have come out. And while the women do not approach cars first, they have been told that their mission is an inspiration just to see and that one man used the explanation of the drive-thru as a witnessing tool for his passenger and co-worker.

Tammy Trautwein, Argo resident and prayer supporter stopped to tell the ladies just how much they were inspiring the people she had spoken to in the gas station. She also said that she had stopped a few months ago to pray for her nephew who was having seizures. She said that she could happily report that after a doctor’s visit and prayers, they had learned that he was going to be fine.

Clements said the opportunity to pray was not only benefiting those receiving prayer but also the people praying over them. King said that she takes some of the stories that she hears home with her and cries because she is so moved. She said that they get prayer requests ranging everywhere from needing a job to sickness and child abuse at home. This group of ladies is so happy and willing to listen, comfort and pray. “We just want to be a visible sign of God in the community” said Clements.

Both King and Clements would be grateful if they just prayed with one individual each Friday, but they consider themselves extremely blessed to have the opportunity to reach out to so many through prayer every time the drive-thru prayer is open. “ One thing I feel this has really done is that it has given us the opportunity to pray with people we would have never seen otherwise,” said Clements. The entire bible study group extends an invitation to all the community and others who need prayer. Paulette Clements and Beth King ask anyone with questions to contact them. Clements can be reached at joyhmn54@gmail.com or on her cell at (205) 533-4494. And King can be reached at jmkebk@gmail.com or at (205) 467-6069. Any looking for a church community or interested in learning about Clear Branch United Methodist can contact the church at (205) 665-9414.