Pull up and pray
San Antonio pastor and his congregation drive to local hospitals, park and hold vigil in cars for COVID-19 victims, first responders
SAN ANTONIO — Inside his parked SUV, with head bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped, Pastor Michael Steve Brown prays for patients suffering from sicknesses and the coronavirus.
Recently, at the edge of the parking lot at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, the pastor of True Vision Church in Kirby and San Antonio, prayed with his wife, Joy, for the well-being of everyone in the building.
Motorists pulled into parking spaces near the couple as they prayed aloud for families unable to be with their sick loved ones and those who had lost relatives to the disease. They prayed for the doctors, nurses, health care professionals and first responders who put themselves at risk on the front lines.
And they prayed for a vaccine to end the deadly worldwide pandemic.
“Lord we bless you and give it over to you,” Brown, 50, said behind tinted windows that reflected the sunlight’s glare. “This is a supernatural thing that is beyond our hands.”
Brown’s visits are part of a ministry called “Pull Up and Pray,” that churches and individuals are practicing across the country. The couple said sister churches in Georgia, New York and West Virginia also have taken up the minivigils. His call to action was prompted by support for members of his congregation who have been touched by the virus.
Since a Wednesday noon virtual service June, the pastor has asked his congregation to stop, park and pray at local hospitals and medical centers during their daily drives. Now the church is asking the public to join them through in their ongoing prayer campaign.
“There is a scripture that says the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much,” Brown said. “The more passionate our prayers are, the more God is in tune to them.”
The prayer stops are similar to an occurrence that took place before the spread of the coronavirus.
Brown and a group of ministers went to pray for an individual at a downtown hospital. He said as they walked through the emergency room area, he asked people in the waiting area if anyone was in need of prayer. To the pastor’s surprise, most of the people stood, held hands with Brown and his group and prayed.
Brown’s wife said whenever they’ve gone to restaurants in 22 years of marriage he’s asked servers if they were in need of a blessing. He’ll ask if there’s you can pray for on their behalf.
“Prayer is just a part of who he is,” Joy Brown, 56, said. “He is a man of prayer.”
True Vision congregation members began posting their stops on the Facebook.
Tori C. Washington stopped at Methodist Hospital, University Hospital, Audie Murphy VA Medical Center and Christus Santa Rosa Hospital.
“It doesn’t cost you anything to pray,” she posted on Facebook. “And you don’t have to get out of the car.”
Tashonne Davis visited three hospitals on her prayer stops.
On July 2, Kamilah Love Premier Antoine posted a video after she prayed outside of a local medical center.
“This virus requires a whole other level of faith,” she said, sitting in her car. “If it means getting out of your bubble and routine to do something different, it makes a difference.”
Brown said being at a hospital campus and praying brings a balanced focus upon those in need of prayer and the worshippers.
“All prayer matters,” he said. “If it’s a one-minute prayer or a twosecond prayer, it matters.”