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Kelly King and her colleagues have a God-size dream they hope to see come true March 8.

King, women's missions and ministry team specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, is spearheading Pray Across Oklahoma, a prayer-walking event related to the convention's upcoming Across Oklahoma evangelism effort.

Groups of Oklahoma Southern Baptists, particularly women, plan to walk and drive through their local communities offering prayer for individuals, families, neighborhoods, schools and businesses.

King said the prayer-walk idea came from one of her women's state leadership team meetings last year.

"I asked them if we could dream a God-sized dream, what that would look like. A couple of them said, ‘What if we challenged women to pray over every heart and every mile of the state?' ”

That's how the March 8 prayer effort acquired the theme "Every Heart Every Mile.”

"There's nothing wrong with praying in our homes, but what we're saying is get out and see what's in your community,” King said.

"I kind of see it as See You at the Pole for grown-ups.”

King said she and other leaders have been using a farm analogy to explain how Pray Across Oklahoma ties in with Across Oklahoma, a statewide evangelism effort that will begin March 15 and will culminate March 23, Easter Sunday.

Oklahoma Southern Baptists affiliated with churches big and small will reach out to their communities through door-to-door visits, brochures, mailings, commercials and other media.

King said while Across Oklahoma is the Baptists' way of sowing seeds for Christ, Pray Across Oklahoma will prepare the soil — people's hearts — to receive those seeds.

"We really believe the prayer will be the preparation for sowing God's word,” King said. "The week after Across Oklahoma is Easter Sunday, and that will be the harvest.”

King said about 200 people have signed up to be prayer coordinators. She said each of them has committed to leading teams of prayer walkers.

King said she knows of some Moms in Touch groups that will be meeting to pray around their community schools. She said she and several members of her Bible study group for middle-school girls plan to drive a portion of Interstate 40 and pray for the neighborhoods, businesses, motorists and families in that area.

Lori Williams, women's ministry coordinator at Choctaw Road Baptist Church, said she and her team plan to disperse and prayer-walk around the state Capitol and Choctaw High School. Also, some women will walk in their neighborhoods and other locations.

Williams said group members will wear T-shirts identifying them as prayer walkers.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity for the women to pray for the people around them,” she said of the effort.

"We need the Lord to work everywhere, but we live here. We need the Lord to do a work in Oklahoma.”

King said she defines prayer-walking as "praying on site with insight.”

She said people often are familiar with their own neighborhoods but not as knowledgeable about other parts of their community.

"Sometimes we put blinders on. Prayer-walking helps take the blinders off.”

King said the prayer teams will include men, youths and college-age adults.

"It is headed by our women's office, but it is for everyone,” she said.

Teams will be given prayer journey pocket guides that offer tips. The guide encourages teams to pray for personal spiritual needs, for unbelievers and believers.

"We've told them to pray with insight, pray with intentionality and pray with the heart of an intercessor,” she said. "We also tell them to pray for the impossible and expect God to answer.”

King said teams are also encouraged to look for what she called "prayer triggers,” objects that a person can tie to prayer.

Teams have been given samples of the ways they can relate Scriptures to objects they may see as they walk.

For example, she said a person seeing a house might pray Matthew 7:24-27: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Praying around a government building, a person could pray Romans 13:1: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.”

"We want people to prayer-walk for their community but specifically for those who need a relationship with Christ,” King said.