Community members and church leaders gathered Thursday on the steps of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Government Complex to observe the National Day of Prayer.

The event was organized by Steve Jackson, the Lincoln County Baptist Association’s missions director.

“It’s just a group of Christians,” Jackson said. “We try to make this an interdenominational meeting every year.”

The event kicked off with several local World War II veterans, wearing their characteristic red shirts, leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

“They do several things together,” Jackson said. “They go to ballgames together. Several are members of First Baptist Church. You can usually spot them with their red shirts and caps on. That’s their signal. They’ve kept together as a support group to each other after the war.

“I thought that would be a great touch. There’s not many World War II veterans left, and I think they’re due any honor we can give them,” he said.

There were seven points of prayer for the event, chosen by the national Day of Prayer Task Force: government, led by Jackson St. United Methodist Church pastor Ron Kitchens; military, led by Church of the Way Pastor David Fortenberry; media, led by Central Baptist Church Pastor Ryan Thurman; businesses, led by St. Francis Catholic Church Priest Henry Shelton; schools, led by Lincoln County Superintendent Mickey Myers; churches, led by Pleasant Grove Baptist Church pastor Kent Cochran; and families, led by Doll’s House Ministries Co-Executive Director Johnnie Turner.

Jackson said he tried not to choose anyone who had participated last year.

“We tried to move it around as much as we possibly can,” Jackson said. “Everybody has something good they can bring. I think it’s good for as many churches as possible. Some of these folks I had not actually met face to face before today. But I picked up the phone and started calling and didn’t have a single one of them to say no.”

Jackson became missions director in 2014 after 38 years of being pastor at different churches around Mississippi.

“National Day of Prayer is a time when people of different denominations can come together and say, ‘We love Jesus, we love our country and we want to do something that gets both of them together,’” he said. “We believe in the power and the effect of prayer.”