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Hotly political and often deeply personal, the issue of immigration reform is again being considered in Washington D.C. With that in mind, in Holland, Mich., hosted one of over 400 recent prayer gatherings held across the country as part of the movement.

Pray4Reform asks people to pray for immigrants and for the U.S. congress. The movement is an effort by , a coalition of Christian leaders and organizations promoting broad bipartisan immigration reform.

“I want to know what I can do, and right now I believe what I need to do is pray,” said Betty DeVisser, who attended the vigil at Calvary. She came because of a recent class on immigration she attended at The , a joint ministry of the and the . “I knew there was a lot I didn’t know [about immigration law],” she said, “but I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.”

Around two dozen people from various Holland congregations attended. In addition to guided group prayer, the evening included a time of singing and Scripture reading. Several speakers shared some of their personal experiences with the issue of immigration, including Sergio Garcia, a pastor at a local Wesleyan church, and Louis Wagenveld, a retired missionary with .

Steve Dozeman, associate pastor at Calvary, became interested in the issue during premarital counseling with a couple, one of whom was not a legal resident. The experience was eye-opening for him. He told those gathered, “As a white, privileged male, it is easy not to care about this issue, but as a Christian it is impossible not to care.”