Sixty Years of Prayer

In 1956 some of the staff at Bear Trap Ranch, one of InterVarsity’s training facilities, gathered a group of interested alumni together to pray for the ministry at Bear Trap. Bill and Carol Galambos were one of the couples who joined the group early in its history. Bill and Carol met at Urbana 57 when she was a student at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and he was studying at the University of North Dakota–Grand Forks. They were married in 1960 and settled in Colorado Springs.

Since the beginning, the prayer group has followed a simple program, though some accommodations have been made over the years. During the school year 10-15 people gather in someone’s home on a Sunday afternoon. A staff member from Bear Trap Ranch or a local campus presents prayer needs. Sometimes a student will also come to tell of InterVarsity’s work from the student’s perspective.

Seven or eight times a year for the past 50 years, prayers have been offered for the students in Colorado: prayers for safety as students traveled to Bear Trap; prayers for God’s Spirit to speak truth to the students as they spent time studying at camp; prayers for students to develop their relationship with God on campus.

Through the years people from all over the country have been a part of this group. In addition to Bill and Carol, Yvonne Vinkemulder came from Michigan, Frank and Peggy Cassell from New York and Jane and Ron Knudtsen from Colorado.

The community of believers has endured and grown. When asked about the meeting, the participants inevitably comment on the people who have participated, the friendships that have been fostered and the shared purpose that has developed. “We count it a privilege to be a part of the ministry over these many years,” says Jane Knudtsen.