Before the first shot at Columbine High School, area pastors were praying for students. Before the nation focused on Littleton, Colorado, pastors were praying their churches could unite in turning their community to Christ.

The stories of Columbine have been well told: the plot of two young men to bomb their school building and massacre their classmates, the courage of 17-year-old Cassie Bernall, whose simple affirmation of faith earned her a bullet in the temple, the televised memorials of the 15 dead, and, amid the tragedy, clear testimony of healing and redemption in Jesus Christ.

What hasn't been told is how God prepared ministers in southwest metro Denver to face those wrenching days.

"I don't think that three years ago we could have handled things as quickly as we did," said pastor Jerry Nelson of Southern Gables Evangelical Free Church, "nor would we have garnered the same support from as broad a number of churches."

A small group of pastors began meeting for prayer in 1990. About three ...