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It started with two pie tins, a little soil, and a handful of soybeans. Karl Goodfellow, pastor of Guttenburg United Methodist Church in Guttenburg, Iowa, was conducting a prayer experiment with the children of the church. One pie tin of planted seeds was prayed over; one was not.

The congregation didn't expect this from their new pastor, but they decided to wait and see. When the blessed seeds outperformed the unblessed seeds, Goodfellow was not surprised: "After the results I think everyone felt it worked just the way prayer is supposed to work."

This simple demonstration planted different seeds in the mind of Goodfellow and his wife, Liz. And it caused church members to think more about prayer and how it affects their lives. Especially the lives of 100,000 Iowa farmers during harvest. The result? The Safety Net Prayer chain matching enthusiastic intercessors with active farmers.

The idea was launched with Goodfellow's own congregation, but as other churches and groups became involved, the numbers have soared. The 1996 harvest season (60 days) counted 5,000 people praying for 50,000 farmers by name. What began in an eight-county region of the state in 1995 is now reaching statewide proportions.

The Safety Prayer Net is not without its critics. In a Cedar Rapids Gazette article (February 3, 1996), Joan Rottler, a professor of religious studies at Iowa State University suggests the prayer effort could cast God as playing favorites—that he's willing to help those who are prayed for but not those who aren't. E.D. Klemke, a professor of philosophy at ISU, considers the project a test of God.

Goodfellow thinks the skeptics are missing the point. Getting people linked to people in prayer is what the church should be doing. It doesn't dictate or limit God's power; instead it's one more way for people to become involved with others.

The letters printed in the Safety Net Prayer Newsletter tell a small part of the story:

"One of the farmers I'm praying for had a skid loader roll over him and his only injury was a bruised elbow. Praise the Lord!"

"A farmer in another town was caught in a power take-off shaft and lost his arm among other injuries. We have been praying for him in this tragedy. Thank you for this prayer network. It's needed."

"Although we had lots of combine breakdowns and flat tires, we are so grateful no one was injured."

A near tragedy within the Goodfellows' own family brought the reality of prayer into sharp focus. Nine-year-old Craig Livingood, nephew of the Goodfellows, was sucked down into a load of shelled corn as it was being discharged from the bottom of a wagon. Two minutes later, he emerged head-first, his nose and mouth clogged with kernels. Another thirty seconds and he might have suffocated.

Craig's father, Frank Livingood, had initially chuckled over "being prayed for." Since the accident, he's had a change of heart.

"I'm not laughing about it anymore," he said. "I think the prayers are great."

For information on the Prayer Safety Net, write Liz Goodfellow at PO Box 706, Guttenburg, IA 52052 or call 319/252-3380.

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