A national grass-roots network that came together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks for the sole purpose of praying for the president has lost more than 25,000 members since Barack Obama's election last November.

But in that same time, more than 41,000 have signed up.

For John Lind, president of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Presidential Prayer Team, those figures indicate that the ministry that aimed to be nonpartisan when it began in 2001 has lived up to its mission.

"The only ... president we've been under has been (George W.) Bush, so you've got to be realistic and say, `Wow, this could be a substantial dip in our database,' but it wasn't," he said in an interview. "I think it's a positive. It's almost two-to-one new member to unsubscribed."

That doesn't mean it's been a smooth transition for all of the nearly half-million members who receive weekly e-mail updates guiding them in how to pray for the president. Some have sent the ministry messages saying that it has been "very difficult" to ...

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