Christian Leaders Such as Dr. Paul Dhinakaran, Dr. Stephen Rankin and Stephen Baldwin to Lead out in Prayer Each Evening

Contact: Vicki Garza, 214-435-8963

DALLAS, Sept. 5, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- With campus enrollment at an all time high nationally, a local, educational non-profit is swinging into full gear to do their part to meet students in times of need and crisis on campus by enlisting concerned parents, faculty, campus pastors and students to actively join their 40-day, 24-hour prayer movement, ARISE AND PRAY either online at www.ariseandpray.org or in person at the U ARISE office across from SMU, starting Thursday, September 5th.

Each evening, a celebrated Christian leader will lead out the prayer at 6:00 at the U ARISE space. Dr. Paul Dhinakaran of Jesus Calls, Dr. Stephen Rankin, current Chaplain and interim Dean of Student Life at SMU, and Stephen Baldwin, famous Hollywood actor, are slated in the line up of speakers this week. For more information on the speaking schedule, check the Facebook site each day for that evening's speaker: www.facebook.com/UARISE.

"Prayer is the one thing we can all do that we know will make a difference in the atmosphere of the college campus," says U ARISE President and Co-Founder Vicki Garza. "By coming together in one accord with one voice, we believe we can touch the heart of God to intervene in the lives of these students. Just as importantly, by praying with a focus to help others, we are the ones who ultimately see a transformational change in our own hearts and lives."

U ARISE is a health and wellness student resource with a mission to avert students in crisis on campus by educating students on the importance of finding their true identity through a heightened sense of who they were created to be spiritually, emotionally and physically.

With students embarking on a new academic year, this is a very exciting time. It can also be a difficult time of transition with challenges being faced from both new academic and new social environments.

"It's heartbreaking to realize how some students are negatively impacted by social media," says Melissa Clark of Drennan and Associates, a counselor who often counsels SMU students and once struggled with body image issues herself. "For a shy student or a student struggling with low self-esteem, Facebook and Twitter allow them to live their on-campus lives in 'silos' where they may have a thousand Facebook friends. However, they don't have a single friend they can share with face-to-face."

U ARISE will connect students with educational resources from many sources, including Hope for the Heart, whose issues-centric materials are featured on the Arise and Pray website.

As an alumni of Southern Methodist University and current Campus Pastor At the House of Zerubbabel (HOZ), Matthew Esquivel says, "We are committed to partnering with and training other ministries to encounter God through day and night prayer. We are excited to be partnering with Arise and Pray to bring unity to college campuses this fall."