68-Year-Old Louisiana Pastor Has Locked Himself In A Prayer Room For MONTHS And Refuses To Come Out Until Crime Drops In Baton Rouge
68-Year-Old Louisiana Pastor Has Locked Himself In A Prayer Room For MONTHS And Refuses To Come Out Until Crime Drops In Baton Rouge
- Dwight Pate has been locked up in his Baton Rogue meetinghouse since May
- The pastor wants to ‘change the hearts of the individuals’ who are violent
- Pate locked himself up twice before – for up to eight months
A Louisiana pastor has locked himself in a prayer room and vowed to stay there until crime is reduced in Baton Rouge.
The capital is gripped by a crime wave that has dominated conversations in the state.
Now Dwight Pate, 68, is taking action by trying to lure people to the sacred building to pray and receive holy oil.
Dwight Pate, 68, senior pastor of Church Point Ministries in North Baton Rouge has locked himself in a prayer room and vowed to stay there until crime is reduced in Baton Rouge
When the pastor first acquired the building for the church in 1994, he locked himself in the prayer room for nearly eight months
“It’s impossible for anyone to be truly sincere in seeking God without drawing other men and women to pray,” says the senior pastor of Church Point Ministries in North Baton Rouge. told WLBT.
‘The only place [the city’s ills] can be resolved is in the church. And teaching and loving God’s people. So I believe that prayer can change the hearts of the individuals who are causing all the violence,” he said.
In the first quarter of 2023, more than 13,000 violent crimes were reported by the Baton Rouge Police Department.
There were also 16 murders in the first three months of the year, and property crimes 11,046.
The pastor prays for a “spirit of peace” to spread throughout Baton Rouge, to “create a new standard of what I call justice and brotherly love.”
“There will be such a move of God among the people,” Pate said. “There will be such a move with some of the most violent people in this city.
‘Instead of [people] here killing and robbing and hurting people, [there will be people] bring peace and joy and victory and forgiveness and love,” he added.
Describes his experience of isolation in the room, Pate said in a video uploaded to Facebook: “What it means to be in the house of prayer is that I can just talk to my God 24 hours a day – just be with my God and watch the fruit of God touch your life.” This is not the first time that Pate has staged such a protest.
Baton Rouge has been experiencing high crime rates since early 2023
In 2000, Pate again locked himself away for five months, this time to join the pain and suffering of the isolated elderly.
Pate hopes to bring residents to the building to pray together and receive holy oil
When he first acquired the building for the church in 1981, Pate decided to dedicate the building to helping people entangled in drugs, crime and prostitution.
In 1994 he locked himself in the prayer room for almost eight months.
The city then experienced a similar crime and drug boom, similar to the one that has hit the area since the start of the pandemic.
In 2000, he again locked himself up for five months, this time to join the pain and suffering of isolated elderly people.