DALLAS, Oct. 22, 2007 – The 35 days of I-35: Highway of Holiness will begin this weekend with pre-kickoff events in Laredo, Texas, and Duluth, Minn., the ends of the interstate.

The I-35 initiative is part of Light the Highway, a movement to bring spiritual reformation to cities, then regions and finally nations.

“We want to start to build a Highway of Holiness for God that unites our nation, from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, and eventually extends around the world,” said Cindy Jacobs, founder of Light the Highway.

At least 12 cities along I-35 will host 24-hour prayer rooms for the duration of the initiative. Young people will hold “Purity Sieges,” in which they will “lay siege” by praying at sites of impurity in their cities, such as abortion clinics and pornography stores.

The initiative was inspired by Isaiah 35:8, which reads: “A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it.”

Heartland School of Ministry in Irving, Texas, will lead a “Radical Evangelism” effort. Each week, it will send evangelism teams to two cities, one to the north and one to the south, working their way toward Dallas. The teams will perform street evangelism, hold youth rallies and network with the local Body of Christ.

The 35 days of I-35, which will immediately follow the pre-kickoff events, will be held Oct. 28-Dec. 1 along the 1,500-mile length of I-35.

Churches in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo will host events at Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia (Christian Mercy Church) at 4519 E. Del Mar Blvd. Steve Hill, co-founder of Heartland World Ministries Church in Las Colinas, Texas, will speak at 7 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, Jim Hennesy, senior pastor of Trinity Church of the Assemblies of God in Cedar Hill, Texas, will speak at 10 a.m., followed by Generals International co-founders Mike Jacobs at 2 p.m. and Cindy Jacobs at 7 p.m.

The events in Duluth will be held at the Encounter Building at 201 E. First Street. Jim Chosa of Day Chief Ministries and Rick Heeren, State Apostolic Coordinator for Minnesota, will speak each night, with activities starting at 6 p.m.

I-35: Highway of Holiness will be climaxed by “5 Nights of Miracles” in the Dallas area, first at Trinity Church in Cedar Hill Nov. 27-30 and then at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas on Dec. 1. Internationally known speakers will include Cindy Jacobs, Steve Hill, Sergio Scataglini, Che Ahn and Bill Johnson.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.lightthehighway.org.

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