From Liquor to Life: Behind the Scenes of the “Prayer on the 9” Peace March and What It Means for Church Leaders Everywhere
From Liquor to Life
“Behind the Scenes of The Prayer on the 9 Peace March and What It Means For Church Leaders Everywhere”
(photo credit: Nicole Joseph)
I Was There
And here’s what I saw.
On Saturday, May 17, 2025, thousands of people lined 79th Street in Chicago, not for a parade, but for a prayer walk.
Not for spectacle, but for healing.
And this wasn’t just any event; this was the vision of Senior Pastor John F. Hannah, brought to life by the people of New Life Covenant Church Southeast and the power of prayer in motion.
As an Associate Pastor and Executive Director of Operations, I had the honor of helping this amazing team carry out this bold, redemptive vision for the city.
This wasn’t just an event. It was a moment.
A moment that turned a corner of pain into a platform of purpose.
Let’s unpack what I witnessed and what every pastor and leader can learn from it.
1. Pastor John F. Hannah Didn’t Just Walk Past the Liquor Store—He Saw Its Future
For years, Happy’s Liquors represented heartbreak: frequent crime, community trauma, and lives cut short.
But Pastor Hannah didn’t just walk by and shake his head.
He cast a vision for something better. Something bigger.
He led our church to purchase that very store, not just to leave it as an eyesore, or even tear it down, but to transform it into a symbol of hope: a grocery store, a business incubator, and a medical center.
That’s vision in action.
That’s faith with a plan.
And that’s the kind of leadership our cities are waiting on.
2. “Prayer on the 9” Was Never Just a March. It’s a Movement.
When Pastor Hannah first launched “Prayer on the 9,” 15 years ago, he didn’t do it for the cameras or social media.
He did it for the people. For the community. For families.
To bring prayer back to the streets.
To place the church back at the center of community healing.
To remind Chicago and every city that peace is still possible.
Every year, this march has grown. And every year, Pastor Hannah’s vision has remained the same: Bring the power of prayer to the places that need it most.
This year, we walked past the very site we’re rebuilding. And we prayed over it.
Because we believe peace isn’t just preached, it’s planted. And we removed the Happy Liquors sign. For good.
3. When Vision and Strategy Meet, God Moves
As Executive Director of Operations, my job is to make vision operational. Sustainable. Economical. Responsible.
But Pastor Hannah had the vision. And has more vision.
Our team built the system to support it. And we’re aligning to support more of Pastor Hannah’s vision.
This march took:
Dozens of city permits and meetings
Hundreds of volunteers
Thousands of steps of coordination
But when strategy supports vision, impact multiplies.
Too many leaders wait for everything to be perfect before they move.
Pastor Hannah teaches us to move when God says move and build as you go.
4. Presence Beats Performance
Thousands joined this march, including neighbors, nearby churches and pastors, business owners, city officials, and other local organizations.
They didn’t come for a performance.
They came for presence.
That’s what makes Pastor Hannah’s leadership so unique: he’s never been interested in just growing a church.
He’s committed to transforming a city. One community at a time. One family at a time. One dangerous liquor store at a time.
5. This March Was the Message
Every sign held up, every prayer whispered out loud, and every footstep that hit the pavement…
It all said one thing:
“We’re still here. And we still believe in better. In bigger.”
This wasn’t just Pastor Hannah’s message because it became our message as well.
A message that declared:
Peace is not passive.
Prayer is not powerless.
And the church is not invisible.
6. Leaders: Don’t Just Watch This. Learn From It.
This is what I hope every pastor reading this will be inspired to carry forward:
Vision without action is a speech. Action without vision is chaos. You need vision and action.
Proximity is the new platform. Get out of your building and into your city.
Events are not enough. What happens after the march is where ministry really begins.
And above all, you don’t need a megachurch to lead change.
You need a burden, a plan, and the boldness to move.
What Pastor Hannah Taught Us All
And what Pastor Hannah reminded me:
Every corner of our city is crying out for healing.
What Pastor John F. Hannah has modeled for me, for our team, and for our city is this:
Real ministry doesn’t just preach in church.
It walks through broken places and builds what’s missing.
This year’s “Prayer on the 9” was bigger than a peace march.
It was a prophetic step toward community transformation.
And you can do the same wherever God has placed you.
Want to Lead Like This in Your City?
I help pastors and church leaders apply these same principles in their context by designing strategies that work, implementing systems that last, and developing leaders who multiply.
Let’s talk if you’re ready to move from vision to action in your church or city.
Schedule a free discovery call today.
Visit ericvhampton.com to start the conversation.
See you next Saturday!
Eric V Hampton
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
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The Healthy Church Leader Annual Review. My annual review guides you from celebration (remembering past wins) to expectation (planning future wins) as you pursue your Christ-centered mission.
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