21st Annual Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast Inspires Faith in God

Feb 14, 2025

Twenty-one years ago after the back-to-back hurricanes of Frances and Jeanne ravaged Central Florida, a prayer breakfast in Vero Beach was organized at the city’s beautiful Riverside Park to spiritually unite the community. At that time, the city resisted such a prayer event taking place at its park. However, Liberty Counsel intervened and then the city honored the rights of its local residents to use the park to pray and worship. More than two decades later, the 21st Annual Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast drew a gathering of about 1,700 people yesterday at the city’s park to once again encourage unity and faith in God among their communities. 

Singer and actor Pat Boone, 90, keynoted the event with his inspirational music and a powerful message titled, “Who is God?” Essentially, Boone said God created humanity for a relationship with Him, and that God had given him a platform in life to teach and proclaim God’s love. The event’s other speakers also inspired the crowd, such as former congresswoman and now dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University Michele Bachmann, Pastor Emeritus of the Moody Church in Chicago Dr. Erwin Lutzer, and Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. Guy Penrod provided powerful worship music. 

Bachmann spoke about when you submit yourself to God, then His “real power” in your life will be on display as you will come to possess even the “gates of your enemies.” Dr. Lutzer made several points in that the world needs to know why we believe in our God, and that prayer is a catalyst for change.

As a gift for every attendee, a recently printed pocket-size book of the Gospel of John had been placed on every seat at the event. Staver read excerpts from the Gospel of John, noting how God spoke the world and humanity into existence; how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead with His voice; and how He caused a blind man born without ocular nerves to see. Staver inspirationally told the audience that God’s Word does not return to Him without accomplishing its purpose. 

“Whatever you are facing, the Gospel of John is written for you and written so you might believe,” said Staver. “Whatever we see happening in the world whether it’s the past four years, or the next four years, we have ebbs and flows, but with Jesus Christ, He is the same today and forever.

The pocket-sized Gospel of John was printed this week by Liberty Counsel’s New Revolution creative and printing ministry.

The Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast was founded by John Bona and his wife Carol after the 2004 hurricanes. Bona noted that this year’s event resonated with the very first breakfast twenty-one years ago since the community had shown similar unity after a tornado inflicted some damage in the area during 2024’s Hurricane Milton.

“I think right from the very beginning, God has blessed (the Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast),” said Bona. “It's certainly not us. It just shows the interest and a lot about the people from the community, who just want to take even one morning out of the year to come together in unity.”

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