God Is Their Co-Pilot

ByABC News
April 6, 2007, 2:17 PM

April 6, 2007 — -- Millions of Christians will commemorate Easter this year in the traditional manner -- church services and a family meal.

But others are choosing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a slightly more inventive way -- by trading a pew for a plane.

Up to 12 small aircraft carrying about 50 "prayer warriors" will take to the skies on Good Friday to pray for the entire state of Ohio, more than 11 million people.

"I'm a Christian and God is my No. 1 priority. A preacher will preach that the fields are ripe for the harvest and when you get up in an airplane at 3,000 feet up you can see a lot of fields," said 73-year-old Kenny Wortman, a founding member of PrayerFlight.

The idea for PrayerFlight took wing last September when Wortman's pastor, David McGregor, of Lima, Ohio, decided he wanted to "pray over Lima." Wortman chartered a plane and McGregor prayed over schools, hospitals, police and fire stations as he flew by.

The event was so successful they decided to do it again, except on a larger scale. "Another pilot called me and said let's do this on Good Friday. I mean what better dayevery day serving God, that's my goal, so to me every day is Easter time," said Wortman.

While most Christians won't be airborne this weekend, some will rise at dawn on Sunday to attend a sunrise service. The tradition commemorates the women who, according to Christian doctrine, came to Jesus' tomb at first light and discovered he had risen from the dead.

For the past 86 years, the Hollywood Bowl has been the site of one of the largest sunrise services in the country. Thousands of people gather in the middle of the night waiting for the gates to open at 3:30 a.m. Producer Norma Foster describes an appropriately Hollywood-kind of spectacle with about 700 people on stage, including 150 children who form a "living" cross.

The musicians and choir are surrounded by thousands of Easter lilies and the service ends with a mass release of white birds. Celebrities have played a role over the years including Shirley Jones, Mickey Rooney and Angie Dickinson. "I've been producing this for 18 years now. I've seen third-generation families come and sing in the choir. It just makes you want to cry," said Foster.