05/15/2026
At Cobb County Prayer Breakfast, residents reflect on what prayer means to them
Lucinda Warnke | [email protected] May 7, 2026
CUMBERLAND — Around 900 Cobb County residents and leaders packed into the Cobb Galleria Centre Thursday morning for the annual CobbCounty Prayer Breakfast.
The breakfast is a nondenominational worship service that’s open to everyone in the county. Hundreds of people from various Christian
denominations attend each year for a morning of camaraderie, inspiration and fellowship. It takes place every year on the National Day of Prayer, which invites Americans of all faiths and backgrounds to reflect on the role of faith in their lives. The breakfast has been held every year since 1985, when a group of religious and business leaders from around the county organized the very first one. AndyHiggins, an officer with the Cobb County Police Department who sat at a table toward the back with several of his colleague's, said prayer is how he starts his
day. He said he often prays for wisdom and protection as he goes about his police duties. “I always pray for safety in this job and that I make the right decisions,” Higgins said. Other attendees said prayer is a source of strength for
them. Rose Diggs — who attended the breakfast with her church, Milford Baptist Church in Marietta — said she prays throughout the day, even at her desk at work or while waiting at a stoplight. “There’s no set time that I pray,” Higgins said. “I’m always praying. If I’m not saying it out loud, I’m saying it in my heart.” For others, prayer doesn’t always come in the form of spoken words. Molly Holm —founder of Emmanuel Village, a project that seeks to house people experiencing
homelessness in Cobb County in tiny homes — said she uses journaling as away to pray. She said she journals in her Bible each day, a practice she’s kept up since 2015. As the entries have accumulated over the years, Holm said she can
see how her faith has grown and changed over time.
“I can follow it year over year and see the faithfulness of God’s hand as it threads
throughout my life,” Holm said. “I can see how the Lord has been faithful.” Singers from Destiny World Church in Austell performed at the breakfast, and local elementary, middle and high school students read selections of Scripture.
This year’s speaker was president and CEO of Fellowship of Christian Athlete Shane Williamson. He hammered home the breakfast’s focus on faith by encouraging attendees to “stay salty” — being guided by Jesus’ teachings and moving through the world with faith and humility.
