A North Texas Pastor is headed to Washington Monday morning. Pastor Charles Smith is with the Berea Baptist Church in Forest Hill near Fort Worth.

His Sunday congregation is packed with members not just for Mother's Day, but to celebrate their pastor's trip to Capitol Hill.

"I'm just so excited to be in the same city as our president and his family," explains Pastor Smith "It's so exciting to me to be where history is currently being made."

On Wednesday Pastor Smith will open the United States House of Representatives with a prayer.

He was nominated to be guest chaplain for a day by Congressman Michael Burgess.

Pastor Smith says he hopes his words will inspire leaders during these tough economic times.

"The problems of this nation are greater than man can handle so my part is to invoke the power of the super natural God to help us," says Pastor Smith.

The pastor says his prayer is 149 words.
He's timed it out to a minute and forty seconds.

"I've spent at least a couple of weeks rehearsing," says Pastor Smith "I've already send in the prayer so I have to stick to the script."

As Pastor Smith prepares for his trip, his congregation has already started praying for him.

"Oh I'm excited!" says Othella Smith the pastor's mother and a member "I'm extremely happy! I wish I could go!"

The congregation of about four hundred members couldn't be more thrilled. Several church members as well as Pastor Smith's family will accompany him on this trip.

"It's something I wouldn't really believe almost like seeing the first black president," says church goer John Flanagan Jr.
Pastor Smith will leave for Washington Monday morning.

He admits he would love to meet the President, but if he can't a tour of the White House will be ok too.

You can watch Pastor Smith's prayer on C-SPAN Wednesday morning May 13 at 9 o'clock.

"Everybody will know that Berea Baptist Church in Forest Hill is alive and well."


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