When Ironton native Kevin West sits down to take part in a morning prayer Thursday, it will be a little different than normal -- President George W. Bush will be at the breakfast table with him.

West, an Ironton-native and pastor at the Christ Temple Church in Huntington, W.Va., will accompany his senior pastor, Chuck Lawrence, to

Washington, D.C. to join in the president's National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.

"It is quite an honor for Pastor Lawrence and I to be able to go and be a part of this," he said. "We often look at things on a local level, but we cannot forget God works on the big picture, too."

They were to leave this morning, will spend Wednesday meeting members of Congress and touring the Capitol before having breakfast with Bush, government officials and other clergy from across the country.

"One of the things that makes this most exciting is we have a President who is a Christian and is seeking guidance," he said. "We know God has orchestrated our steps."

The timing could not be better, West said.

"With the country in the shape it is in -- the economy in bad shape,

on the eve of war, the Columbia catastrophe over the weekend -- people are looking for answers," he said. "We have never before seen such trials and tribulations in our lives and in our country."

The 36-year-old West was born and raised in Ironton, and is a 1984 graduate of Ironton High School. He has lived in Ashland, Ky., with his wife, Leesa, and three daughters, Lauren, 12, Lindsey, 7, and Lakyn, 7 months, since 1992. He became a member of the church five years ago and a minister in 2001.

West said he is most looking forward to hearing the president "speak his heart on what he needs because only prayer will guide the whole future of our country."

The pastors will try to come back to their church and tailor the messages and the prayers to account for all of America, he said.

"We are on the eve of seeing a revival in the Tri-State. So many souls are saved and lives are changed," he said. "At the Christ Temple we are experiencing a fresh outpouring of the spirit of the Lord at every service."