Central Christian Church hosted the Healing Our Nation Rally on Wednesday night.

The purpose of the rally was to promote the importance of God in America and pray the nation’s leaders and public will look to God for answers. The rally’s principal message can be found in II Chronicles 7:14.

“The rally itself is based on and around II Chronicles,” Michael Murphy, event organizer said. “In chapter seven, verse 14, it tells us we should denounce our ways and turn to Him for guidance and He will in return forgive our sins and heal our land. I think that’s God’s formula for turning our country around and it is really a simple formula.”

During the rally patriotic songs with religious undertones, such as “God Bless America,” were sung and Dr. Hoyt W. Allen and the Rev. Roy Bennett spoke to the crowd.

“You and I know we have several statesmen who don’t want to trust in God,” Allen said. “But, trusting in God is fundamental to our history. That’s a history we don’t want to change. The phrase ‘Under God’ was added to the (Pledge of Allegiance) in 1954 and those are words we should want to hang on to.”

Also at the rally Boy Scout Troop 106 presented both the American flag and the Christian flag and led the crowd in pledges to each one. Katie Owens, a member of the Symmes Creek Missionary Baptist Church, performed the national anthem at the nondenominational event.

“We aren’t here as representatives of any denomination or a particular political party,” Tim Maddy, a member of Lawrence Furnance Church, said. “We are here as ambassadors of Christ.”

The rally closed with the crowd uniting in prayer for the nation.