'The Justice Walk' Much More Than a Hike Through the Midwest

During the COVID infused days of 2020, most people were trying to adjust to a new way of living.  Seemingly endless, carefree days of little concern for a major health outbreak, were quickly replaced by lurking about in protective masks, languishing in quarantine, and trying to flatten the curve as quickly as possible. Tragically, our loss of simple freedoms became a stark reality.

For National Day of Prayer chairman Geoff Eckart, he saw the summer of 2020 quite differently. Rather than hunkering down and waiting for the pandemic to pass, the Grand Rapids, Michigan native decided to walk across the Midwest, from Indiana to Kansas. But this wasn’t just any walk. Eckart was walking the brutal “Trail of Death”, the historic pathway of the Potawatomi Native Americans who were forced to leave their home in Indiana for a settlement in Kansas in 1838.  

Along this arduous walkway, Eckart discovered startling similarities between his life and the Potawatomi, ones that would redefine his meaning of justice in these modern times.  From his own life-changing realizations, Eckart desires that others experience their own “justice trail”. So much so, that he wants others to walk the “Trail of Death” with him. 

Eckart is about to embark on this walk again, beginning on May 18th, and he is inviting everyone to join him for one day, 21 miles, for a “transformative experience”, or what he is calling The Justice Walk.

I recently sat down with Eckart to discuss the significance of the 660 mile journey, what one must do to physically and spiritually prepare for this trek, and why justice is so desperately needed during this time in our land.

If you were trying to encourage a friend or family member to take part in The Justice Walk this year, what would you say to encourage them? What would your sales pitch be?

Everyone has a justice issue that they care about, something that bothers them. This is when you actually take some action to get into a place physically where it can get deeper into your soul and your spirit. This is a really unique event. I don't know of any event that's been done like this before where we're inviting people to stand for a justice cause they care about, on a very historic trail, one that is called the Trail of Death. The Trail of Death was a forced removal of Native Americans in 1838. I walked this 600 mile trail in the Summer of 2020. And I found that nothing can replace being in the actual physical space. There's something you can read about, things you can learn and experience, something with the cerebral part of your life, but there's nothing like immersing yourself in a space where something happened like this. So it's really unique. My sales pitch would be, come and really take a stand for something that you believe in, in a place that will be a transformative experience. 

Could you share some reflections from the first time you took this 660 mile journey on foot in the summer of 2020?  What were some key takeaways you had following your walk?

I learned that God shares His heart with His people. And in that it brings about pain. The way I say it is this: a justice trail is a journey that you can go on and that God will leave you on. It begins with a problem that you can't ignore and that leads to a pain that you can't ignore.

You can't ignore where it starts. What I learned is the Justice Trail that I journeyed on symbolically and I walked it physically. It was the problems of our country that burdened me to a point that I couldn't escape it. I couldn't ignore it any longer. Why do we keep repeating the sins of our past? Why do we keep treating people as less than human? Why do we dehumanize people and use them for our own selfishness and our selfish gain? And so, that problem really gripped me. And then, the pain of it was, when God shows you a problem, He shares His heart about that problem. He shares the pain in His heart. That led me to really experience a level of discomfort. That led to deep sorrow that I never experienced like that before. And I think that's where a lot of people can tap out, so to speak, when it gets so painful. It can be overwhelming and can really be difficult to deal with. But for me, that pain was something where I felt like God opened the window of His heart for me to understand His pain. This changed me. That leads to a purpose that what I say is your purpose. You can't imitate it. So it leads to something that's unique to the individual that goes on this journey. 

Speaking of pain, what types of things does one need to do to prepare both physically, mentally, and spiritually for The Justice Walk? What advice do you have for those interested in doing this?

On this event that we're holding on May 18th, the Justice Walk, it's a chance to be out in the elements and experience something different. We are offering the opportunity for people to walk different distances depending on what they'd like to do. So, there's a three mile option, which takes about an hour. There's a 10 mile option, which would take approximately four hours. And then there's a 21 mile option, which we estimate will take around nine hours or so. The reason that it's 21 miles is because of what the Potawatomi (Native American Tribe) walked on their first day in history on September 4, 1838. I walked the exact same mileage on that first day. And someone spoke to me recently about this. We were talking about the Justice War event, and they were saying, “I hope that people really push themselves and do the 21 miles because it will push the physical boundaries for them to get much closer to experience what the Potawatomi went through.”

That's such a significant moment, for people to break the barriers of maybe what's come to challenge them, will lead to a transformative moment at this event.

What are you hoping they will take away from the experience?

We want them to feel injustice. I want them to sense it, feel it in their body. Feel it in their soul. And out of that we want to activate them to get involved in an area of Biblical justice that God is calling them to. And we hope that people have an expanded view of justice, because justice has been relegated to maybe just a few things that people think of. If the idea of justice comes up, but justice actually is something that's wrong in the world, that could be maybe more traditional things that we would think of. Maybe racial injustice or human trafficking, clean water, or some of those issues that are so important. But it could be other things like education or poverty. For me, it's always been working with young people. That's been an issue of justice for me to help level the playing field so that they can experience the Gospel. We want people to really begin to discover what their justice mission is as a result of doing the Justice Walk.

Changing gears, one of the things you've done with this event is that you've produced a documentary on the subject called The Justice Trail. What can you tell me about it?

The documentary is calling people to Biblical justice. It documents my personal experience walking on this trail of death. It also explores historically what happened, and then it also explores current stories of people that have experienced injustice. And it's all for the purpose of getting the Church engaged in issues of justice around them, that God has already placed on their hearts. And it might just be a moment of discovery. And so, this is a documentary film that will call people to experience Biblical justice.

Ultimately, what type of awareness are you hoping to raise on this vital undertaking?

We want to engage the Church. This is an issue that is resonating in society. It's resonating in the young Church. When I say the young church, what I mean is people under 30 years old who have been discouraged by what they see as the Church's response to issues of justice. I'm not casting judgment on anyone, but I think that we need, as God's people – here's the way I look at it. Every issue of injustice, I believe God has called a person to engage with. And when we see these problems, challenges that we face in the world, I think a lot of the time  those issues could be eliminated or definitely minimized through the actions of believers. And so, I want to see this film mobilize people to get engaged in an issue that God has caused them to be passionate about.

Building from that, why do you think justice is so desperately needed during this time in our land?

There's a revival happening in America. And it’s happening on a couple different levels. It's happening with the purge of God exposing darkness within the Church. And a lot of people are discouraged by that. But to me, that's actually a sign of revival because God can't bless something that's filled with rotten disease.

So, God's doing that, but He is also awakening people's hearts to the Gospel around the country and around the world. But I believe that this film comes at a really important time. We've been working on this project for almost four years. A lot longer than what we thought. And as a result, we are calling people to get engaged in justice. That's why I think it's important.

After people have had a chance to see The Justice Trail and/or take part in The Justice Walk, what do you hope they will take away from the experience? What is your greatest hope for all of this?

I hope that it can engage millions of people in discovering what their justice mission is and what they're called to do individually. Not to sit on the sidelines and watch things around them burn, but to really engage in something good and positive.

For More Information on Walking The Justice Trail:

WATCH A TRAILER FOR THE FORTHCOMING THE JUSTICE TRAIL DOCUMENTARY: