In an effort to raise awareness, prayers and money, participants with the EQUIP World Relay will walk miles a day to continue a leadership initiative in Guatemala.

Suwanee-based EQUIP Leadership was founded in 1996 by John C. Maxwell. It is a nonprofit that specializes in developing international Christian leaders. The main goals of the walk are to bring together 5 million partners in prayer and raise $1 million for global transformation.

Monday, the group walked from The John Maxwell Co. in Duluth, through Brookhaven to The Colonnade Restaurant on Cheshire Bridge Road in east Buckhead. EQUIP Leadership CEO John Hull, of Johns Creek, and a Marietta native, said the organization has or is in the process of training 16 million leaders in 177 different countries. The organization trains leaders in seven key streams of influence: business, government, education, media, entertainment, church and family.

“We’re about leadership that looks beyond the self,” said Hull.

Atlanta participants will walk to Laredo, Texas. They began the walk Monday. Hull said he expected about 200 people to participate in the walk from Atlanta to Texas, picking up about a 100 volunteers in Mexico, with thousands ending the 2,400-mile walk in Guatemala at a soccer stadium. The group hopes to arrive in Texas sometime in April.

“We’re walking with the idea that Guatemala is this country that has tremendous potential, and we want to create a partnership with them,” said Hull. “We’re not going down there telling them what to do. Guatemala produces a lot of food and sugar, but they can’t seem to find a way to feed their children.”

It took walkers about eight hours to walk the 22 miles, according to Jason Grant, who walked with the group and works for The John Maxwell Co.

“Nothing solidifies hard work like walking somewhere,” said Grant. “We’re doing it all for the glory of Christ — that’s why we do what we do.”

The group is set to reach Montgomery, Ala., Tuesday and hit Laredo April 26.

Information: www.equipworldrelay.org.