The Viva Network is celebrating the success of its World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk earlier this summer which brought together three million participants.

In a report on the event's success issued this week, Viva said that the initiative on 7 - 8 June amassed 5.5 million collective hours of prayer across 87 countries, with 58 per cent of the prayers offered by children.

Viva said that the prayer events had yielded some encouraging results.

One church in El Salvador reported to Viva that 300 children had responded to a call to come to Jesus, whilst Christians in the Philippines reported that churches were more interested in working with and praying for children at risk as a result of the prayer weekend.

In the UK, Viva held a prayer event at Blenheim Palace to pray in preparation for the weekend to be powerful and effective and break the cycle of bad news in the media with some good news stories. Participants were encouraged when the headlines the day after reported that an Austrian woman who had been held prisoner in the basement of her home by her father, along with several children fathered by him, had been freed after 24 years of captivity.

Other churches took the opportunity to help children in a practical way by collecting money and second hand clothing.

"Prayer events from the weekend have proved to be a catalyst in promoting many good things across the nations of the earth," said Viva.