Christians Gather and Unite to Prepare Global Day of Prayer

|TOP|Christian leaders from across the denominational spectrum have gathered Monday at West Ham Football Stadium in East London to prepare for a major new London prayer initiative slated for next May.

The Global Day of Prayer 2007 has succeeded in uniting major Christian organisations including Premier Radio, the African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), Faithworks, Glory House, and Youth With a Mission.

The new plans follow the success of a previous prayer initiative earlier in the summer which saw 1000 Christians gather at Westminster Chapel to celebrate Pentecost as part of their response to the Global Day of Prayer 2006.

The driving motors behind the 2007 initiative are the Bishop of Barking, the Rt Rev David Hawkins, the Rev Peter Watherston, and Pastor Jonathan Oloyede of Glory House, who stressed that “prayer is crucial to transformation”.

The vision for the ambitious project was agreed upon today by the leaders: to fill up the entire West Ham Football Stadium with 35,000 prayer enthusiasts who are passionate to see a revival in the capital.

|QUOTE|And passion was definitely the key word in Monday’s meeting as the leaders stressed the need for Christians to feel passion once again towards the transformation of society into God’s people.

Katei Kirby of the ACEA said at the meeting: “One of the passions I have, and I know it is shared by [Pastor Jonathan Oloyede] and others who are here working with him, is this passion for unity and to really see Christians doing what Jesus prayed for in John 17, which is us being one - not the same, and I think it’s important to make that distinction, but to demonstrate our oneness in Christ.”

Meeting participants, which also included significantly John Armitage, the Roman Catholic Vicar General of Brentwood Diocese, were extremely encouraged by the close cross-denominational dialogue that took place at the meeting as the leaders planned out a strategy to see their vision become a reality.

Pastor Oloyede said it was a “very prophetic step” to see the different denominations and ethnic backgrounds all coming together.

The Bishop of Barking, David Hawkins, has agreed to chair and lead a Steering Group of London Church Leaders to plan the event at West Ham Football Stadium on Pentecost Sunday 27th May 2007 as a backdrop towards the coming 2012 Olympics, the majority of which will be held close by in East London.

He said of today’s meeting: “It is encouraging there is this degree of church leaders really committed to this vision.”

He added: “Each and every one of us must be ambassadors to get out into our denominations, into our networks, into our churches, to spread the vision of this great event.”

A 24/7 Prayer mobilisation will take place from 1st January as part of a massive cross-denominational effort to fill up the whole stadium with Christians passionate for prayer and the Kingdom of God.