Interview: Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, Co-Organiser of Soul in the City 2006

Soul in the City has hit London once again to bring spiritual revival to the capital and win the hearts of its young people to Christ.

|PIC1|The major evangelistic experience kicked off with a massive anti-guns campaign in Hackney in partnership with New York outreach TRUCE, part of Nicky Cruz Outreach, and backed by the Metropolitan Police.

Soul in the City and TRUCE launched Soulweek Saturday night with praise, hip-hop performances and testimonies from former New York gang leader turned Christian Nicky Cruz, youths from Hackney and Hackney Street Pastors who worked together with TRUCE throughout July.

Soulweek, tipped to become one of the largest grassroots youth movements in any city in the UK, will see young Christians across London hold outreach events in every borough of the city.

Christian Today spoke to Pastor Jonathan Oloyede of Glory House, one of the key organisers behind the week of outreach.


So why do you think there is a need for Soul in the City?

We believe that London needs a change and we believe that the churches coming together is such a powerful thing and once the churches come together it will produce change. And we believe that Soul in the City is such a wonderful banner under which the churches can unite together, to send out the youth to touch their communities. That’s why we believe London needs Soul in the City.

And London needs Soul in the City because it needs transformation and it needs the touch of God, we believe, through the young people.

|AD|Why do you think Soul in the City has been so powerful in touching the hearts of young people? So many churches struggle to get the young people in but Soul in the City really has really set the hearts on fire. Why do you think that is?

I think it is the Spirit of God. He said I pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. And I believe the Spirit of the Lord is just breathing through Soul in the City to reach young people and it is His job, His phenomenon really not ours. And we’ve run with the vision and the vision is to touch the young people so that they can touch their communities and the Lord seems to be honouring that and touching young people through that.

What is your biggest desire, what is it you want to see the most of in this week?

To see thousands and thousands of young people coming to Christ through the mission of Soul in the City and for the churches to be filled with young people. And to do creative mission locally in their estates, their streets, their neighbourhoods, that’s the vision. To see London transformed. Three things: it is church uniting, youth empowering and it is community transforming. That’s the vision, that’s what we want to see.