A global Christian event made possible by new technology has announced its first tranche of contributors, unveiling a list of multinational and multidenominational Christian teachers, storytellers and prayer guides from six continents.
Running over a 25-hour period, Gather25 will use television broadcasts, radio, and live streams in order to enable Christians anywhere in the world to take part from their homes, theatres, and local churches, or attend one of the live broadcast sites in person.
The guests announced so far include pastors and church leaders like Jennie Allen, the founder and visionary behind Gather25 and a bible teacher and author, Cristian Barbosu, the senior pastor of Harvest Church in Arad, Romania, Sarah Breuel, founder and executive director of Revive Europe and church planter in Italy, and Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church and author of over a dozen best-selling books.
The list also includes notable authors such as Christine Caine, a speaker, author, and activist with over 30 years' experience in serving the local church, and Francis Chan, church planter and the best-selling author of Crazy Love, Forgotten God, and You and Me Forever. It also features world-renowned author, Rick Warren, who wrote The Purpose Driven Life, and whose books have been translated into 200 languages.
They will be joined by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, who pioneered the Alpha teaching system, an introduction to the Christian faith which now runs in churches of all denominations across 147 countries.
There will also be powerful worship led by Matt Redman and Sinach, who has written some of the most popular songs in contemporary worship, including "Way Maker", "I Know Who I Am". "The Name of Jesus", and many more.
Gather25 will kick off in the United States at 01:00 UTC on Saturday 1 March 2025, before moving around the world and coming to an end in Peru at 02:00 UTC, Sunday 2 March 2025. The full list of contributors announced so far can be found on the Gather25 website.
Over the course of its continuous broadcast, it will seek to engage its audience using stories and testimonies of God's hand at work around the world, inspiring believers to reach out to the 5.5 billion people who have yet to discover what having a relationship with Jesus truly means.
Each of the host countries will deliver their own session, offering stories, teaching, and worship from multiple locations, as well as sharing new stories from the ongoing work of the underground church.
"It's so easy to underestimate just how beautiful, powerful, and vast the Church really is. But the more we look around the world, the more we see that Jesus' Church is very much alive and well - and we recognize that every day amazing stories are being written," said Redman.
"What I love about the vision of Gather25 is it will help get us more in touch with that glorious reality. As we join our voices together across the globe on March 1st, the Word, worship, witness, and prayer will be so powerful.
"But perhaps what will be most stunning of all will be our unity - with so many streams and expressions joining together as 'one' - just the way Christ always wanted it. Please join us!"
