Twelve thousand Christians, young, old, male and female, and of various ethnicities, walked through the center of the city of Dublin in excited solidarity for the faith at the first ever "March for Jesus." All Nations Church and Betania Church, both based in the city, organized the event on Oct. 26, supported by other churches in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
They gathered to affirm the Christian identity which has enfolded the peoples of Ireland since missionary St Patrick first arrived in the fifth century AD, according to organizers.
Starting at the Garden of Remembrance, the crowds sang and prayed as they walked, holding wooden crosses, waving flags and placards saying, "March for Jesus," "Jesus is the Way," "Jesus is Lord," "Jesus is King," "Jesus can change your life," "Jesus loves Dublin" and "Jesus loves Ireland."
A worship team on an elevated platform located upon one of the city streets led participants in singing popular songs and hymns, such as "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul" and "How Great Thou Art."
"We lift that name," said Andy Campbell, of Healing the Land charity, in front of the crowd. "That Jesus is King over Ireland and God, we thank you today you are still King over Ireland."
"How many of you believe that Jesus is alive?" asked Pastor John Ahern, of All Nations Church, from the platform and his question was met with an exuberant cheer in response.
Ahern read aloud from Jeremiah 1:10: "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
The pastor then spoke out seemingly about political decisions and societal choices on the island, both north and south, which stood contrary to gospel values. "I want to pray for the family, I want to pray for our children. I think that it's significant that in the providence of God, that God ordained that we would be here on this day. It was arranged months ago but here God says before you were born I knew you.
"We are here to bless our city, we are here to bless this island both north and south. But we're not just here to bless because God will not and cannot bless everything. God will not bless the shedding of innocent blood. God will not bless euthanasia. God will not bless the sexualisation of children. God will not bless the erasure of women. And God will not bless churches that are so cowardly they refuse to call evil exactly what it is."
Ahern then pleaded to God, "standing in the gap for this nation," asking for blessing on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe and the wider world.
Referring to Jesus as the light of the world, he pleaded in prayer for the Irish people to return to God: "that the Irish people are going to come back to you, to faith in you, to honoring you, to worshiping you, to declaring that you are Lord."
Several other church and ministry leaders, both male and female, from across the island also spoke and prayed at the event.
Nick Park, Executive Director of the Evangelical Alliance Ireland, expressed his hope for a future Irish Government, which would return its focus on values that align with the Bible.
"I pray for the next government for this nation to be one that you can use to roll back tides of darkness and bring in a restoration of truth and godliness in this nation."
