UK church must wake up, says GDOP leader

|PIC1|The convener of the Global Day of Prayer London has delivered a tough call to Christians in the UK to wake up and take an uncompromising stand for their faith.

Some 50,000 Christians in London prayed in each of the capital's 33 boroughs as part of the Global Day of Prayer held across 219 countries on Pentecost Sunday.

Speaking at the Newham prayer meeting in East London, Pastor Jonathan Oloyede said that it was time for Christians to pray and act. He warned in particular of the threat posed by ungodly legislation being passed by Parliament and plans to build a so-called mega mosque at the site of the London Olympics.

"I used to be a Muslim. The Muslims don't just want to build a mosque. They want to take over. If you want to roll over and play dead while the legacy of your forefathers is thrown in the dust and you can't stand up and say enough is enough then you are not fit to be a Christian," he said.

Pastor Oloyede said Christians in the UK needed to "stop trying to be nice and cute" in the face of threats to their faith and the wellbeing of the nation.

"All that stuff about not offending anyone is nonsense. I used to try to be nice to everyone but God said to me: You cannot be my messenger by being nice to everybody. So are you going to just play nice or are you going to be a follower of Christ?" he said.

He stressed that he was not asking Christians to be violent or unkind but rather to be bold and "true to the calling you have as a citizen of the Kingdom". Pastor Oloyede went on to urge Christians to be true believers by living out their faith.

"Many Muslims behave better than us Christians. Don't be compromised. Be a Christian or don't be. Stay in your nightclubs or come to church. Either be for God or be against him. There is no in between," he said.

He told Christians that the future of Christianity in the UK lay in their hands. God, he said, was telling Christians to plunge a stake in the ground where they were and take each part for Christ.

"Many Muslim leaders have told me that if the Christians in this country stood up for their faith they would back off. London, England, wake up! You choose which way this nation will go. Pray that this nation will wake up to its true calling and intercede until we see his glory."

In a video message broadcast to the GDOP London prayer meetings, London Mayor Boris Johnson paid tribute to the many Christian-run projects he said were helping to build community cohesion across the capital.

"We need your prayers at this time," he told them.

Christians spent the afternoon praying for God's Kingdom to come and his will to be done. Time was also given to prayer sof believers working within government, education, the NHS and the police, as well as church and ministry leaders.

Elsewhere in the UK, thousands of Christians joined in Global Day of Prayer meetings in Beverley, Chester, Norwich and York cathedrals, with more events held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For the first time,GDOP meetings were preceded by youth prayer meetings.