Karachi, India
|
On Pentecost Sunday, 4 June, Christians from over two hundred nations will approximate the day foreseen by Habakkuk when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). This will day be the second annual Global Day of Prayer (GDOP).
Last year, the GDOP had its gravitational center in the non-Western world and its main offices were located in Cape Town, South Africa. An estimated 200 million participants from 156 nations met at ten thousand venues (small villages and major stadiums) worldwide to pray. There were also four international telecasts (Taipei, Taiwan; Jakarta, Indonesia; Cape Town-Cairo, Egypt; and Dallas, Texas, USA). The GDOP, which is under the theological umbrella of the Apostle’s Creed, has encouraged remarkable partnerships. Stories abound of prayer unity between Protestant and historic churches. During the last GDOP Charismatic, Evangelical and Orthodox Christians in Cairo helped comprise an effort among all seventeen denominations of Egypt; the first time this had occurred. Similar phenomena were reported in other places around the world.
|
Overview of the Global Day of Prayer
Some may think the Global Day of Prayer is an event. It is not. It is an annual, five-year, 101-day process, the fountainhead of which is Pentecost. It creates allies among pastors, churches, marketplace leaders and civil servants. It unites the worlds of churches, non-profit organizations, businesses and government. The GDOP gives local church leaders a vision of transformation and multiplication by using the book of Acts and a “10.1.90” model.
10.1.90 Model Defined
In Acts 1 the disciples prayed for ten days between The Ascension and Pentecost. In Acts 2:1, when the Holy Spirit came, the whole city took notice. In Acts 2:42ff, those transformed by the Holy Spirit into a global Church (i.e. from “every nation”) proceeded to transform the city of Jerusalem. The first Church did this through praying in unity and with fervency, planting churches, creating intimate fellowship (small groups), remaining devoted to truth (discipleship), sharing their possessions, giving to the poor, filling the streets with awe and wonder and adding to their number those saved (evangelism).
Belfast, Ireland
|
The GDOP presents to local church leaders a new, simple, comprehensive model that aims at exalting God and transforming both people and places. Local leaders are a part of something almost eschatological, yet altogether measurable. The GDOP is preceded by ten days of intercession and fasting (millions of participants worldwide registered for this in the first GDOP). There is one day of public-venue praying, which gives way to “Ninety Days of Blessing,” or collaborative ministry, in communities. These days of blessing arise from the dreams and visions of local leaders and can include distributing Bibles, evangelizing, building low-income homes, refurbishing homes, sending out medical and dental teams and feeding the poor and vulnerable.
The GDOP is global and exciting. Although there is great freedom in this gathering of prayer, there are also firm parameters. By having the gravitational center of the GDOP in the developing world, the GDOP can act as a bridge to various Christian universes. It includes the latest communications technologies, yet can be implemented more simply among tribal peoples.
Cave Church, Cairo, Egypt
|
The 2006 Global Day of Prayer
To date, eight hundred cities in India are mobilizing; one hundred cities and the national stadium in Jakarta, India are organizing; churches in Singapore have secured their national stadium; and the sports stadium in Nairobi, Kenya and the Cave Church in Cairo, Egypt will connect by satellite. Houston, Texas, USA reports a coalition of five hundred churches at work, and Hong Kong’s coalition exceeds three hundred ministries. In North America over two hundred cities and towns across Mexico, the US and Canada are expected to participate. In addition to large cities, small towns take part as well. The handful of Christians gathered in a living room in a country where it is dangerous to follow Christ is as pleasing to God as a stadium filled with thousands free to be prayer warriors in the open air. Check the website, www.globaldayofprayer.com, to make sure your nation is registered.
The Global Day of Prayer casts vision among local, national and international leaders and provides the multimedia graphical and text resources needed to pray, organize, raise funds and collaborate. Our goal with the GDOP is a new era in the Church where the Spirit of God is poured out; where men and women are reconciled to God and to each other; and where a revolution is birthed regarding how Christians relate to their community—all within the contexts of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. As the first GDOP proved, our goal to “cover the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” is not wishful thinking. The timing is ripe.