A Word from Willie and Lydia

Many have written or called to hear how the Global Day of Prayer event in Columbia went.
All of us say without contradiction, Sunday was an amazing event in the history of Greater Columbia.
In a de-briefing session on Monday evening after the event, I listened to a father who was deeply moved by the way his son joined in prayer at the arena. This was obviously a very personal experience for their family.

During the programme the pastors of one of the largest churches in the city came to me and said “We have to work hard to capture the enthusiasm that we were experiencing in the arena today”

One pastor who came a few minutes late spoke about the “strong sense” of the presence of the Holy Spirit as he walked into the Arena.

Here are a few comments that I heard in the last 24 hours:

…the times of quiet reflection and personal repentance was a “Kairos” moment for them, while others commented on the incredible praise and worship of our Lord and Saviour.

…I was so blessed to have met new friends while praying together in our groups of four.

…“through the Global Day of Prayer we are seeing a unified God-honoring togetherness in the city” – they went on to say that this was “Historic”

…many commented on the impact that the “Can you imagine document” will have on the city as we individually and corporately embrace the commitments made in it.
  (I have attached it to the bottom of this letter if you would like to read it)

…a pastor said; “when the church forgets its own agendas and choose to come together corporately to pray, God releases a special anointing”

…yet another pastor said, “this is the ONE DAY IN A YEAR that the church in Columbia comes together to pray”. What a powerful statement!!!

There is NO DOUBT that the presence of the Lord was in our midst. We are awed and deeply grateful. In His mercy and grace, our Heavenly Father answered our prayers. This was indeed a God designed and enabled event.

I am sure there will be many more stories and testimonies that we will hear in the next few days.

Once again we had an awesome team of senior pastors, business people and willing individuals that helped to make the arrangements. Some of the most senior pastors spent hours, maybe days to visit other pastors in the city to invite them to be a part of the event. Without their involvement the event would have been very different. Once again we realize that every person was an important members of a team—that understood what it takes to work together.

The official estimate of the number of people present is 3,243.

They came from a wide range of churches, races and counties, with hearts ready to meet with God on behalf of the many needs facing our city, our state, the nation and the nations of the world.

There were less people than last year but it was a reflection of the beginning of the summer vacations since all of the high schools and colleges have finished their graduations and many had gone away on a family break. There was also a major baseball game in the city later that afternoon, various Day of Pentecost celebrations and other events in some of the churches in the city. We certainly missed our brothers and sisters from the Southern Baptist and Methodist churches who were attending their annual conventions on the same weekend.  Nevertheless GOD was present among HIS people and Columbia will never be the same again.

We just received the letter that I have copied below from one of the brothers that helped as a volunteer at the event. PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO READ IT. IT SAYS SO MUCH MORE THAN I COULD EVER PUT INTO WORDS.

Thank you once again for your friendship, partnership and involvement in the Kingdom of God!

Many blessings

Willie & Lydia Crew