National Christian leaders recently joined the Awakening America Alliance—an alliance formed six years ago from a broad coalition of Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic ministries—at a historic leadership summit in Jacksonville, Florida. Leaders at the summit focused on American history while evaluating and engaging the future with regard to awakening.
Billy Wilson, outgoing Executive Director of Awakening America Alliance, stated, “As we become engaged in kingdom opportunities, embrace fresh strategies within the church, and experience a personal urgency to pray and act, we will see a difference. One thing is certain; our best hope toward witnessing a dramatic spiritual shift in the United States is for us to stand together in unity.”
Dr. David Ferguson, Co-chair of the Alliance, led the summit in highly interactive meetings with attendees fully engaging with one another around the indicators of awakening. Prominent leaders of successful initiatives in our cities, on our campuses and in our churches gave input regarding potential, unified responses. The summit held focused prayer moments to undergird their discussion on awakening strategy development.
“As participants in the Awakening America’s Church Leadership Summit, we became aware more than ever before that downstream pollution is a result of upstream problems,” said Kay Horner, Reflections of the Heart Ministries and Cry Out America National Coordinator. “The dysfunction in American society may be impacted by many factors, but if a truly committed church community can change the environment upstream; hopefully, we will see a dramatic transformation in our cities, on our campuses, and in our families.”
As a backdrop for the Awakening America Alliance Leadership Summit, the participants visited Mayport, Florida, where in 1562, near the mouth of the St. Johns River, Jean Ribault and the Huguenot believers prayed the first known protestant prayer on America’s shores—it was a time of sober evaluation of today’s American church, the escalating cultural pressure it is enduring, and potential ways to turn the spiritual tide.
Jarvis Ward, Mission America Coalition, National Facilitator of City and Community Ministries, said, “Wow! God powerfully spoke to me during the Awakening America Alliance Leadership Summit with a gentle and clear reminder (and rebuke) that I and other servants of Jesus Christ must walk, must live before Him and each other in ever-increasing humility, purity, faith and love with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Imagine what an impact that will have on the Church and the culture! Lord, give us grace by your Spirit to be such followers of Christ, the God of glory, who inhabits eternity and delights to fellowship with the humble and obedient. It begins with me and any other Christian servant-leader. Do I live a life of humility and purity? Let the awakening start with me!”
Ward continued, “We must be willing to lay aside our selfish ambitions and self-promoting, cloaked in spiritual language, to humbly serve better together in every city, community, and county in the USA and globally.”
Jeremy Story, President of Campus Renewal Ministries, said, “College campuses have historically been at the heart of revival and awakening in our nation—revival in our nation’s history has found its roots among college students. The entire foreign missions effort from North America can be traced back to five students praying at Williams College in 1806 and through the sending out of 20,000 missionaries through the student volunteer movement starting in the late 1800’s. Where college campuses go today, our nation will go tomorrow. The church could get all she desires today in terms of people turning to God in every field, but if college students are left out, then all the good done will be undone in less than a generation. This is because of the disproportionate influence and leadership roles that our college graduates take when they enter into every sector of our society from Wall Street to Hollywood and from education to the government.”
Amanda Fisher, a next generation attendee and Founder of Fisher Renewal Systems, said “My grandfather, Dr. Robert E. Fisher, had a plaque on his desk that read, ‘My life for His glory.’ He recognized that keeping his heart turned towards God positioned him to see a great move of the Spirit. Leaders from many ministry streams gathered at the Awakening America Alliance Leadership Summit to push differences aside and believe for awakening in America once again. This united hunger gets the attention of God and positions us to catch the next wave of God’s move in our nation.”
The Awakening America Alliance, with strong conviction that America was in a devastating spiritual decline, decided that a united, public moment of prayer for awakening was needed across America and designated a day connected with a time that in many ways is infamy in American history, September 11, 2001—a day all Americans will remember with images etched in minds and hearts.
Once again, the Awakening America Alliance is asking every county in our nation to unite in prayer on September 11, 2013—calling sacred assemblies across denominational lines, from every race and every political persuasion to stand on the public square and say that Jesus is the only answer for America.
Dave Butts, President, Harvest Prayer Ministries and Chairman of the National Prayer Committee, said, “In the midst of our crises as a nation, there is one voice beginning to rise up: ‘we must have another great spiritual awakening as a nation.’ The Awakening America Alliance is being used by God to help issue that cry.”
To learn more about the Awakening America Alliance and the Nationwide 9/11 prayer movement, Cry Out America, or to become involved visit www.awakeningamerica.us [1].
(Source: Awakening America Alliance)