This vast expanse of public land stretching from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial has seen many mass gatherings across the decades. But never one aimed simply at worshipping the Savior of mankind around the clock for days in a row. Yet that’s what’s coming October 6-9.
Tens of thousands of Christians praising and praying will fill some 57 tents, taking up much of that vast space running through the heart of the nation’s capital.
David Bradshaw, the visionary and organizer of “Awaken the Dawn,” told CBN News, “Starting right at Third Street by the Capitol going all the way down to 14th, which is right there in front of the Washington Monument, there’s going to be a tent city. Every state will have a tent. And every tent will be filled with worship and prayer 24 hours a day.”
He continued, “We want to throw the biggest celebration of Jesus’ worth on this National Mall. Every one of these tents is going to shout to this nation that Jesus is alive and that He’s worthy. He deserves to be celebrated above anyone else.”
You can find out all the details and how to get involved at AwakenTheDawn.org.
Holy Spirit Woodstock
For years, Christian leaders like Bradshaw and his friend Lou Engle, who runs “The Call” events, have been receiving prophecies that they’d be involved in a national gathering like this on the Mall.
Bradshaw recalls an elder brother prophesying, “You’re going to be part of a new Jesus Movement. It’s a Holy Spirit Woodstock.”
“Our prayer really is that a whole generation, young and old, in America would have a fresh encounter with Jesus’ person,” Bradshaw told CBN News. “And that’s right at the core of our message, is that we want to call America back to Christ.”
Only God Himself can bring about such a revival and answer such a prayer. But those behind Awaken the Dawn feel they know how to partner with Him.
“The Lord blesses a people that blesses Him,” said Bradshaw’s friend Jason Hershey, who runs an ongoing event also on the National Mall called David’s Tent. It’s been lifting up non-stop worship more than 600 days in a row. He believes that what Awaken the Dawn ignites could bless the whole nation.
‘A Ton of Promises’
“In Scripture, there’s a ton of promises that happen to a nation that seeks His face,” Hershey explained, “from disease being obliterated from your land, establishment of your borders and the healing of relationships.”
“And the Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people,” Bradshaw added. “So we believe in that celebration of Jesus’ worth, He’s going to inhabit it, and He’s going to move in power.”
Awaken the Dawn wraps up Oct. 9, Columbus Day, with the latest version of Lou Engle’s The Call, this year entitled “Rise Up.” It’s asking millions of women across America to rise up and pray the millennial generation into the kingdom of God, like women did for the youth of the 1960s and ’70s in the Jesus Movement.
What a Million Moms Did
Bradshaw explained why that happened then. “A whole generation in the late ’60s—psychedelic drugs, rebellion—just going off the ledge. And what happened? A million moms fell on their face and said, ‘Not my son, not my daughter. God, pour out Your Spirit.’ And He did.”
The Call’s website about the “Rise Up” event features videos with a number of well-known and outspoken Christian women urging their fellow females to partner with God.
In one, Lindy Conant of the Christian rock group Circuit Riders says of the Lord, “He’s calling a company of women to rise up at this moment in history.”
Karen Wheaton of The Ramp declares, “We can rise up and see absolute deliverance come to our children, our families, our city and our nation.”
“Be who God created you to be and set your world on fire,” urges Julissa Rivera, a worship leader and youth pastor with El Shaddai Bethlehem Ministries in Pennsylvania.
How to Make 34 Years of Nonstop Worship Happen
Jason Hershey is personally excited about another goal of the Awaken the Dawn organizers. During the event and after, they’ll encourage as many of the nation’s churches as possible to send teams across future months and years to come worship at David’s Tent so people can keep praising God there for decades to come.
Hershey explained, “I just Googled it up: how many churches are in America? Approximately 300,000. If each church in America would take one hour here at David’s Tent, we would be here for 34 years continuous(ly). That’s as long as David ruled in Jerusalem.”
Organizers will also lay the groundwork to take this worship movement to the entire nation.
“Our goal is to go to every state capital and hundreds of university campuses with public worship gatherings in tents,” Bradshaw said, “We’re calling it Tent the Nation in 2018.”
And Bradshaw stated they’re praying even before Awaken the Dawn begins that, “Hundreds of thousands would be saved, not only during the four days, but then out of it as we go to the states.”
Hershey concluded, “So, hopefully, Awaken the Dawn is the prayer meeting that never ends.” {eoa}
Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.
