'Jesus Has Done the Work;' Carl Lentz Urges Christians to 'Occupy All Streets With the Light of the Gospel'
Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz wants Christians to "occupy all streets" with the light of the Gospel like Jesus did. "There should be no campus, there should be no prison, there should be no back alley, no ghetto, no village that has not heard the goodness of our God," he says.
Speaking at the debut of Passion Conference 2015 "a gathering of 18-25 year olds and their leaders," hosted by Passion City Church in January, Lentz urged the young believers of the Gospel to take the Word of God to the streets like Jesus did in a recording of the event released this week via Air1.
"Jesus has done the work, He saved our lives, and we have a pretty clear call, which is to shine," said Lentz in the video. "I've called this message here this afternoon: occupy all streets."
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The 36-year-old pastor, who leads Hillsong NYC with Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston, went on to explain the directive to "occupy all streets," comparing it to Jesus' example of "ministering to everybody."
"There were no streets that Jesus Christ did not impact," Lentz continued. "If you were poor, Jesus was coming for you, if you were rich, Jesus was not afraid of you, if you were a leper, Jesus was laying down with you until you got well, if you were an outcast, Jesus spent his whole life reminding people that 'I came for you.' I believe in that same way, what is represented in this room is the ability for us to occupy all streets with the light of the Gospel."
Lentz further noted: "there should be no campus, there should be no prison, there should be no back alley, no ghetto, no village that has not heard the goodness of our God."
"If we can shine this light, we can see God do something in our lifetimes that we have yet to even imagine — occupy all streets," he added.
Lentz was joined at Passion 2015 by other popular Christian leaders including Passion City Church pastor Louie Giglio, pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church, and Grammy Award-wining Christian hip-hop artist, Lecrae.
The series of conferences are aimed at helping "a generation leverage their lives for what matters most," according to the website. Over 20,000 university students attended the first Passion 2015 Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, and tickets to Passion 2016 are available for $139 through September.
"To live in such a way that their journey on earth counts for what is most important in the end — for us at Passion, that's the fame of the One who rescues and restores, and the privilege we have to amplify His name in everything we do," reads the Passion website.
