L.A. Christians 'Strike' for Revival, Salvation on High School Campus
Young Christian adults gathered at the entrance of a high school outside of Los Angeles to praise, pray, and march to ''open heaven'' and bring a revival on the campus.
ARCADIA, Calif. – While others watched movies, ate dinner, or looked for ways to relax after the first week of school or work in 2006, some 150 students and young adults gathered to worship and pray for the revival of a high school in the suburb of Los Angeles.
The passionate voices of praise accompanied by several guitars and a small drum energized the dark entrance of Arcadia High School on Saturday, Jan. 7. Huddled together and bearing “Strike L.A.” – the organization’s name – across their T-shirts, the strikers prepared to “open heaven” and plant the seed of reformation on the campus.
“I believe tonight is going to be a new history here in America,” said Strike L.A. Coordinator Jonathan Ngai in the opening message. “We believe that if God touches the campuses in America, revival will come. And so tonight we are contending for one school – for Acadia High School.
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“We believe God is raising up people here and we are here to cleanse the ground,” he declared. “We are here to break up principalities so the Spirit of God can come and invade, so we can see hundreds and thousands on this campus come to know Jesus. We are going on a ‘2 Chronicles 20 march’ tonight.”
Participants burst into cheers at the end of the message as they prepared to march around the campus seven times, modeling after the Biblical story of Jericho in Joshua 6. They encompassed a variety of ages – from as young as under ten to above 40 – although they were mostly high school and college students; a variety of ethnic backgrounds; and a variety of churches – about 20 different churches in Orange County, San Fernando Valley, greater Los Angeles, and San Gabriel.
Those who came prepared spiritually through prayer and fasting. Ngai said that a group of 20-30 people from his church, Transformations Community Church, prayed for the strike, preparing their hearts and capturing the heart of God for the Arcadia campus.
The “strike” in Arcadia marks the tenth in the organization’s history, which began on Aug. 18, 2005 at Drake Stadium on the campus of the University of California in Los Angeles. The three-day strikes on Aug.18-21, 2005 drew more than a thousand people from some 50 churches in southern California.
Strike L.A. has strategically targeted key spheres of society that have “kept [people] in bondage and [have been] used to possess the minds, the hearts, and the voices of this generation,” according to the Strike L.A. website. These key categories and locations in the Los Angeles area where strikes were held last year include: education, sports, marketplace, government/courts, homosexuality, Hollywood, and Skidrow – which represents the category of addiction.
“Before when we were at Hollywood and Pasadena, thousands watched us,” Ngai said to the Arcadia strikers. “But tonight, no one watches us. The fight tonight is not for man to see, but we are on the business of the Father. To reclaim this school, push out all demons and evil spirits and open heaven when students return on Monday morning.
“Salvation to come – that’s what we’re contending for tonight,” he stated.
Arcadia High School – widely known for its strong academic and music programs – has shown a strong desire for a revival, according to Strike L.A. It has over 200 Christians on campus and reports of students waking up at 5 a.m. to walk around campus and pray for the school before class starts at 6 a.m. The prayer efforts of the Arcadia students were reported in a Sept. 10, 2005 article on the Los Angeles Times titled, “No Separation of Prayer from Students on Campus.”
“This is the biggest mission field in America today. The campuses – junior high, high school, college, university campuses – we don’t need to go to Asia, Africa to find the lost, they are right here,” Ngai said. “Here on this campus there are 4,000 people and probably about 3,800 of them will not be saved so we believe that this is the biggest mission field and we feel this is the time God really wants us to pray in this place.”
Last year, Arcadia was chosen to be the representative from California (among all high schools/colleges) to play at the inauguration ceremony for President George W. Bush in Washington, D.C.
As the young revivalists marched in the dark, often times generating stares from drivers and tennis players in a nearby court, they praised boldly and chanted: “Who do we love? Jesus!” “Bow down! Jesus!” and “Do you want a revolution? Jesus!”
Renevon Gibson, 32, who has been to every strike except one, believes that Strike L.A.’s focus is different than other ministries.
“I see this as different because we are not here reaching other people, but we are actually attacking the spiritual realms of this world that nobody else really attacks,” said Gibson while marching. “I really believe we are touching an area that nobody really touches.”
Gibson, who said he was a Christian but fell away from the faith, was introduced to Strike L.A and Transformations Community Church by his friend Will Netramai, who was also at the Arcadia strike.
With the first strike of 2006 under its belt, Strike L.A.’s coordinator described the organization’s vision for the coming year.
“I believe two things will happen this year,” said Ngai with conviction. “This is the year of reaping the harvest. There have been so many people that have prayed on campuses, prayed for their co-workers, prayed for their families, that this will be the year of reaping the harvest.”
“This will also be the year of realignment – where the church comes and begins to see the church of Acts come to life in this generation,” he continued, and the year “that we will return to the Gospel, return to what Jesus did, and return to what the apostles did in the book of Acts.
“That is why we are here. We believe that everything will be shifted when we pray, when we worship.”
Strike L.A. will organize another strike on Feb. 4 and on the first Saturday of every subsequent month. The location and time will be announced on the organization's website at: www.strikela.org
