Massive Young Crowd Fasts for Moral Revolution
A massive fasting and prayer gathering drew one of the largest crowds in the history of Nashville's L.P. Field on Saturday.
Some 100,000 people answered "The Call" under the blazing sun to turn around a nation that many evangelical Christians believe is on a moral decline.
"We've come here with a faith that God can turn a nation and mighty shift can take place here today," Lou Engle, founder of The Call, told the crowd of mostly young adults.
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With minimal advertising, The Call had drawn 55,000 by late afternoon, according to The Tennessean. But local TV news channel WKRN reported growing attendance throughout the day and estimated 100,000 total participants who came from as far as Washington state.
Organized by Engle and a group of charismatic pastors, speakers and authors, The Call was an intense day of crying out in prayers as stadium-filled crowd was called to repentance.
"You didn't come here to have a nice time. We're asking you to stay for 12 hours to war for the soul of the nation," Engle shouted on stage as he rocked back and forth, according to The Tennessean.
The day was 7/7/07, when tens of thousands of Christians made a massive renewal of faith and what some hope will spark a massive revolution decades after the Jesus Movement – major Christian movement countering the hippie culture – swept the nation.
"All through the Bible, there are a series of sevens. So, when you get three sevens to line up at once, you know something's up," said Scott MacLeod, founder of Provision International and who helped organize The Call, according to The Tennessean.
Ahead of the anticipated gathering, event spokeswoman Julia Richardson stated, "We believe that on 7/7/7, the number of covenant, whoever comes here can have a chance to have covenant with the Lord and remarry him and get rid of the sexual immorality and impurity that has been laced through the church."
From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the stadium rang out in prayers for the moral condition of society and the church along with personal prayers such as reconciliation in a broken home among the tens of thousands of attendees.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas made an appearance soon after the day-long program started and asked for forgiveness for the government's sins against abortion and immigration.
"We've seen 40 million abortions in America, and I ask for forgiveness," he said, as reported by WKRN.
"I want to say to my Latino brothers, forgive us for [the negative tone Washington's immigration debate has taken]," Brownback said. "We want you in America. We love you and ask you to forgive us for these negative comments."
Weeks ahead of the event, many of the attendees fasted 21 or 40 days, giving up specific foods or media such as TV to prepare for call to return to God.
"I believe God will do a miracle on 7/7/07," said Engle.
The Call launched in 2000 in Washington, D.C., when an estimated 400,000 young people gathered on the National Mall. Thousands gathered from across the nation for The Call events in Boston, New York City and San Francisco until 2003. After four years of dormancy, The Call is on the march again back to the National Mall with events planned for Atlanta and Berkeley in the next year and culminating with The Call DC II on 8/8/08 when organizers hope to gather 1 million people.
