If there were ever a time America needed Jesus, that time is now. It’s no coincidence that the prayer movement is gaining momentum in the United States. God is stirring the hearts of intercessors from coast to coast because He wants America to wake up.
America for Jesus, a solemn assembly to summon the body of Christ to pray for the church and the nation, has been crying out for such an awakening for more than three decades. Founded by the late John Gimenez and his wife, Anne, One Nation Under God will host the 32nd America for Jesus prayer rally on Sept. 28-29.
“We’re calling a solemn assembly to Philadelphia because it’s the first capital of the nation,” Gimenez says. “God gave us a Scripture in 2 Kings 2:19-22 where Elisha casts salt into the headwater of the river and the river was healed.”
Gimenez sees Philadelphia as the headwaters of the United States—the place where the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution were written and ratified. She notes that William Penn, a Quaker, founded the city as one of the original 13 colonies and invited any God-fearing man to preach the gospel there.
“Only God knows what will happen next in America, but in my heart I believe we can see miracles as we call on God to heal our land,” Gimenez says. “It’s not about who’s in the White House. It’s not about our financial condition. It’s about America turning back to God. America has started serving the gods of the people we conquered, just like Israel did. We’re calling America to Jesus.”
America for Jesus was birthed as Washington for Jesus. On April 29, 1980, more than 700,000 people gathered to pray for God to move in America. John Blanchard, national coordinator for America for Jesus, believes this historic march in the nation’s capital impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of believers and launched a vision for a new America built on godly values and the Word of God. But, Blanchard says, it’s time for another revival.
“We received a prophetic word to go to the birthplace of the nation,” Blanchard says. “When we go into Washington, D.C., it’s like a war. We go in and pull down strongholds and it’s intense. In Philly there’s also spiritual warfare, but there’s a sense that we’re going into restore a foundation in America. We hope this is a spark for revival.”
America for Jesus has a leadership team that includes Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, Lou Engle of TheCall, Harry Jackson Jr. of High Impact Leadership, Ron Luce of Teen Mania, Billy Wilson of Empowered21 and Doug Stringer of Somebody Cares International. Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and part of the leadership team, says there’s a fine line between the pathetic and the prophetic.
“In the midst of a pathetic atmosphere full of moral relativism, spiritual apathy and cultural decadence, the church of Jesus Christ stands poised to usher in a new awakening,” Rodriguez says. “America for Jesus will facilitate a clarion call for prayer, repentance and healing in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14. In this critical year, the followers of Christ will declare that the only solution to our collective crisis lies not in the agenda of the donkey or the elephant. The answer for America is nothing other than the agenda of the Lamb!”
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