“The very first city-wide, multi-denominational ‘Concert of Prayer Rally’ ever held was at the old Minneapolis Civic Center in 1987,” the author, speaker and national prayer leader recalled. “From there I have seen the movement spread around the world—with rallies in stadiums with as many as 75,000 in some places to small group meetings in churches on a weekly basis called ‘Concerts of Prayer.’ But it all began in the Twin Cities.”

Bryant is the former president of Concerts of Prayer International (COPI) and former chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee. He is author of “Christ is All: A Joyful Manifesto on The Supremacy of God’s Son.”

Bryant’s current organization, Proclaim Hope, is attempting to foster a National Campaign of Hope. Proclaim Hope describes the campaign as “A Five-Year Initiative Toward a Nationwide Christ-awakening Movement.”

Bryant will join Global Day of Prayer North America Director Bob Bakke, and Steve Loopstra of Prayer Transformation Ministries, as leaders of the Global Day of Prayer Gathering in Minnesota, which will take place on Pentecost Sunday, May 11, at Grace Church in Eden Prairie from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will include musical worship led by Heart of the City, and unified times of prayer.

“We are seeking to have our time reflect the diversity of the Body of Christ in the Twin Cities,” Loopstra said. “The GDOP is for all the Body. We want all segments of the Church to feel free to come and participate. We will be seeking diversity and unity in this celebration.”


GDOP History
The movement began in South Africa in 2001 at a single stadium event that drew 45,000 people. By 2004 the prayer gatherings had spread to include 22 million people gathered at 2,000 sites in each of the 56 countries of Africa.

“The GDOP was birthed in a meeting outside Capetown, South Africa, which I attended four years ago, along with national prayer leaders from over 100 nations,” Bryant said.

An estimated 200 million people participated in the GDOP in 2005.


The movement
GDOP efforts around the world follow a similar sequence of events based on the birth of the Church detailed in the book of Acts: 10 Days of Constant Prayer leading up to Pentecost Sunday, a corporate worship and prayer gathering on Pentecost Sunday, and 90 Days of Blessing following Pentecost.

On Saturday, May 10, Bryant will facilitate a “Christ Summit” at Bloomington Baptist Church. Throughout the day, attendees will explore the “dimensions of the biblical teaching on the supremacy of God’s son and its implications for a genuine ‘Christ awakening’” in churches and communities.

“I will bring a message at the GDOP on Sunday evening that is filled with great hope about how (as it says in Matthew 11:12) the ‘kingdom of God is forcefully advancing and people of force are laying hold of it’—of course doing so first of all by prayer,” Bryant said.

“I would love to see us, as a community, find this a wonderful opportunity together to join with the rest of the world in celebrating the Lord together,” Loopstra said.

The GDOP gathering will feature a variety of types of prayer as well, according to Bryant. He believes corporate prayer is “one of the most effective ways to get Christians united in heart and mind” for more effective action in community transformation.

Loopstra said gatherings like the GDOP Pentecost Sunday event help people get a sense of the diversity of the Body of Christ, locally and all over the world.

“This is not an American thing,” he said. “This is a global phenomenon, and in a certain sense, the world is inviting us to join them in this one day of celebration and prayer for our world.”


90 Days of Blessing
During the 90 days following the Pentecost Sunday gathering, Christians are encouraged to demonstrate Christ’s love by blessing their communities through acts of kindness and service.

For 2008, GDOP Minnesota organizers have listed local ministries in various areas of need and are asking local churches to volunteer with at least one of those ministries.

“The current GDOP plans go through 2010. I have always felt like these years of the GDOP are a wonderful opportunity to begin to develop a new lifestyle as the Church of the Twin Cities,” Loopstra said. “The 10 days of intensive, 24/7 prayer, leading up to a unified, citywide gathering once a year, and then a united, community-wide outreach into our communities to bless our cities.

“What if this began to be the lifestyle of the Church in the Twin Cities? What if someday this was such a part of our lives that our children would ask, ‘Was there ever a time we didn’t do this?’ That is my hope for the future.”


ACTION POINT:
For more information about local GDOP events, visit www.globaldayofprayermn.com. To read more about the international movement, visit www.globaldayofprayer.com.