The Call

Last week twenty-five people from Carll's Corner Community Fellowship and the Bridgeton area traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in The Call D.C., a twelve hour prayer event that brings Christians together to pray for revival for our country.

According to Lou Engle, founder of this event, “The Call is not another Christian festival; it's a fast.” It's designed to be a solemn assembly of Christians who want to seek the LORD through prayer and fasting to bring about revival. Participants are encouraged to spend preparation time in prayer and fasting for three weeks prior to the event. The Call is also considered to be a catalytic event, because it stirs believers to pray more; it moves the heart of God; it leads to more prayer events, prayer ministries, and prayer cultures among believers.

The Call has been held in locations throughout the US and a few other countries over the past eight years. There are sometimes as many as 400,000 people who attend. On 8/16/08 The Call was held in Washington, DC. About 25 people from the Bridgeton area met at 5am on that morning and car pooled for their trip. They were part of a group of about 75,000 who gathered that day.

Our time of prayer began with confession and repentance. Engle cried out for Christians to take responsibility for the problems we face in our culture today. Gov. Mike Huckabee led a time of prayer in which he stated, "Repentance and revival cannot start in the building behind me (the Capitol Building) unless it first takes place in the temple inside me." Huckabee urged Christians to take individual responsibility, to confess and repent for allowing moral decline moral decline to sweep across our nation and to seek God for ways we are to respond to the situation we are now in.

For the next 12 hours the 75,000 who gathered worshiped and prayed together. Prayers addressed issues such as abortion, immorality, teen sexuality, racial reconciliation with the Native-Americans, African-Americans, and Latino-Americans. We also addressed immigration issues. Leaders representing various people groups and organizations led these times.

One local participant, Don McCracken of Upper Deerfield said this of his experience, “I am thankful that I had an opportunity to be a part of The Call DC event. It is an effective way for me to get out of the pew and do something of Kingdom value. God’s Word says that He honors fasting and praying, and I believe that things like this help to slow the downward spiral our country is following into moral bankruptcy.”

Beginning in September the Salvation Army will be open for such a time of prayer each Saturday evening, 6:30-8pm. I encourage you to come out and join us as we pray for the needs of Bridgeton and for revival to come to America.

HERE'S a 'CALL TESTIMONY' from Cindy Patterson.

One of the "big" things that God impressed on me at "The Call" was the uniqueness and beauty of different and varying worship styles. Initially, I found myself a bit "offended" at some of the more boisterous and unfamiliar ways of worship. I was rather quickly convicted. Throughout that day and even since, God has been "convincing me" that there are many styles of worship, as many as there are individuals and personalities. God has created us all very uniquely and I believe that our worship styles and "comforts" are often reflected in the very nature of who we are. Whether dancing loud and boisterous before the Lord, as David danced (to the scorn of his disconnected wife!), whether in a somewhat (rather) quieter and more reserved manner (as I tend to worship), or introspectively with no perceived outward signs of worship, let us worship to the glory, honor and praise of our magnificent God! It is certainly God that knows each heart, not me!! My prayer is that we learn to embrace and accept each other; including our styles of worship. I pray that I am learning! May we continue to spur each other on in this glorious life of faith and loving our God!

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