AT&T Stadium usually fills up for the Cowboys. On October 10 about 80,000 people filled it to pray.
What happened
ACCESS, “That Powerful Hour of Prayer,” was hosted by 2819 Church of Atlanta and Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell in Arlington, Texas. The free tickets went in eight hours. There was no celebrity headliner and no sermon series: about 45 minutes of worship, then the main event, corporate prayer they called “The Cry,” built on one of the oldest prayers of the church: “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.”
Pastors from around the country led sections of prayer for lives, families, cities and the nations, including Josh Howerton of Lakepointe Church, whose congregation baptized 882 people in a single day in September. Ed Newton of Community Bible Church said, “There are moments that God allows His presence to be so evident and real in a tangible way, like He walked in the room and spoke right to you!”
ACCESS isn’t new. A 2019 gathering at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena drew more than 30,000. This year it outgrew arenas.
My take
Every move of God I’ve read about started the same way: people who got desperate enough to just pray. Acts 2 opens with the disciples “all with one accord in one place,” and then the Spirit fell. Eighty thousand people crying out with one voice isn’t the end of the story. It’s the part that comes before the story.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). Eighty thousand is a lot more than two or three, and the promise doesn’t get weaker when the room gets bigger.
What I’m watching for
The news will talk about attendance. Fair enough. I’m watching for fruit after the lights go out: people who keep praying, churches that keep seeking, folks who leave different than they walked in. Joel’s promise, made loud at Pentecost, still stands: God pours out His Spirit (Acts 2:17). If ACCESS was a real cry, you’ll see the follow-through in small groups, altars and quiet repentance nobody livestreams. If you were there or streamed it, ask the Holy Spirit to keep that hunger alive on a regular Tuesday.
