Christian leaders from all over the British Isles gathered at Wembley Stadium for a day of prayer and vision setting.
The Carry the Torch meeting was organised by Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) London as it pushes ahead with plans to fill the entire stadium with Christians for a day of prayer in 2012.
The 1,000 leaders at the stadium on Saturday included GDOP London Convener, Dr Jonathan Oloyede, the Bishop of Barking, the Rt Rev David Hawkins, More than Gold CEO, Dave Willson, Senior Minister of Cornerstone Christian Centre, Hugh Osgood, and the grandson of Billy Graham, Will Graham.
Dr Oloyede spoke of his vision to see Christians uniting in prayer across the British Isles, and the nations transformed and taking the Gospel to the world again.
He said he was inspired to serve God in Britain because of the example set by the British missionaries who pioneered his native Nigeria.
“Many people went from the shores of this country. People came from the shores of this country with their coffins,” he said.
“Many of them died of malaria within six months but they still came and this fire is still in this land. The same fire that went out to the nations is still in this land.”
Dr Oloyede said there was a need for Christians to pray for Britain like never before in the face of the recent riots, economic woes, and “unrighteous” laws passed by Parliament.
He compared the average daily prayer time of Korean and Chinese pastors – two hours and one and a half hours respectively – with the average prayer time of pastors in the US – just 15 minutes a day.
“What is the average praying time of leaders in the UK?” he asked the leaders. “I will leave that to you to answer but if we don’t get on our knees and pray, we’re going to lose a generation.”
Dr Oloyede went on to say that British Christians needed to regain their confidence in God’s Word and connect acts of kindness with the preaching of the Gospel.
“We need to repent of our apathy,” he said.
Worship was led at the meeting by Graham Kendrick, Noel Robinson, Lara Martin and Marilyn Figueroa.