"We are the church! We are America! Save us! Change us!"
Such were the prayers of those who gathered to pray for America at the Anaheim Convention Center on Sunday night. The gathering, called "Heal Our Land," was primarily spearheaded by Korean church leaders of Southern California, but was led and attended by individuals of various ethnic groups, including Caucasian, African American, Latino, and Middle Eastern Christians. Organizers say that some 3,500 attended the gathering.
"America needs a radical, massive operation on one of its founding principles -- its humble faith," said Dr. John C. Kim, founder of the Jesus Awakening Movement for America (JAMA). "If we don't, we don't have a future. And if America fails, the world will fail. But Jesus never fails ... And our God is merciful and gracious. Let us pray and ask God, 'Pour out your grace that we would turn and repent before you.'"
"Let there be no more division, no more pointing fingers," said director of The Call Lou Engle, one of three speakers who spoke brief messages. "Unity is the heartbeat of God "” let us bless one another of all races and of all denominations "¦ This is the hour in which America will experience yet another revival."
The four-hour prayer meeting which began at 4:30 PM covered various topics related to spiritual restoration in the U.S., such as personal and corporate repentance; the church; families and marriage; schools; culture; leaders in all levels of government; social issues including human trafficking, homelessness, and racism; and world missions.
Some two dozen speakers briefly preached or introduced a specific prayer topic, most of whom were Korean and about a sixth of whom were of other ethnic groups. Many prayer topics were led in Korean and translated into English, and one topic (one on world missions) was led in Chinese, which was also translated into English. Though the various prayer topics were regarding different aspects of American society, most speakers included prayers of repentance, and petitions for revival in all of their specific areas "” repentance for turning away from God and his standards in the family, church, school, media, government, and society, and petitions for revival and restoration in each of those areas.
Racial reconciliation, terrorism attacks, and the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage were brought up as well, and a time to pray for elected officials was set aside towards the latter half of the event. Assemblywoman Young Kim (65th District), Mayor Steven Choi of Irvine, La Palma City Councilmember Steve Hwangbo, Mayor Scott Voigts of Lake Forest, and ABC Unified School District Board Member Soo Yoo expressed gratitude for the prayers of those gathered.
"It is through your prayers that we are here today, and we ask that you'd continue to pray for us, that we would be wise, and that we would be in our respective positions without compromising God's standards," said Mayor Voigts.
This "Heal Our Land" prayer gathering was hosted by the Korean Christian Council in America (KCCA), Jesus Awakening Movement for America, and the Council of Korean Churches in Orange County "” three of the most active organizations in the Korean immigrant church context of Southern California. "Heal Our Land" comes after two gatherings of "A Line in the Sand," which were all-day prayer events organized not by Korean church leaders but by David Andrade and Michael Petro, who joined hands with the Korean church leaders to organize "Heal Our Land" this year. Leaders of the National Day of Prayer (NDOP), which takes place on the first Thursday of May each year, were also featured, with a video welcome by Shirley Dobson, the chair of the NDOP Taskforce, and a prayer led by director of public relations Rev. Dion Elmore.
