The Gathering
by Kevin Harrison, Victory Life Center Lead Pastor
On Palm Sunday, March 29th, The Gathering Waco brought together over
30,000 people at Baylor’s McLane Stadium across racial,
denominational, and social lines for one purpose: To worship Jesus as
a united people! Over 200 churches were represented and 98 churches
specifically signed up to serve as “sponsors” of the event that was
the largest gathering of Christians in the history of Waco!
In addition to the attendance in the stadium, KXXV broadcast The
Gathering live 5pm to 7pm, pre-empting regular ABC programming with a
reach of almost 1 million homes. KWTX also broadcast it via live
streaming on their website where it was viewed in 16 countries,
including 586 US cities where it was viewed on a mobile device and 743
US cities where it was viewed on a desktop computer. In addition, KBBW
broadcast is live on 1010AM and Amistad Radio, 96.7FM, provided the
platform for the Spanish translation. In the days ahead, the world’s
third largest short wave radio station based in Fort Worth will be
broadcasting The Gathering and it has the potential to reach 1.7
billion homes.
Israel Houghton set the tone for the night as he led the crowd in
worship by singing “How Great Is Our God” followed by “How Great Thou
Art”. Dr. Tony Evans challenged the crowd to passionately follow after
Christ, and testimonies by Baylor QB Bryce Petty and HGTV “Fixer
Upper’s” Joanna Gaines led into ministry moments throughout the
stadium.
Ramiro Pena, pastor of Christ The King Baptist Church and also the
Executive Director of The Gathering, was adamant from the beginning
about wanting to make a practical impact in Waco. From this grew the
canned goods drive that brought in 23,727 pounds of food to be
distributed to local food banks through Caritas and Shepherd’s Heart.
Organizers of the event, all local pastors from diverse backgrounds,
declared that this was more than just a large worship service; they
believe it is the beginning of a global movement of unity in the Body
of Christ! With calls coming in from all across the US and the world,
The Gathering is gaining momentum to explode beyond Waco!
So the big question is: Will The Gathering happen again next year?
That answer is coming soon and any announcement will be made via
Facebook or at www.TheGatheringWaco.com. However, given the calls
coming from around the world, The Gathering may next be taking place
in another city around the world.
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