Cape Town for Jesus - what a wonderful day!

Yesterday was truly a special day at the Cape Town (Greenpoint) stadium.  I'm sure that the 22nd of March 2010 will be remembered by many of the 50 000 people who arrived for the special event.  The program went off very well with a great mix between praise and worship, prayer and some speakers.  I was particularly pleased to leaders and members of various Churches and ministries in the City of Cape Town from all sorts of denominations and groupings in attendance.  The Moderator of the Dutch Reformed and Presbyterian Churches were in attendance, as were many Methodist colleagues, senior leaders from the Anglican, Catholic and Baptist Churches, as well as many pastors from independent, charismatic and pentecostal Churches. The spread of ages among the participants and attendees was also a point of great joy.  There were so many young people participating in the program and in attendance at the event.  In fact 32 youth soccer teams came dressed in the national colours, with flags, for the nations that will be participating in the upcoming world cup soccer event.  Then, it was also so encouraging to see the political leaders of the nation and city arriving to be prayed for - it was particularly special since the leaders had a chance to stand on stage as children from the city prayed for them and their leadership and responsibilities in the nation.

Angus Buchan was the main speaker at the event - and he was well received!  The first part of his message encouraged South Africans to start taking responsibility for the nation, and to start making a really positive contribution towards transformation and renewal in society (which includes elements such as racial reconciliation, shifting the wealth of the nation, and of course also standing against crime and corruption).  The second part of his message encouraged men to live responsibility in their family lives and work lives.

Another notable element was the time spent focussing on the issue of human trafficking and child abuse.  The video clips that were shown, as well as Dr Ashely Cloete's input (from Child Welfare South Africa), was truly moving and inspired many to make a difference in this regard.

Graham Power and Steven Johnstone also gave a great challenge for the Unashamedly Ethical campaign for to which thousands of individuals committed to stand for values, ethics and clean living, as well as to establish communities for values and ethics.

I want to congratulate Etienne Piek and the Global Day of Prayer team for their exceptional arrangements in the stadium, and particularly to Etienne for his incredible work in putting together (and holding together) the diverse program on the day!  I played a small part in making sure that all of the members of the programme made it to the prayer room and on stage on time - it was a joy to run behind the scenes.  One of the persons that I had the privilege to meet is Hennie Smit (who is the actor that plays 'Bertie' in Egoli - what a nice guy!  He was so kind and patient with everyone, including myself).

So, all in all, this was an exceptional day on which the city came together to pray for Cape Town, to ask for God's blessing and protection during the world cup, and to chart the path ahead for a Christ renewed South Africa.

If you attended the event I'd love to hear your feedback!

I may be off the grid for a few days - I am on my way to Malaysia in an hour or so (via Hong Kong), and then to Singapore, and back to Hong Kong for a day's meetings before flying back to Cape Town just before Easter.  I hope to post a few photographs and reflections on the various meetings and speaking engagements we have over there (mostly they are around the Global Day of Prayer, Unashamedly Ethical, our new book 'Transform your work life', and Lausanne).