London UK was the first location chosen for the launch of 2819 Crusades bringing Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell (PAM) and his team all the way from Atlanta to ExCel Auditorium on Sunday, 1 February. Recent years have seen a sharp growth in his ministry, not just in-person gatherings at 2819 Church, but his inimitable no-frills preaching style with a call to return to Biblical Christianity attracting a large digital discipleship globally, reaching an estimated 75M people online. Unless one has been living under a stone its impossible not to have seen shorts of his most talked about sermons and interviews on Christian social media platforms.
Online registrations for the first 2819 Crusade event in the UK were all reserved within minutes of release, so a second Gathering was scheduled for the afternoon, bringing total attendance figures to 7,000. Joining the queue for Sunday mornings Crusade gathering, it was refreshing to see a young urban crowd rock up with the most eager arriving from 7 AM. While the ExCel Auditorium filled up and the 2819 worship band were playing, it was interesting to note that the majority of the audience didn’t join in the singing, despite familiar song lyrics such as ‘Lion of Judah’ being displayed on the giant screens. Evidently, these folks were not accustomed to singing communal worship songs in church, but rather were attracted to the event by online content as digital disciples of 2819 Church.
What makes 2819 Church so popular? The message Pastor PAM delivers to his audience is simple yet powerful, without frills. The word of God spoken with strong conviction that speaks to the spirit of the listener. He isn’t afraid to offend the audience. Its clearly effective – it was absolutely fascinating to witness thousands of very young people stream to the front of the stage when the altar call was given. A stream that grew into a river then a torrent as an estimated two thousand went forward to give their life to Jesus Christ. Yet the invitation was clearly worded, salvation is available for all who repent of their sins, now called to live life differently, bodly for Christ in every area from this point onwards. There was no sugar coating of the seriousness of the commitment.
Pastor PAM’s message to his UK audience was timely. He reflected on a visit to Turkey to view the ancient ruins in Asia Minor of cities that feature in the travels of the Apostle Paul and once upon a time were the cradle of Christianity in the East. Just as that country was overtaken by another faith he could see the same happening across Europe and especially the UK. His clarion call is for believers in the UK to be bold about sharing their faith and to make a strong stand for Christianity.
“You have a small window. Wake up.”
“Right under your nose the devil is taking territory that once belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ. If something does not change in your nation, if more of you don’t rise up in this hour, five years from now many of you won’t even recognise the UK you live in. I’m talking about passing laws against Christianity. Where they are locking up men for preaching the gospel on the street corners.”
“What we need right now in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, all the cities, is an awakening. We need the remnant to rise up in this hour. We need more than just another dead sermon, we need revival in this room, in the streets. Men and women walking out of this room saying ‘not on my watch’. If we ignore the warnings your nation will be completely taken over and my nation will be next.”
Quoting from the book of Jude this was a strong message for every believer to ‘contend for the faith’ to prevent another ideology taking over from Christianity. “Contend for the faith, the truth, revelation of Christ and redemption plan of God found between Genesis and Revelation. Tyndale was executed and burned alive to bring you the faith. We got the truth and less devotion than people who bow down to demons and worship lies. Fight for Biblical marriage. I’m about to offend all of you — fight for the unborn. Fight to spread the gospel, multiply disciples and build the Kingdom of God. Stop saying ‘live your truth’ which is a demonic statement. There is only one truth – Jesus. This is for all of you that have been cowards up until this day. After today you will no longer be a coward, no longer bound by fear. You will no longer be silent. Your walk is going to change. Your social media is going to change.”
The clear aim of the 2819 Crusade is to ignite passion in believers to be bold in expressing their faith, standing up for Christianity in the darkest hour of this country, where even praying in public has become a criminal offence. On a positive note, we have heard the excited rumblings of a revival, from the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival report last year to the recent surge in Bible sales. Interestingly, the crowd that came to hear Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell preach looked very young, evidencing the Quiet Revival report findings that church attendance among 18-24 year olds has quadrupled. Time will tell just how many respond to the call to action ignited by the first 2819 Crusade, yet it was impossible to leave without a fresh sense of hope that a big change is on the way driven by the very young taking a strong stand for their faith in Jesus Christ.
