UnitedCry DC16 Urges Christian Leaders to Pray and Repent

Despite 40-degree temperatures, powerful winds, rain, and even sleet at times, UnitedCry DC16 saw hundreds brave the elements and gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2016, as part of a sacred assembly that crossed racial, social, and denominational lines. The event was designed to bring ministers and Christian leaders from across the nation together in unity to “pray and repent for their nation.”

Years in the planning, UnitedCry DC16 looked upon the United States as a nation in crisis, and used God’s direction in Joel 2:16-17 as its guiding response.

Dr. James Bradford, general secretary for the Assemblies of God, spoke at the event, with his segment of the program focused on continuing racial reconciliation.

“UnitedCry DC16 was a daylong event that offered different segments of focused prayer, including repenting, racial reconciliation, praying for spiritual renewal, and challenging pastors to take up the cause of prayer and lead their congregations in this moral obligation,” Bradford says. “It was freezing cold out there, but we had an incredible line-up of speakers, including Sammy Rodriquez, Dave Roever, Anne Graham Lotz, Ronnie Floyd, Larry Tomczak — basically a Who’s Who in the evangelical world.”

During Bradford’s opportunity to address those in attendance, he declared the need to seek God to repeat the experience of Azusa Street where His Spirit was poured out — people were saved, delivered, healed, filled with the Spirit, and one of the greatest missionary movements in U.S. history was launched.

“At Azusa Street the color line was washed away!” Bradford stated, as he urged a spiritual awakening in the nation to heal the land. “We’re hungry for it, we’re praying towards it, and with the voices of Azusa Street, we declare again, the color line is washed away by the Blood.”

Bradford says that although the attendance at UnitedCry DC16 did not meet expectations due to the impact of the weather, he says Daystar TV was on site, filming the entire day and livestreaming portions of the event as well.

“There was a remarkable confluence of dates,” Bradford observes about the timing of the event. “April 9 was the end of the Civil War when Lee surrendered, it was the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was buried, it was the day Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred, it was also the start of the Azusa Street revival.”

Unitedcry DC16 was held in the same location that Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. During the reconciliation portion of the event, there was a foot washing ceremony and Bradford, along with others, prayed over King’s two daughters, who were in attendance at the event.

Although Unitedcry DC16 was planned separately from the Azusa Street celebration, which was being held concurrently in Los Angeles, Bradford says the two linked up for a time of shared prayer during the day.

The Assemblies of God Facebook page offers two video segments featuring Bradford, including an explanatory greeting and a video segment of his message in tandem with Bishop Jerry W. Macklin of the Church of God in Christ.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.