Christians all over the world gear up for the 6th Thy Kingdom Come Prayer movement, an annual event of evangelization happening on May 13-23, 2021.
Various activities are lined up to strengthen the Christian faith, reports Churches Together in England. Organizers hope that for 11 days, participants will:
- Deepen their own relationship with Jesus Christ
- Pray for 5 friends or family to come to faith in Jesus
- Pray for the empowerment of the Spirit that we would be effective in our witness
The Thy Kingdom Come prayer movement started in 2016 in the UK and has since then grown internationally, now joined by more than 170 countries and 65 denominations.
Where it has been such a challenging year for everyone, we really want TKC to inspire people in their relationships with Christ. —Emma Buchan, Thy Kingdom Come Project Director
During this year’s launch last May 9, more than 1,000 people watched for the line-up of the virtual resources for this year’s event. The team prepared new resources to cater to Christians from 5 to 105 years old. These include: the Cheeky Pandas video series for children, 11-series video reflections for the youth, prayer journal, and the award-winning Thy Kingdom Come app, available in nine languages.
“I am so excited about TKC this year as we have been so intentional in our planning and thinking to produce resources that help the Church at this time,” said Thy Kingdom Come Project Director, Emma Buchan. “Where it has been such a challenging year for everyone, we really want TKC to inspire people in their relationships with Christ, to gather those who have found online Church challenging and to resource children and young people in fun, spiritually nourishing ways. We hope and pray Pentecost is a time of great joy after what has been such a challenging season.”
Church groups in the UK are hosting online and in-person prayer events to unite Christians in their communities. For areas with relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, some churches organized outdoor activities.
The Coventry Diocese in the province of Canterbury set up Cheeky Panda prayer trails where children can look for hidden panda posters with daily themed content. Exeter Diocese hosts a Labyrinth on the Cathedral Green. Many groups arranged prayer walks using key buildings as stops as they pray for the needs and relevant social issues facing the local community, such as schools (education system); hospitals (healthcare); and shops (the economy).
The Thy Kingdom Come movement has grown worldwide that churches from Sudan, Greece, Sri Lanka, and Japan are getting involved this year, reports Keep the Faith. TKC resources are being translated in-country into languages such as Finnish (Finland); Maori (New Zealand) Korean (Korea), Tamil and Sinhala (Sri Lanka) and Cantonese (Hong Kong) while key resources are being translated into French, Spanish, and Portuguese in the UK.
Supporters of the movement encouraged others to participate in Thy Kingdom Come. Phoebe Parkin, Methodist Youth president, said, “I love that through participating in Thy Kingdom Come, I know I am praying with people of all ages, of all backgrounds, all over the world. Especially as a young person, it is really reaffirming to know that in all things, whether it is praying for social justice, for peace or for others to know Jesus, that we can turn to God and find hope that God hears.”
Pete Greig, Founder of the global 24-7 Prayer Global Movement, said, “In this moment of bewildering challenge for the church around the world, prayer is the most natural, necessary and wonderful thing we can do. Thy Kingdom Come provides the opportunity for us to petition heaven for a great awakening to occur in our lives, the lives of our loved ones, the life of the church and within the very fabric of our nations. I am excited for these ten days and expectant to see how God responds to the prayers of his people at this time.”
