CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christians in Charlotte, North Carolina are preparing to gather in public repentance on Labor Day weekend, one day before the Democratic National Convention.
Charlotte714 is an event organized by local businessman David Benham of Benham Companies, along with other area pastors and community leaders.
“The organizers of Charlotte714 are Christians who love Jesus and our city,” the event website outlines. “We want to provide a forum for the city Church to come together in Jesus’ name to return to our first love, and to cry out in repentance and faith for the city we love and for which we’ve given our lives and ministries.”
Benham states that while the event is scheduled to take place the day before the Democratic National Convention, it is not a political event or protest.
“The reason we want to gather the night before the Democratic National Convention is because this event provides an incredible platform for our nation to see God’s Church united in prayer for our country,” he explained.
“If Republicans or any other event with such global significance were happening in our city, our call to action would remain. The DNC is not a target; rather, it’s a platform. And upon this platform, the Church of Charlotte gathers in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14 asking God to heal our land.”
“[Charlotte714] is a public proclamation that Jesus Christ is king, and it is a united gathering to petition God’s government that is higher than every other government requesting that He hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land,” Benham added.
On July 25, participants in the effort began preparing for the event through 40 days of prayer and fasting, and considering the Church’s need to turn from sin and apathy.
“The most important thing for us to remember is judgment begins in the house of God. If God is going to heal this land, He’s got to first heal His people,” Benham reminded. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘If the Church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.'”
“The Church, according to 1 Timothy chapter 3, is both the pillar and support of the truth,” he continued. “If truth has stumbled in the streets, it’s because its pillar and support has fallen.”
Benham states, however, that repentance from sin and apathy is not enough.
“[I]t is even more important to know the One we should repent to,” Benham said. “Whatever ways the Church has failed, the root cause is some kind of departure from Jesus Himself—His dominion, His righteousness, His wisdom, His power.”
The time of prayer and fasting includes a “adopt a delegation” effort, where 56 churches will commit to pray for each of the 56 delegations that will be arriving in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention.
On Sunday, September 2, Christians from across the nation will then be gathering at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater to “gather as one Church in the city of Charlotte to seek God and ask for His mercy.”
The event, which is free of charge, will feature music from nationally-known contemporary Christian music artists John Waller and Big Daddy Weave, as well as speakers who will challenge those present to let go of everything in their lives that is contrary to the word of God.
As previously reported, the Democratic National Convention, which will be held September 3-6 in Charlotte, may include an announcement of the inclusion of homosexual “marriage” in the official party platform. The inclusion was recently proposed and approved unanimously by a platform drafting committee, and is now awaiting review by a second committee in Detroit, Michigan before moving on to the Democratic National Convention.
Former president Bill Clinton will appear during the convention to officially nominate Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate.
“A pivotal season is upon us. Our nation is in a deep moral crisis and the Church has been largely distracted, apathetic, and silent,” Benham lamented. “But by God’s grace and the the Holy Spirit’s leading, we now have an opportunity to rise as a city Church and turn the spiritual tide.”
“I’m tired of sitting around,” he concluded. “Now’s the time to get up and do something.”
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