Jonathan Bellamy spoke with Jonathan Oloyede, the key catalyst for the National Day of Prayer

Jonathan Oloyede

On June 25th-27th a major conference will take place in Stoke-on-Trent with Argentinian church leader Ed Silvoso coming to the city as the main speaker at an event which will generate national level interest.

Ed Silvoso is a highly influential and respected leader with a particular emphasis and understanding on how the church can bring about transformation in society through engaging in the marketplace.

Jonathan Bellamy spoke with Jonathan Oloyede, the key catalyst for the National Day of Prayer and one of the speakers at the Transformation conference, about praying for the UK, a move of God and why he's excited about this conference.

Jonathan: For people who've not heard of it, please can you outline the role of the National Day of Prayer and how it came into being?

Jonathan Oloyede: The National Day of Prayer is an offshoot of the Global Day of Prayer. We began to pray in London some years ago when I shared some visions of what we believed were visions of revival. Many people began to connect in prayer; praying for London; praying for the city; praying for the nation and praying for the British Isles. We began to hold these prayer meetings in the stadium. We went to West Ham stadium; we went to Millwall stadium and last year we went to Wembley stadium. We've been able to mobilise tens of thousands of people in prayer in some of these stadium events.

Jonathan: The event last year took place at the end of September. If you look back now how would you evaluate its significance and timing?

Jonathan Oloyede: We believe it was God's timing for it to happen when it did. We believe that it was a hinge event, as some people called it. It opened the door for other large scale stadium events to begin to be held again in this season. We also believe that holding it at the national stadium was an historic point, because it was the first time that a Christian event was held in the new stadium. Also holding a prayer meeting at a national stadium was also historic and very prophetic as well; basically saying this altar to a different sport has now become an altar to the church and to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Many people and young people began to pray and are still praying daily as a result of prayer at Wembley. Many regions have come together to pray more. People are praying for their streets in over 1,300 locations as we speak, on a regular basis. Many more people are saying they want to hold these kinds of events where they are. In fact the churches in Liverpool and St Helens are pulling together tens of thousands of people to come together to pray this year in October.

Jonathan: As someone who is always praying for the nation, you must get very connected to where the nation is at. Could you describe how you see the state of the nation from a spiritual point of view?

Jonathan Oloyede: I think we are coming around the corner. I think the church is turning the tide. We're getting reports now that even with a traditional church, with the Anglican churches, the numbers seem to have stopped decreasing and may even be increasing. More people are interested in faith and in church than before. I believe the nation might get a bit darker before it gets lighter, because of all kinds of legislation and laws being passed. People are becoming more open to the supernatural and the economic situation in our nation is also going to make more people look up and begin to seek for answers and the church has to be ready. We sense that God's going to move amongst the young people especially in a mighty way. We're asking churches to get ready for the influx of people coming for the youth. We believe that many people are going to get saved in the prisons and people who are marginalized are going to come to the Lord. I believe that we are on the cusp of what some people call revival; I'll call it a move of God, where many people are going to be coming to the church and coming back to Christ. I think spiritually the nation has been in a dark place, but the church is now beginning to awaken and beginning to pray more. I believe it's just the beginning; the first showers of a mighty visitation of rain that is coming on our nation.

Jonathan: We often hear of moves of God and signs and wonders, or the glory of God in other parts of the world, in South America, Asia and Africa. Why do you think we've not really seen it here in the West? What do you think will finally break that through?

Jonathan Oloyede: I think its faith. I think there's been such rational thinking that has prevailed in the church and as a nation for so long. I believe that people have apathy to the things of God. I think there's been a lot of division in the church and I believe that these things are beginning to turn now. I've been going around the nation for years and right now I'm beginning to see churches praying more than they have been praying before. We're not there yet, but I believe that when the church begins to pray as she should, like it says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, I believe we're going to begin to see some of what we see in Africa, or in South America and in the Far East begin to happen here. I'm hungry for that and I believe if we get hungry enough we're going to begin to see that begin to happen in our nation.

Jonathan: You're coming to Stoke-on-Trent at the end of June for the Transformation conference as one of the speakers. What is it about this conference that resonates with you?

Jonathan Oloyede: The catchphrase or sub-title of this conference is 'change the marketplace and you can change the world'; I believe that one of the key areas where we need to see God begin to move is in the work place and marketplace. Most of the people in the church are in the marketplace and work place in one form or other. When those people are mobilised and begin to shine their light as the Bible says in Matthew 5, 'shine your light that men may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven'; when people realise that missions start on Monday and my call begins in the work place, not just in the pew on a Sunday morning, then we'll begin to see people mobilised to change society and change the world. I'm so excited about this conference because people like Ed Silvoso that have a passion for the marketplace are coming as a keynote speaker and some of the people that are billed to be at that conference have a similar passion to see God move in the marketplace.

Jonathan: Do you think the UK church has a good theology and understanding of being in the marketplace?

Jonathan Oloyede: I'm not sure. I think people pay lip service to it. However the Hebraic way of doing things is where the Kingdom of God and the worship of God isn't what we do, but what we are. I believe that theology is coming back. I don't think it's been very healthy in the British church. It's conferences like this that will remind us and help us to realign our focus and say God is very much in Monday as he is on Sunday.

Jonathan: If we're in the marketplace and we're looking for transformation, what do you think that's going to look like?

Jonathan Oloyede: It's a slow process but it's a powerful one. I believe that when Christians begin to stand up in the marketplace and speak out and do and transact their business with Christian conscience and conviction, then we'll begin to see the boardroom change. The decisions made in the boardroom; the decisions made in the committee meetings; decisions made at grass root level, at every level begin to change because many people are beginning to see that they can express their faith creatively and with wisdom in the marketplace. We're not asking Christians to take their Bibles from church to work on Monday and begin to read their Bibles when they should be working. What we're saying is that they can be living witnesses of the righteousness we have in Christ, of the justice system that God holds for our world and begin to carry those through in the marketplace. I believe we'll begin to see lots of little transformations that will coalesce into big transformations.

Jonathan: Where do you see spiritual warfare comes into play in it, because there's teaching of territorial spirits and those kinds of things and the church needing to engage in that kind of battle?

Jonathan Oloyede: I think the last corporate prayer meeting helped to do some of that massive atmospheric warfare. I think the biggest warfare Jonathan is in the heart; it's in our relationships; in our family. If husband and wife can get along and can flow in harmony together; if churches can unite, that's where I believe the real warfare is; it's the harmony; the syncing of our hearts with God and the syncing of our hearts with one another. Let's put it this way, the sum total of everything I am coming to do is love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and love your neighbour as yourself. If Christians could do that we would see revival and transformation. That's where the warfare really is.

You can find out more about the Transformation conference on the Saltbox website.