In January 2010 a vision was shared with market place and ministry leaders in Indonesia about hosting a World Prayer Assembly in 2012. Indonesia was asked to host this "once in a generation" gathering because of their spirit of prayer and their unity within the body of Christ. As the leaders of church bodies, national networks and market place leaders there heard the vision, they began to ask themselves if God was indeed calling them to serve and bless the nations. As they began to step up, these leaders began to see themselves in a new light - with an enlarged assignment.
 
Because Korea had hosted the only other event like this in 1984, my colleague John Robb, chairman of the International Prayer Council, and I traveled on to Korea to ask them to bring their gift of prayer to this event. Before our trip concluded, we were convinced Korea should serve as co-host with Indonesia for the WPA.
 
As we traveled back to Indonesia every three months to work with our Indonesian friends and others, we watched in amazement as the Church in Indonesia continued to prepare in ways we never imagined. Pastors and leaders began to meet weekly for prayer in cities around the nation. Intergenerational prayer gatherings became more and more common. New prayer towers were started. Everywhere we looked the Church in Indonesia was becoming more prayerful and more united as it prepared for the WPA.
 
One unexpected outcome was that leaders in different cities began to have a simultaneous citywide prayer gathering in their city at the same time one was planned for the national stadium in Jakarta. At first members of the International Prayer Council were skeptical. We wanted to be sure to fill the national stadium to overflowing for this four-hour event. But our Indonesian colleagues were telling us that God was doing something very deep and special in the hearts and lives of leaders in their cities. They wanted the whole body of Christ to come together on that special day, across all the worship styles, denominations and generations. As the decision was made to allow this, first there were going to be 5 other cities involved, then 10. The number grew to 50 and then 100. The final number was 378 cities connected, most by satellite link, to the national stadium with somewhere around 4 million people participating!

As the planning developed, the national team in Indonesia sensed that God was calling them to an ongoing united prayer and outreach strategy following the WPA. The My Home Indonesia initiative was birthed with a goal of calling every Christian in the nation to adopt their own street, neighborhood, school, workplace, wherever God had placed them. They would pay attention and look for the needs. They would then adopt that place and those needs in prayer and follow up with action as God directed. And they would seek to do this together with other believers in their area.
 
During the stadium event at the WPA on May 17, 2012, My Home Indonesia was launched. Hundreds of thousands expressed interest and commitment to the project by text message. In September, a My Home gathering in Surabaya, Indonesia, highlighted the growth and development of the movement in cities and communities around the nation since 2012. Of the 2,500 in attendance, leaders from all 33 provinces as well as 1,000 pastors, ten mayors and many business leaders participated. So the overflow of the WPA in Indonesia continues to find growing expression across the nation.
 
From the beginning the World Prayer Assembly was designed to be a true tri-generational event with children and youth as full partners.  As a result a strong children's and youth track were included. In the national stadium event in Jakarta, 20,000 children and 20,000 youth were part of the 100,000+ in attendance along with the adults. Through that experience at the WPA in 2012, a new vision has emerged. Both senior leaders and leaders of the youth track, led by Pastor Jerome Ocampo, have been praying about the possibility of arranging a World Youth Prayer Assembly.
 
There is no doubt that we are in a season where God is at work, "Turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, Malachi 4:6." Could God be calling the Church worldwide to harness their gifts of prayer and mission in a way that would encourage and release the next generation into their destiny for the nations? Could the youth step up to design and lead such an event - with the encouragement, guidance and support of their elders? Could the youth help birth new expressions, new rhythms of prayer around the world? And could the global Church play a role in cheering them on towards this end?

At the end of August, a number of youth prayer leaders along with members of the International Prayer Council met in Hong Kong to do some initial planning. Please pray with us for the next steps in organizing the WYPA. We are in the process of considering a venue and making other arrangements. Pray especially for Pastor Jerome Ocampo who has accepted the responsibility of coordinating this event.

We believe that children and youth are called to be full partners in God's mission. We are excited about the potential of the youth becoming catalysts and partners for an awakening of children and youth around the world. Habakkuk 2:14

Tom Victor, Great Commission Coalition and member of the WYPA planning team
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