As an emerging faith leader—an unusual one in that he does not pastor a church but rather focuses on evangelism events—Nick has been on the front lines of the cultural clash between Millennials and those who have come before them. Millennials make up 90% of his event audiences, while his donor base is considerably older.
Nick Hall, leader of Pulse Movement, best known for the 2016 DC event “Together” which attracted 500,000 people for one day of worship, believes the National Day of Prayer is a crucial opportunity for our country to mend divisions.
Nick has been especially involved with Millennials with National Day of Prayer events. Designated by the United States Congress, The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, when Americans are asked to turn to God in prayer. The theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer is Pray for America – Unity, based upon Ephesians 4:3, which challenges believers to mobilize unified public prayer for America, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Nick Hall is known for his Together events. One of the reasons Nick has developed the Together events has been to foster unity among believers.
Leader of Pulse Movement, Nick Hall. Photo Courtesy Nick Hall
Sonoma Christian Home has an exclusive interview with Nick Hall about prayer and how it facilitates unity. SCH Editor at Large Dr. Diane Howard reports.
SCH: How have you been involved with prayer with Millennials and big events?
NH: I have been involved for the past 8 years in Minneapolis with 10,000 youth under 25 with the National Day of Prayer. These have been unifying events involving 400-500 churches with older generations supporting the youth. These events have had the whole city behind them. These gatherings have healed divisions and wounds and seen 200-300 people come to Christ.
SCH: Why is prayer the key to true revival in our country?
NH: Prayer is the engine and what sustains movements of God as they go forward. It helps to keep the main thing the main thing. Prayer lays the tracks to revival.
SCH: Why should we as Christians pray for those in elected positions—regardless of our feelings about whom is in power?
NH: Jesus in our role model in relating to human authorities and reminds us that there is a higher kingdom and a divine power. The Bible tells us that God turns the heart. (I Timothy 2: 1-3 1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men 2 for kings and all those in authority so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior…)
SCH: How can we experience supernatural change through prayer?
NH: Again, Jesus is our role model. His disciples’ first priority was to learn how to pray from Jesus. He teaches us about prayer in Matthew 6, Luke 11, and more. He teaches us to be bold and persistent in prayer. The silence of prayer awakens the spirit. We must pay the price for prayer in time, silence, and giving. We need to pray in private until we hear, give until we trust, and fast until we taste. Prayer silences the flesh and every noise. We need to consider what we are willing to change to deposit treasure in heaven.
SCH: How can prayer mend divisions?
NH: Prayer is a common language all denominations. It encourages connection and intimacy. It silences our voice to hear His. It requires humility and laying down our agenda for His. Through prayer, God unites all ages and traditions.
The Pulse Movement’s 2016 DC event “Together” attracted 500,000 people for one day of worship. Photo Courtesy Nick Hall
SCH: How are Millennials praying and why it’s making a difference?
NH: There is a great movement towards God in the Millennial Generation with the older generation supporting them. In this generation, there is a hunger for God and the supernatural. They want authentic experiences with God. They want to be real. They don’t want “easy believism.” They want real encounters with God. We are seeing multiplication of involvement with prayer with them.
SCH: Where are Pulse’s next large events?
NH: On May 18th, we have a Pulse event where the Super Bowl was in Minneapolis. It will be live-streamed. It will involve 750 churches all denominations from the Twin Cities. 10,000 people will be trained. We plan to mobilize this generation as the 1972 Jesus Movement generation was mobilized.
We can all see the state of our culture. We feel the division…The need for hope in our city seems greater than ever. We believe there is one answer for that hopelessness and his name is Jesus.
This PULSE Twin Cities event will feature popular Christian music artists such as Lecrae and Hillsong. It will be free to the public. For more information, visit Pulse Twin Cities.
Afterward, the next PULSE event is planned for the TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, October 20 and 21, 2018 for unified prayer and worship. This venue in Fort Worth, Texas can hold more than half a million people. The event will feature an all-star lineup of speakers, pastors, artists and leaders from various backgrounds with the aim to promote unity and lift up the name of Jesus.
In an age defined by division that often labels us as those who are for and against politics, issues and each other—Jesus invites all of us to move …He alone offers the hope and leadership we desperately need and Together is about calling people from all backgrounds to move closer to Jesus and the world around us…We believe God is opening up a door and calling a generation to be bold and have faith and dream big—and we believe that this is where the Gospel belongs: in the biggest venues, on the biggest stages.
The first Together event, Together 2016, was held on July 16, 2016 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and drew hundreds of thousands of attendees, making it the largest faith gathering on the National Mall in the last 20 years. The event featured more than 40 speakers, pastors, artists and leaders and attracted attendees from every state in America.
Together 2016 was one big heartbeat. Yes, we came for a heavenly experience, to stand with hundreds of thousands and lift up Jesus. But while we’re here on earth, we have a mission to go and make disciples of all nations. This is what these events are about: the commissioning of a generation. Unleashing a generation for the greatest cause ever—Jesus. We want this generation to move closer to Jesus in discipleship and move closer to the world around us in evangelism.
Nick Hall is an evangelist and founder of PULSE. He is the author of Reset: Jesus Changes Everything.
As a teenager, Nick Hall sensed God was calling him to be an evangelist. When he was a college student at North Dakota State University, he heard Billy Graham was going to be in Oklahoma City for a crusade event. He drove down to volunteer at the event, and as he was in the arena watching it all unfold, seeing thousands of people pointed to the hope of Jesus, he prayed a bold prayer: “God, use me to reach people like this.”
Seven years after he prayed that prayer, he stood on the very same stage himself, sharing the Gospel with a packed arena. And at the age of 34, 10 years after that first event and as the founder and chief communicator for the evangelism movement PULSE, Hall gathered hundreds of thousands of people in unity on the National Mall on July 16, 2016 at Together 2016. This was the largest faith-based gathering on the National Mall in the last 20 years. It was an historic event which brought people from all backgrounds together for a unified day of worship and prayer to make known the name of Jesus and to ask Him to reset the nation.
Hall also serves as President and CEO of The Mission America Coalition (MAC). Photo Courtesy Nick Hall
As an evangelist, for the last five years Hall has been sharing the message of “reset” at PULSE events all over the world. Reset is a term that has been resonating with young people because it represents the clearing of past errors, as with various electronic devices; a reset gets the system working toward its created purpose. Nick also shares this message in his book, Reset: Jesus Changes Everything (Multnomah, 2016).
Founded by Hall in 2006, PULSE is an evangelism movement on a mission to empower the Church and to awaken the culture to the reality of Jesus. They do this by focusing on prayer, training, and large events. As the next generation’s evangelist, Nick has shared the Gospel with nearly three million students and is regularly featured as a speaker for pastors’ gatherings, student conferences, training events, and festivals around the world. Learn more at Pulse Movement.
Hall serves as President and CEO of The Mission America Coalition (MAC), an alliance of leaders in evangelism and discipleship whose exclusive focus is to mobilize the church to spread the Gospel of Jesus in deed and word. Founded in 1993 by the U.S. Committee of the Lausanne Movement, MAC is one of the nation’s most significant conveners of Christian leaders and organizations focused upon evangelism and discipleship.
Hall also sits on the leadership teams for the U.S. Lausanne Committee, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the student advisory team for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Further, Nick is a partner evangelist with the Luis Palau Association.
Nick has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from NDSU and a master’s degree in leadership and Christian thought from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. He has been featured on major media outlets: The Washington Post, US News & World Report, Fox News, Christianity Today, Moody Radio, Christian Broadcasting Network, Trinity Broadcast Network, The Christian Post, Decision Magazine, and Baptist Press. Nick is married to his best friend, Tiffany, and they are proud parents of Truett and Ruby. They live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
To learn more about this author, please visit Dr. Diane Howard
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