We have specifically targeted Philadelphia – the City of Brotherly Love – because, like many cities in the Northeast, it has a rich American and Christian history and strong academic presence, but, in many respects, has been overtaken by darkness and spiritual decay. In that regard, one of JAMA’s visions is to awaken Christians from their comfort zones and challenge them to directly engage in the cultural centers of this country – the cities (Jeremiah 29:4-7) – as transforming, healing, and intercessory agents for Christ.
2008 also marks the 150th anniversary of a four-month long “tent revival meeting” in Philadelphia where tens of thousands gathered together daily to pray for the renewal of their hearts and the revival of this land – part of a revival that swept across the East Coast and this nation, stemming from the work of God through the prayer of one New York City businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. It is our hope and prayer that you would join us in Philadelphia in 2008 in praying for those same things and asking God, as in Habakkuk 3:2, to “renew them in our day and in our time make them known!”
