2,500 ask God to revive 'Portland Again'

By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
    PORTLAND — Looking back at what happened at the Oregon Convention Center Nov. 8, it’s clear that the huge turnout of people wasn’t the only remarkable thing.
    It was also their fervency, their seriousness, about the task at hand.
   “Other pastors I spoke with agreed that we saw more praying than yapping,” said Bill McLeod, missions pastor at Greater Portland Bible Church and one of the approximately 2,500 who filled a massive ballroom for the Portland Again rally.
    By every measure, the midday rally — organized by local Christian business leaders with the strong endorsement of dozens of key churches and ministries throughout the city — was a huge success as a one-time event. But organizers hope the momentum begun by the rally will carry over into a broader long-range prayer effort that will see Portland and the Northwest touched with the kind of revival that hit the city 100 years ago.
   “I’m being contacted by all different kinds of pastors, ministry organizations and others who want to take this to another level,” said Craig Smith, one of the key rally organizers. “What people are talking to me about is some sort of prayer network so that we can come into alignment on praying for specific things in our city.
   “We’re just seeking the Lord and trying to figure out, if there is a next step, is that the direction He wants us to go.”
    The overflow crowd that required quick expansion of movable walls in the ballroom and a rapid set-up of additional chairs is an exciting indicator of the desire within the Christian community for a fresh touch of God on the city, Smith said.
   “We were overwhelmed,” he said. “In our wildest dreams, we didn’t believe there would be 2,500 people. We were told that if 500 came, it would be successful. That if 1,000 came, that would be phenomenal. Because so many people took time out of their day to come and pray —sometimes on their knees — “we’re asking the question, ‘Lord, are we really on the verge of revival?’ ’’ said Smith. “We did the rally in obedience, because God told us to.”
    Smith he also was impressed by the grassroots support as shown in the hundreds of small donations during the offering that covered the cost of the rally.
    Also touching, he said, was the large turnout of between 100 to 200 people for a pre-rally prayer time that was held in an adjacent room.
   “People are calling me, saying there is a strong desire that this can’t stop here,” he said. “We have to keep going. I think people realize our city needs revival, a touch from God, and everyone understands that one meeting doesn’t make that happen.
   “I’m way more convinced that revival is on the verge now than I was just two weeks ago, because of the response.”
    Serving as master of ceremonies for the 90-minute rally was Frank Damazio, senior pastor of City Bible Church, who led off with his own impassioned cry to the Lord.
   “We are praying, revive us again and again and again, as many times as it takes!” Damazio said. “Revive us, O God!”
    Damazio also gave the rally a regional focus going beyond Portland to the entire Northwest.
   “We are believing for Portland again, Vancouver again, Oregon again, Washington again,” he said. “We’re believing for all those places.”
    Damazio mentioned not only the 1905 city revival, whose centennial anniversary inspired the prayer rally, but also other moves of God that were seen locally in the 1930s and 1970s.
   “Lord, as we turn into a new century, we believe it to be sevenfold more,” Damazio prayed.
    The rally was a mix of not only prayer led by various Christian leaders, but also a brief message from Pastor Ray Cotton of New Hope Community Church in Clackamas, a video presentation, and singing.
   “What is revival? It’s when God starts working in people’s lives,” said Cotton. “I believe God has already started it. It’s not something we bring on; it’s something we cooperate with.”
    When revival comes, however, it will be a new work and not simply a repeat of what God has done in the past, Cotton noted. “It’s not going to look like it did in 1905,” he said.
    The crowd came to its feet after viewing the brief video created by Mike and Marian MacNamara. The video featured a wide range of Christians of all ages expressing their love for the Portland area and their strong personal desire for revival to take place.
    Perhaps the biggest response from the crowd came when the video’s narrator noted that during the 1905 revival, the city’s newspaper headlines spoke then of God’s move.
   “The front page of the paper said ‘City asks for grace.’,” the narrator pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be great to have The Oregonian say that today?”
    Many in the crowd cheered the latter comment.
    Some of those leading in specific prayer for “interest areas” of the city were Mike Higgs of the Portland Youth Federation, for youth and schools; Dave Chown of Chown Hardware, for the business community; former Oregon House Speaker Lynn Snodgrass, for political leaders; Georgene Rice of KPDQ radio, for the media; and Dennis Fuqua of International Renewal Minsitries, for ministries.
    In the pre-rally prayer time, Steve Spinnett, a member of the rally’s governing committee, told those gathered that he had heard others talk about having prayed for 20 years for such an event.
    Spinnett noted the unity from representatives of a broad cross-section of churches and the Christian community.
   “I believe that God is in a good mood,” Spinnett said. “Parents are in a good mood when their children are getting along.”
    Smith said the local Christian community should keep praying with expectant hearts and see what next step might occur in this corporate call for revival in the city and region.
   “Stay tuned,” Smith said.