During a time when negativity, darkness and divisiveness have plagued modern society, never has the hope of spiritual awakening resonated so clearly. Now, imagine the daunting task of activating a massive missional emergence that expands across ages, denominations, people and nations, and it becomes abundantly clear that this faith journey can only be ordered by God. It is within this overwhelming reality that real hope can be found. And it is The Send that is merging these immense societal needs of the people of the world with the purpose of finding their place in the great commission.
“There is a generation that is hungry, hungry for something more to live for, hungry to make a real difference, hungry to represent Jesus to the nations as He is portrayed through scriptures and how He lived out his life. This is about the least, the last and the lost.”
Andy Byrd, Youth with a Mission (YWAM)
This urgency now has a response. When missionary Andy Byrd and Francis Chan reflect on the history and vision of The Send, a poetic passion illuminates the room. It is a passion so driven by divine enthusiasm, and a belief that the kind actions of people would reflect what Jesus has called the world to do, that it is impossible to dismiss. The history of this calling was birthed in 2000 with the guidance of Lou Engel Ministries. This vision, The Call, has packed stadiums worldwide for 18 years with a message of prayer and fasting along with a mission of encouraging America to turn to Jesus.
It was in 2018 that a team of distinct ministries began to question what could be done for the Kingdom if they really worked together in a spirit of unity and collaboration. The Call had become the catalyst in creating The Send, a movement of massive missional activation that had hopes of impacting the 3.2 billion unreached peoples of the world through the promise of the gospel. The trajectory was paved, and the response was immense. In 2019 The Send filled an Orlando stadium, resulting in a mind-blowing 58,000 people answering the call to mission fields and thousands making commitments, willing to joyfully live for something bigger than themselves. They were just getting started.
What came next was further proof that God was in all the details. The Send received an invitation from Kansas City’s Arrowhead stadium. It was an opportunity to extend the gospel in the loudest stadium in the world. Byrd believes that Arrowhead could become a megaphone to the nations:
Byrd explains, “How powerful that we could make a sound in that stadium: The sound of hope, the sound of the love of Jesus, the sound of hope for a generation and the sound of activation—The sound of love running across the streets of our cities and of hope running to the hardest and most difficult places. Experiencing the division in the last two years as if everything served to divide our nation whether it was politics, Covid or racial lines, it was just so painful. Three major traumatic divisions were being pushed in the nation where normally we would get one of those a decade —three in two years. At a cultural level the division was off the charts. If the church cannot be unified, how can we unite the nation? We needed something so risky that thousands would be able to say that they are not alone.”
This urgency energized an army of people, missionaries and volunteers. They toured across the U.S. hosting over 45 events, calling the nation to Kansas City. In addition The Send partnered with a 350-campus tour to spread the dream of making a difference. The church of America needs to be able to see itself as part of the solution to the crisis of the hour. This greatest mobilization across the nation is to culminate at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
The ultimate goal of The Send is to encourage simple acts of the love of Jesus multiplied by ten thousand. Byrd believes people want to get on the field but that many need permission to take a step. The Send KC is a call to action. It is 12 hours of Great Commission messaging intended to stir an awakening and is free of charge. The Send hopes to represent the beauty and diversity of the nation and to continue to spread a message of hope as we all do our part to see a true spiritual awakening and a broad scale activation of believers from every walk of life.
For more information and to get involved visit: thesend.org