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—A hope that touches the soul during this most urgent of hours. 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 re-present 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 missionaries 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.
By virtue of the Orlando event and the thousands in attendance from Brazil, The Send rented a stadium in the South American country, further building the momentum of spiritual promise. Within six hours the stadium was sold out to its capacity of 70,000 people. Due to the demand, two additional stadiums were secured. The result of the February 2020 event was 140,000 Brazilian participants, 3 million viewers worldwide and 100,000 missional commitments within the mission fields of high schools, universities, communities, Bible and engagement, prayer and fasting, vulnerable children, and missionary service to the nations. The average age of these responders was 24. A generation had found its answer.
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:
“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, the sound of activation and the sound of love running across the streets of our cities and hope running to the hardest and most difficult places,” says Byrd.
It would be unrealistic to think that organizing an event of this magnitude would come without challenges. Planning began in 2020 but was halted by Covid. This pause extended into 2021 and now, finally, in May 2022 their efforts are coming to fruition. With trials this immense it would have been easy to relinquish their energies, and the team did experience weariness. Endless Zoom calls, scheduling disappointments, the uncertainty of large gatherings, and inability to secure funding all served to fuel the temptation to purge the idea altogether. Add to this the enormous confusion permeating the nation, and it is only through faith that this undertaking could see the light of day.
“We became further fueled as the urgency in the nation seemed to increase. 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. 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,” explains Byrd.
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. The 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—serving our marginalized communities in addition to helping children in foster care. 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. It is as simple as: come, bring friends, pray, love your neighbor and serve marginalized people. 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 spiritual awakening and a broad scale activation of believers from every walk of life.
“We need courage. We need courage to face the difficulty. We need courage to face daily challenges. We need courage to not become cynical, to not lose hope. We need courage to not just blame other people and fuel the division. For people who are on the edge of their own faith and their own hope, there are few things that bring greater courage than to stand together with thousands of others who are also willing to take a stand and live with hope. We need to gather together. We are not alone.”
-Andy Byrd
For more information and to get involved visit: thesend.org
