Buchan leads massive crowd in prayer for South Africa
HUNDREDS of thousands of Christians from all over South Africa and neighbouring countries descended on Wilde Als Farm, on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, to worship the Lord.
The crowd gathered at the City of Roses on Saturday to pray for justice, peace and hope in South Africa during the momentous interfaith national prayer service themed: “It’s Time”.
The initiative, which is the brainchild of internationally acclaimed evangelist Angus Buchan, trended on social media.
According to the organisers, their posts on social media platforms that marketed the campaign reached millions of people throughout the world.
Hundreds of worshippers from all walks of life began to arrive in the Free State capital in droves on Friday night and most accommodation facilities in the area were fully-booked.
Thousands more people streamed into the city on the day of the occasion travelling in buses, minibuses and private cars.
People began to arrive at the venue from as early as 6am on Saturday.
The venue, a farm owned by former Springbok rugby player Ollie le Roux, had people waiting patiently for the evangelist to arrive. He touched down in his private jet just a stone’s throw from the area where the event was held.
Although Buchan was supposed to have delivered his sermon at midday, he couldn’t start as scheduled but had to wait for people who were still flocking to the event. The evangelist addressed the gathering after two hours.
Buchan told the crowd his vision to host an event of such a great magnitude was born after he received a video from a concerned citizen.
In the video, the unnamed citizen called on him as a Christian leader to get Christians together in one place and pray to God to save South Africa.
The KwaZulu-Natal-based pastor said God gave him these words regarding the event – “It’s Time” and “One Million”.
“Today we are witnessing history. History is in the making today. This gathering is a prayer meeting, it is not a gospel concert. It is not even an evangelistic outreach, it is a prayer meeting. We are going to pray together and as individuals,” he said.
He further said: “This meeting is not about black or white, males or females, young or old – but this meeting is all about good and evil”.
Buchan thanked thousands of people who graced the event with their presence, some of whom travelled throughout the night to get to the Free State. He said as Christians it was vital to pray together in one place.
“It is not good enough to just go to your house and pray with your family. We need to come together as a nation and we need to seek the Lord together. You may not know it but there are one million people over here today.
“God is calling us to draw a line in the sand and say devil no further than this. God says He will save South Africa. He is a faithful God who answers our prayers. Amen!” he added.
Before he descended the stage, Buchan said he was looking forward to the day that Parliament is opened every morning with the reading of scripture and prayer.
“That time is coming. It’s coming very soon. We don’t want to see corruption and stealing in our country anymore.
“Through our prayers this country will change in one day. We want to see love and peace prevail in the new government,” concluded Buchan.