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They say that the darkest part of the day is just before dawn. And in a similar way, there are signs that the Spirit of God might be about to do an extraordinary work. Christians from all kinds of denominational backgrounds are coming together in unity and particularly prayer. That’s always a good start.

But there are a number of other things which I’ve also started to observe, which suggest that something significant is about to take place. Let me give a couple of examples.

The first is that the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras recorded a $1.2 million loss for the 2023-2024 financial year. This is despite the fact that the City of Sydney and the New South Wales Government gave them over 1.1 million dollars to bail them out of their projected shortfall. But this could well mean that many of its activities will be greatly scaled back and hopefully even cancelled.

Baptisms at Schoolies

The second example of what I am referring to is much more positive. It is being reported that huge “queues of teens” are lining up to be baptised on the Gold Coast during ‘schoolies’. Eleanor Katelaris from news.com reports:

An organisation called Youth for Christ (YFC) is hosting public baptisms, inviting teenagers to embrace a more spiritual path amid the usual Schoolies chaos.

Baptism is a Christian tradition practised by the majority of the world’s estimated 2.38 billion Christians.

It is a public declaration of faith signifying the symbolic death of a believer’s old life and the beginning of a brand new life following Jesus.

This wholesome side of Schoolies has caught the attention of many on TikTok, where one YFC missionary is sharing videos of their initiative.

It’s certainly an unusual sight – in one clip, a sea of young people walk through the main strip of Surfers Paradise holding ‘Jesus Loves You’ and ‘Get Baptised’ signs.

In another, teens are seen lining up on the street to visit the YFC stall on the main strip.

Music-backed montages show board short-clad men being submerged in the surf on their nights out.

Cindy McGarvie, National Director of Youth for Christ Australia, said their mission teams have been offering baptisms at Schoolies since 2016.

“We’re at Schoolies to share the hope of Jesus. It’s the message we want to be sharing wherever we go. The baptisms are a small but significant outworking of this simple focus,” she said.

The feedback they had this year was “overwhelmingly positive”, Ms McGarvie said, noting that “most nights”, the team would have a constant flow of schoolies coming up to them, asking genuine questions about God.

This is a time when Christians of all persuasions need to come together in prayer. To humbly ourselves and ask for the LORD’s blessing to be poured out upon the nation of Australia. That we might, in particular, see spiritual renewal because, as Dr A. T. Pierson once said, “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.”

As the Lord Himself says in the book of Chronicles, “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

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Image courtesy of Youth for Christ Australia.