Old Events
Sound of Heaven. Or: A vision comes true!
The aim; to worship Jesus, the King of all kings, over the nation of Mongolia drew 4,500 Mongolian Christians and Christians from other nations for three days to a venue outside of Ulaan Baatar, the capital city of Mongolia. On Wednesday afternoon, the opening day, they came from every corner – the young and the old, the poor and the rich, Christians from 70 different churches gathered together! Clouds of dust welled up when the big busses and packed cars made their way on rough roads.
For two weeks a team prepared the festival ground: they dug 40 provisional toilets, set up a camp site for 700 tents, and built a huge stage with a roof cover. And then it finally began – the soaring sounds of the Mongolian horse guitar announced the opening of the festival. After reading Psalm 148 in Mongolian and English the loud sound of the shofar filled the air.
Twelve horsemen on their horses appeared on the hill, accompanied by worship music and the sound of the shofar they rode down the hill. Suddenly they stopped and erected a huge cross, then continued their ride towards the stage where they placed their colourful banners. Walter Heidenreich opened the first Mongolian worship event and shared how he got this vision years ago: In 1996 God called the Lüdenscheid band Tengerin Doo to go to the Gobi desert and do a concert for him alone. Years later, Walter Heidenreich came across another band, whose members also did concerts in Mongolia aiming to strengthen the nation by drawing on their old Buddhist and Shaman roots. It was felt that God was calling us to keep the land that he had already given us.
The worship went on for 72 hours non-stop and was conducted by 17 Mongolian worship bands and several international bands: Graham Kendrick (UK), Andy Park (Canada), TNT (Germany), Sitos (Switzerland), Bridge Builders (Korea) and Tengerin Doo (Germany). There were alternately times of deep intimacy with God and times of abundant joy and prophetic proclamations. The presence and peace of God filled the whole campsite. In this atmosphere people got healed, delivered and were saved – and several received callings from God. Many Mongolians experienced God as their father in a very deep way, especially through the worship times conducted by Graham Kendrick and Andy Park.
It was exciting to watch the passion of the Mongolians; hour after hour they stood and worshipped - no matter the weather. Old ladies on crutches danced as passionately as the children did! Even during the night the worship wouldn’t stop but ring throughout the valley. Approx. 15 years ago the church in Mongolia had no songs, no music, and no voice to lift it up to God – today there is a vast variety of songs and musicians! Today we don’t need to sing any more on their behalf, but together we can worship our glorious Lord and join into their songs. He made our dreams and visions come true!Another highlight was the closing of the event with Tengerin Doo and Walter Heidenreich. The crowd was asked to turn toward the cross on the hill and everybody sang: “Majesty – forever I am changed by your love!” The 12 horsemen took their banners and carried them on their horses up the hill, accompanied by prayers of sending and blessing. Right now Mongolians and Western teams are travelling the nation of Mongolia and preach the gospel of Jesus. This young church in Mongolia will – according to its calling – carry the peace, healing and the love of Jesus to those nations where centuries ago Chinggis Khan spread fear and violence.
Report from Makeway Music