This message is at the heart of the Thy Kingdom Come campaign, which encourages Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Christ.
To mark Easter Sunday, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has released a short film telling the story of how he came to understand the cross for the first time.
The film, made for Thy Kingdom Come, a global, ecumenical prayer movement running from Pentecost to Ascension, sees the Archbishop return to Cambridge where he became a Christian, together with the friend who led him to Christ.
Throughout the film Archbishop Justin and his friend Nick Hills reunite after more than 40 years and visit various places of importance on Archbishop Justin’s journey to Christ – including Nick’s old dorm room, which was the exact location he gave his life to Christ.
The Archbishop recounts the night – October 12th, 1975 – just before midnight – when the two friends returned to Nick’s room after a church service. It was then that 19-year-old Justin made the decision which he describes as a ‘transforming…life-changing moment’
“I realise I was at the point of decision about my life. I realised my life was going to go one of two ways. And I prayed a very simple prayer saying, ‘Lord Jesus come into my life’. I don’t know anything about you but come into my life. He came in and something changed. And has stayed changed from then on. With all the ups and downs and me trying to run away and good times in my life and really bad ones.”
In the same scene, the two friends thumb through the original Bible given to Archbishop Justin by Nick. Viewers are shown a personal message handwritten by Nick – with the scripture John 15:16 – the very same scripture that the Bible was open to when Archbishop Justin was installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury five years ago (March 21st, 2013).
Archbishop Justin reveals how he was prayed for by a family friend, every week from the moment he was conceived to age 18 when he became a Christian – something he found out much later.
“I later learned there was a particular person who prayed for me every week since he knew that I was on the way – since I was conceived that I might become a disciple of Christ. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to them.”
He urges those watching to make the same commitment.
This message is at the heart of the Thy Kingdom Come campaign, which encourages Christians across the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Christ.