Together 2016 unites millennials for spiritual ‘reset’

USA (MNN) — Today’s millennial generation has a heart for causes and initiatives. They are social justice-driven and purpose-inspired, but sometimes our personal agendas can result in creating more division.

However, what if the Body of Christ set the stage for unity across our nations? What if people looked, not to politicians or platforms, but to God for healing in our world?

On July 16, thousands of evangelicals gathered for the Together 2016 conference (through the RESET Movement) at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. — America’s capital that embodies much of the strife and tension of the upcoming presidential elections.

Speakers like Louie Giglio and Francis Chan, and musical groups such as Hillsong United and Lecrae were part of the line-up.

Their goal? To unite believers in this generation as one Church commissioned to spread God’s Word around the world.

Chris McQuirk went to the conference with The JESUS Film Project. He says it truly was a picture of a Church united. “There was a lot of people involved. A lot of ministries came together across denominational lines, Catholics and Protestants even, as well as all the speakers that were there [and] the musicians.”

In 2012, the RESET Movement started as a group of believers from varying backgrounds sharing this concept of ‘resetting’ at other conferences. They were inspired by the technological concept of a ‘reset’, which clears previous errors and gets a system back to its original, full-functioning purpose.

For the movement, they present the idea that Jesus Christ offers every person a spiritual reset for their life. And that idea can spark transformation in our communities and nations.

“The guy who had the vision for this several years ago [wanted] to just draw people together on the mall there in D.C. to pray for our country, to pray for revival. My take on it is, instead of using the term ‘revival’, they came up with this concept of ‘reset’ which is kind of a newer word, that they were basically praying for the same thing — praying for revival for our country, throughout the world,” says McQuirk.

“The hope was to have close to a million people there. Originally it was designed for young people, to pray for this next generation that’s coming up…. Reset our compass, reset our lives to the person of Jesus, to evangelism, to Scripture, to build the morality, those kind of things.”

McQuirk has a personal passion for spiritual revival, even since his college years. He’d never been to Washington D.C. before, and to attend Together 2016 with The JESUS Film Project was an exciting opportunity.

“We just really went to help and serve. When I first heard about the conference, I was like, ‘I want to be there!’… You really sensed God’s spirit as you were there worshiping and praying and, I mean, it was hotter than blue blazes, people were passing out, they had to shut down the event early, but it was worth it to be there and make the trip and be a part of something that I think is historic in our country.”

One of the most powerful moments at Together 2016 was at the conclusion of the conference.

“It concluded at the end with those over [age] 30 laying hands on the under-30’s, the next generation, the people who raised their hand and said, ‘I want to reset, I want to commit my life to serving the Lord.’ And we laid our hands on those young people and prayed that God would send them out,” reflects McQuirk.

The Together 2016 conference has a mobile app where you can stay up-to-date on the outreach and join Bible Study reading plans in the wake of the event.

It’s all part of their follow-up initiative to see those who attended the conference take the movement and spread God’s message of salvation, grace, and hope to their communities.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be following these people up who were there that made commitments. And the Together folks, the Reset folks, have done a really good job. They have an app that you can download, and because I was there, I get the email notifications, I get the push notifications, and they’re engaging people with Scripture.”

McQuirk says The JESUS Film Project has some ideas to get in on the action post-conference as well.

“One of the things that The JESUS Film Project is hoping to do is really partner more closely with Together/Reset and provide for them access to The JESUS Film app that’s out there on Google Play and the iTunes store, because the real focus is engaging with God’s Word and engaging in evangelism, and this is a great tool for them to be able to use evangelistically.

“If those people who were participating and made commitments downloaded The JESUS Film app and started to use it to share their faith, we could reach millions of people in this country and all over the world.”

While the worship, lectures, and commitments become echoes weeks after the Together 2016 conference has finished, you can pray for a staying effect as Holy Spirit resets lives and unites the Body of Christ to spread the Gospel.

McQuirk gives this final request: “Pray that this would go viral; that what God did there on the 16th of July, that it would continue to happen as a ripple effect throughout our country in churches, in campus ministries, in various formats…. But it’s really not about America, it’s about the world. It’s about reaching people who never had a chance to hear the Gospel, and there’s a lot of work left to be done. So it’s really up to the Lord, but we can pray to that end and ask the Lord to take us to the next level.”

You can also check out Together 2016 on Facebook here.