Around twelve thousand Christians took the streets of the center of Dublin on October 26, for the first ever ‘March for Jesus’ in the city, organised by All Nations Church and Betania Church, with the support of other churches in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Starting at the Garden of Remembrance, the participants walked to the Irish parliament, holding wooden crosses and waving flags and placards that read, March for Jesus, Jesus is the Way, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is King, Jesus can change your life, Jesus loves Dublin, and Jesus loves Ireland.

There was also a worship team on an elevated platform located upon one of the city streets, which led participants in singing popular songs and hymns, such as Praise the Lord, Oh my soul and How Great Thou Art.

“We are here to bless our city”

John Ahern, pastor of All Nations Church, prayed “for the family, for our children”, as well as for the Irish people “to come back to God, to faith in him, to honouring him, to worshipping him, and to declare that he is Lord”.

“We are here to bless our city, to bless this island both north and south” , he said.

Ahern also warned that “God will not and cannot bless everything. God will not bless the shedding of innocent blood. euthanasia. the sexualisation of children. the erasure of women”.

Praying for the future

Several other church and ministry leaders from across the country also spoke and prayed at the event.

Nick Park, executive director of the Evangelical Alliance Ireland, expressed his hope for a future Irish government, which would have values that align with the Bible.

“I pray for the next government for this nation to be one that you can use to roll back tides of darkness and bring in a restoration of truth and godliness in this nation”.