On October 7, 2026, Jerusalem will become the center of a historic 24-hour global prayer gathering, connecting believers in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East, the Pacific, and beyond. Broadcast through television, radio, social media, ministries and digital platforms, the Global Prayer Event is expected to reach as many as half a billion people.
Three years after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Christians from around the world will unite to remember the victims, pray for Israel and the Jewish people, and demonstrate that they are not alone.
A song titled “The Whole World Sings Together” will be sung by all the nations. Its message captures the heart of the gathering: “The wounds may speak, the scars may whisper, but hope is louder than what’s been done.” The Global Prayer Event is already drawing participation from across the globe. The event’s online prayer wall has received prayers from 208 countries, providing a visible picture of the international response ahead of October 7.
Jerusalem at the Center
Hosted by Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, the gathering will originate in Jerusalem and move across the world’s time zones in a continuous 24-hour broadcast.
More than 1,000 pastors and Christian leaders will gather in Israel as part of the Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit. More than 50 ambassadors are also partnering with the initiative, while churches, ministries, broadcasters and prayer networks prepare to participate in their own nations. Since the Ambassador Summit with 1,000 pastors last December, Friends of Zion has generated a quarter of a billion views on their social media posts combating antisemitism.
An Unprecedented Gathering of Christian Leaders
The event is bringing together prominent Christian leaders and media voices, including Erick Stakelbeck of TBN, Frank Amedia of the TCT Network, and Bishop Robert Stearns, along with a delegation of international leaders and dignitaries. Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, will also speak to the widows of Israel.
TCT Network will help carry the event to Christian television audiences globally alongside global Christian broadcasters, ministries and digital platforms. The executive committee includes leaders from NRB, Liberty University, ICEJ, Regent University, KCM, the National Prayer Network of Taiwan, the Brazilian Church Movement and thousands of other global Christian Zionist organizations.
The event’s growing list of international participants reflects its central purpose: bringing believers together across nations, denominations and generations for a single day of prayer.
The Guinness World Records organization is being invited to officially document the event as the largest event in Israel’s history and the largest prayer event in world history.
From 1,000 Pastors to a Growing Movement
For Friends of Zion, October 7 builds on a movement already underway.
Last year, 1,000 pastors came to Israel and were commissioned by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to become Defenders of Zion. Since then, the movement has generated more than a quarter of a billion social media views and engagements promoting support for Israel and combating antisemitism.
This October, another 1,000 pastors and Christian leaders will come to Israel. The Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem is playing a central role in mobilizing this growing network and equipping Christian leaders to carry the message back to their churches and communities.
Friends of Zion is the largest global organization uniting Christian Zionists and the largest pro-Israel social network platform, with 30 million followers just on Facebook alone.
From Tragedy to Hope
Mike Evans, the founder of Friends of Zion and the Jerusalem Prayer Team, said, “October 7, 2023, became a day of unimaginable heartbreak and hopelessness. October 7, 2026, will become a day of great hope. The antisemites presented a narrative that the Jewish people are alone. On October 7, the world will unite to defeat that lie.”
Mike Evans’ mother was a Jewish woman named after her grandfather, Rabbi Mikel Katznelson, who was burned to death in his wooden synagogue along with 2,000 Jews. The late Shimon Peres’ grandfather was the cantor rabbi in the same synagogue. Shimon Peres went on to become the international chairman of Friends of Zion and commission the Friends of Zion Award. That award has now been given to 30 world leaders, including Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Evans said, “This mission is very personal to me. My father was an antisemite who was abusive toward my mother. When I tried to defend her at 11 years old, he strangled me. I realized then my life’s calling. If I could not defend one Jew against a Jew hater, my life’s work was to defend all the Jews.”
The motivation for the event is simply to give hope on a hopeless day and to stand with the Jewish people: “Comfort ye my people, saith your God” -Isaiah 40:1.
Israel is not alone.
The writer has written 120 books and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, the Ten Boom Museum in Holland, and Churches United with Israel, one of the largest Christian Zionist networks in America, with more than 30 million followers.