c. 2000 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The Rev. Che Ahn hopes a youthful version of Promise Keepers’ “Stand in the Gap” prayer rally will take place this September when “TheCallDC” comes to the National Mall.

The Korean-American pastor of the charismatic Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, Calif., is organizing the Sept. 2 event _ with the support of prominent evangelical leaders _ in hopes of reconciling Christian youth and their parents and encouraging spiritual renewal in a post-Columbine era.

“Part of the problem … is that there’s such an alienation and separation between the parents and the children,” said Ahn in an interview Thursday (May 4) while in Washington attending National Day of Prayer events. “I really believe that children do spell love t-i-m-e and if you don’t give them time, they’re going to sense the feeling of alienation and rejection.”

The title of the event refers to verses in the Old Testament book of Joel, which say “Declare a holy fast .. Call a sacred assembly … bring together, the elders, gather the children.”

Ahn, the 44-year-old father of four teen-agers, said he’s been challenged by being away from his family as he plans the event, but looks forward to working with them on plans for the gathering when school is out this summer.

In fact, much of the event _ focusing particularly on those between the ages of 14 and 24 _ is being planned by an ad hoc nationwide group of people younger than 30 years old.

“They’ve seen the divorce. They’ve experienced the violence,” he said. “They want family to be together. They want kids to be nice to each other on campus.”

At the suggestion of the young planners, the music in the event will feature popular Christian artists who will lead worship rather than serve as “entertainment,” Ahn said.

Artists Michael W. Smith and Sonic Flood have agreed to participate.

Still in the early planning stages, confirmed speakers include Darrell Scott, whose daughter Rachel was killed in the Columbine High School tragedy, and Bill McCartney, founder of Promise Keepers, the evangelical men’s movement. Many of the speakers will be young people, Ahn said.

The dawn-to-dusk event, viewed as a “solemn assembly” similar to Stand in the Gap, was a vision of an associate pastor of Ahn’s.

The idea is turning into a reality after last year’s tragic shootings of young people at Columbine in Littleton, Colo., and Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

In addition to the highly publicized violence, Ahn said the event was propelled by concerns about teen church attendance. A Campus Crusade for Christ study indicates that 88 percent of teens do not attend church and of the 12 percent that do, 80 percent are likely to stop attending when they graduate from high school.

“We’re really facing a real spiritual, moral crisis among the young people,” he said.

Ahn said he doesn’t want to focus on how many people may show up at the gathering, but organizers have told the National Park Service as many as 400,000 could be there.

The advisory board for the event includes prominent African-American, Asian-American, Native American, and Hispanic Christian leaders.

“We want it to be as diverse as possible,” said Ahn, whose California church has a multiethnic congregation. The more than 1,000 people who attend services there come from some 49 different nations.

Among those supporting the event are leaders of Mission America, a consortium of about 400 evangelical denominations and ministries; Campus Crusade for Christ; Youth With a Mission; the Christian Broadcasting Network; and the Association of Vineyard Churches.

DEA END BANKS