Speaker brings message of unity to church leaders at Kingdom Rally

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

Hundreds came to worship God with singing and arms in the air Thursday night at the Kingdom Rally.

The rally, which took place at Highway Tabernacle Church, 3000 S. Raccoon Road, was part of the Kingdom Arise conference taking place Thursday and today with the main objective to reach out to men in the Mahoning Valley.

The rally’s focus “is to awaken the church and to challenge the church,” said Pastor Al Yanno of Metro Assembly of God in Youngstown.

Tony Evans of Dallas, an evangelical pastor, teacher, author and speaker and founder of the Urban Alternative, was the conference’s keynote speaker.

In an address to local church leaders, he brought a message of unity. He also emphasized how churches have fallen astray.

“We are so divided,” he said.

He urged church leaders to come together for the sake of the city.

Evans, who has visited Youngstown a few times, arrived in Youngstown Thursday afternoon. He learned about the so-called Youngstown Plan, which would have a chief executive officer run the city schools.

Evans talked about how his ministry has adopted 54 schools in Dallas, providing social support. He’s currently working with churches nationwide to do the same. He attributed failing schools across the country to the breakdown of the family, and said children now are not taught right from wrong.

Evans’ arrival in Youngstown comes at a time when another religious leader is attracting global attention. Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, addressed Congress on Thursday and will speak this morning to the United Nations General Assembly.

Evans said Francis has been able to link faith with functionality of family and the poor.

“People are responding to that link,” he said.

Evans will be speaking at the Kingdom Man Gathering at Grace Evangelistic Temple, 2214 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, this morning.

“Glad to be in Youngstown,” Evans said.