By Daina Doucet
It seems historically Christians and Hollywood have not had the best of relationships, but apparently prayer changes things. That was the case on March 15, 2012, when Faytene Grasseschi and her Canadian team held TheCRY Hollywood – a prayer gathering – at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal Studios, California.
Not a concert or a conference, TheCRY Hollywood, with thousands in attendance, was a plea for God to manifest his presence in answer to prayer and release His destiny for entertainment media. Instead of bringing accusation, the goal of TheCRY was to call forth God’s purpose and dream for the entertainment industry. According to Grasseschi, it was to release “life, love and God’s glory through our prayers.”
Topics of prayer included honoring Christian patriarchs and matriarchs in Hollywood – Pat Boone, Dyan Cannon and others; blessing Israel and Jewish leaders in the entertainment media; calling forth new “mantles” and creativity for producers, writers, directors and actors; and imparting God’s direction to those who sensed a call to media.
“We saw God move in an amazing way,” said Grasseschi, “We are already hearing testimonies of individual lives that were touched and people in the industry that have been rocked by the prayers and by the presence of God.”
“Thanks to TheCRY,” said a TV and documentary producer who wished not to be named, “I have real hope and encouragement that God’s plans and dreams for me will come to pass!” According to her, Christian and non-Christian leaders in Hollywood said they had “never seen anything like this.”
Repentance also transformed those in attendance. Representatives of the various nations repented for speaking negatively instead of praying for Hollywood. Participants then immediately behaved in the opposite spirit by releasing prayers of blessings over the movie industry. Also a time of repentance was allocated for exploitation of women through the sex trade and pornography, 90 percent of which is produced for the world market in the San Fernando valley.
A Canadian participant on Grasseschi’s team described evidence of the impact: “One of the leadership team, met two guys in the theatre just after the repentance for sexual impurity and pornography. The two big guys were in tears. [They said] they both worked in the porn industry and didn’t know what to do with themselves after the powerful repentance they had just witnessed. They continued by saying they had never felt so much love and so much conviction.”
Speakers who led prayer and worship came at their own expense: Shawn Bolz, Expression 58, Cary Lewis Arban, AMTC, Rabbi Jason Sobel, Fusion; Sean Feucht, BURN 24-7; Gabe Ahn, Project Light; Patricia King, XP Media; and Ted Baher, Movie Guide.
Also leading prayer were Rob Parker, head of the National House of Prayer, Ottawa; Barry Maracle, a Canadian First Nations revivalist who prayed in the Mohawk language; Rabbi Jason Sobel of Los Angeles who prayed in Hebrew; and Patricia King, founder of XPMedia and a representative of Christian media. King mentioned in a conference subsequent to TheCRY event that she believed TheCRY had “shifted” the spiritual atmosphere pertaining to the region’s destiny.
TheCRY Hollywood was not the first of its kind for Grasseschi. She and her team have conducted eight similar gatherings in Canada that appeared to reap remarkable answers to prayer resulting in shifts in national political polls, the advancement of morally based legislation, a drop in drug abuse, and a fresh outpouring of the Spirit in many churches.
“I had been praying where we go with the CRYs,” said Grasseschi in a video message to Canadians, “and [a friend] said, ‘God’s actually given you two CRYs. He’s given you a CRY for Canada – for your own nation, and he’s given you a CRY for Hollywood.’”
Her friend’s insight resonated with her spirit. “Media,” she says, “speaks messages over our generation and influences it. When that word came about the TheCRY Hollywood, I thought, Oh, man, this makes sense!”
Grasseschi doesn’t know whether she will hold another CRY Hollywood, but she is planning a CRY event this coming summer in Toronto on July 28th. For more information, visit the website http://www.thecrymovement.com/.
To view video, click here.
Daina Doucet is senior editor for the Acts News Network.
Copyright © Acts News Network.