We are officially half-way through David’s Tent! God, in His abundant goodness, has been so faithful during this time. I have seen Holy Spirit move in power on the hearts of people here day after day and the testimonies are amazing. To date, I believe we’ve had nine salvations, at least a dozen people have been healed, and we have handed out dozens of bibles while presenting the gospel! God is surely alive and His Spirit is moving on the earth! On top of all the testimonies from individuals, we have been so blessed with the wonderful worship teams the Lord has sent to join us here! Over the course of the tent, we have had different worship leaders gather teams from all over their states and then “adopt a day” for their state. All day today, through the night, and into the morning tomorrow is “Delaware Day”. A local friend of ours who is from Delaware, organized and called together a handful of worship teams from all over the state of Delaware to cover 24hrs of worship here and lift up the name of Jesus on behalf of their state! There is such blessing when the body of Christ comes together to worship Him in unity.
This next week is going to be so exciting as this Sunday night, Oct. 12th we are having our annual Hymnsing, and then on Tuesday the 14th we are blessed to welcome Jon Thurlow from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, followed by Sean Feucht from Burn 24/7 International on Thursday Oct. 16th. I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do this next week and during the rest of the tent!
Over the last several days, I feel like I’ve been reminded more and more of the worthiness of Jesus. Sitting here on the south side of the White House, I’ve been thinking about all the causes that have been championed from this place, about how many people have declared what they believed in hopes of having their voices heard…and then in contrast, how much more worthy is the cause of worship to the Son of Man? How much more worthy is He to be praised with my everything for all of my days. I am convinced, and I know without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is worthy of our most extravagant, “alabaster jar”, lay-it-ALL-down, acts of worship. And for him to receive anything less is the highest injustice. So here we are, for as long as He keeps us here, loving Him with all that we’ve got. This is it. And He’s worth it.
Less than a week ago we kicked off David’s Tent DC, and already the presence of God is moving on the White House Ellipse! With David’s Tent in such a prominent location dozens of passersby from around the world stop in curiosity, drawn by the music and the joy of the crowd worshipping. They often ask ask questions and our staff then have the opportunity to share the good news of the gospel and pray with them. Just this week I’ve personally gotten to share with people from Korea, France, Saudi Arabia, and many other places. They come here to see America’s capital city, but they leave with the seed of the gospel in their hearts. The testimony of Jesus is going forth in DC and touching the ends of the earth! We’ve already seen at least one salvation at David’s Tent just in these few days, and are believing for many more!
As I write this, I’m about to head out to the Ellipse to join our staff and believers from all over America for our nightly 7-9pm “corporate” set. Since David’s Tent runs 24 hours a day, people come and go all the time and it can be easy to feel a little scattered. So, every evening we all gather in unity and worship together for our final amplified set of the day, 7-9pm. We warmly invite you to come join us nightly for these evenings of unified praise!
Here’s the schedule for the next week of corporate sets: Sunday 9/21: Newsong Church – (Virginia) Monday 9/22: Ben Doggett & Alysha Tagert – (DC) Tuesday 9/23: Collins O’Dwyer – (DC) Wednesday 9/24: Awaken Wells – (Maryland) Thursday 9/25: Aaron Zepeda – (DC) Friday 9/26: Ryan & Rebecca Montgomery – (DC) Saturday 9/27: Jason Hershey – (DC) Sunday 9/28: Gregg Barnes & Burn 24/7 Austin – (Texas) Monday 9/29: Brandon Polk – (DC)
Hope to see you there! I can’t wait to worship alongside you, just as we will for all eternity, gazing on the face of our beautiful Savior.
Simply because he’s worthy,
Ryan Montgomery P.S. We still do have worship slots available! To sign up, simply email worship@davidstentdc.org. Thank you!
Hello everyone! My name is Bailey and i’m on staff here at David’s Tent DC along with Becca. As the tent has continued to grow every year, our responsibilities as staff have grown as well. So this year Becca has handed off her blog to me! She is very, very busy overseeing much of the tent, and she and her husband Ryan are also expecting their first baby this November! I am so excited to pick up where she left off and share with you all what the Lord is doing out here!
Our first week is well under way and everything is in full swing! The first two days of set-up were very challenging due to unforeseen evacuations off the Ellipse, but everything has finally come together. Last night, the Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace kicked us off for the third year in a row! They truly usher in the presence of God every time they lead worship and we are so blessed to have them as friends. Tonight, Awaken Wells, a local worship team from Virginia, led our corporate set. We were evacuated well into the evening and so we all worshiped from the sidewalk! It was an amazing time of encounter. We were able to pray and share the love of Jesus with many of the people walking by.
As this is my third year staffing David’s Tent, the familiarity that it brings makes it easy to forget the significance of what’s going on out here. But when I take a step back and get some perspective, I remember. I remember that this is not just a good idea that some guy had, this is a dream straight from the heart of God. He has called us, He has sustained us, and He will continue to reveal himself to us because that is His heart’s desire! His utmost goal is that we would know Him more!
My heart is truly expectant that during these 50 days we will see His glory in greater measure than ever before!
Live Event (on this page) Friday Night Aug 1st – 7p ET – 6p CT – 5p MT – 4pPT
While David’s Tent DC is about to start it’s third year with 50 days on the White House Ellipse in Washington DC, there is another move of God happening in Washington State. Worshippers at David’s Tent Olympia, Washington will gather together in Olympia, WA from Sept. 15 – Sept. 28 for 14 days of non-stop, 24/7 worship and praise in the shadow of the state capitol. According to Jason Hubbard, leader of the event, “Just like our brothers and sisters who gather in then nation’s Capitol, It’s the cry of our hearts to minister to the Lord, day and night, from our State Capital in Olympia. ” You can learn more about at http://DavidsTentOlympia.com More information about DavidsTentDC is available at: https://davidstentdc.org
Psalms 16:8 “I have set the Lord continually before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”
Some of our staff worshipping Jesus!
In this world there are so many things that we can put our focus and attention on–our daily needs, our goals, our families and even our ministries. So many things are battling for our attention and affection on a moment-by-moment basis. It’s so easy to get swept up in the details or administration of life and forget to simply gaze on the One that should be the focus of our entire lives. Jesus.
When we make Jesus the focus of our lives everything else falls into place. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t diligent to do the things he’s called us to or to steward every part of our lives. But I’ve found that as we worship Jesus and make hosting the presence of God our priority, every other aspect of administration becomes more effective. I know that when it comes to David’s Tent our fundraising, mobilization and worship booking always go so much better when we’re keeping our focus on Jesus and not on what we can do in our own strength. He is the miracle worker, not us! Despite our small staff and seemingly insufficient resources he continues to do miracle after miracle! As we focus on the Lord in prayer and worship he is so faithful to breathe on all of our efforts to administrate, gather and fundraise. Praise God!
Psalm 16:8 has been an incredibly significant verse to our community in the past couple of weeks. We’re setting the Lord before us always, keeping prayer and worship going around the clock 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. We wish that we could go continuously without taking a couple days off each week but due to our small number of staff we aren’t able to at this time. We’re praying and dreaming about the day when we will be able to see worship rising to Jesus 24/7/365 right here in the nation’s capital!
Of course, we will be going 24/7 this fall for 50 days on the White House Ellipse! Please continue to keep us in prayer and join us in just a couple months for David’s Tent DC 2014!
Thank you! All of you! For the part you each played in David’s Tent DC this year! If I could say it more sincerely I would! One of the continual internal wrestlings of my life is that I never really feel like I have adequate resources to give back, pay, and properly thank all those like I should. (Especially Jesus.) Only at the remembering of the truth that all of you did it for Jesus, can I, as the visionary, be relieved of the overwhelming internally gnawing sense of indebtedness that I feel toward each of you. May He richly reward you!
DTDC 2013 was a huge cultural breakthrough as we moved into setting new normals for our generation. It was a massive John 17 unity breakthrough too, with 194 different worship teams from different cultures, ages, and denominational backgrounds participating!
Remembrance is a powerful thing. Whenever Israel forgot what the Lord had done, they fell away from the Lord. But when they’d remember, they would return. In fact, it was the duty of David’s worshippers to be the “rememberers.” David commissions them in 1 Chronicles 16:12 to “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he pronounced.” Here is a short remembrance list for DTDC as we push forward to next fall:
1. It was God’s idea. He spoke it and we simply obeyed 2. It was God’s miracle in 2012 that birthed it! We had inquired for permitting at a local park and the National Park Service suggested the White House Ellipse! 3. It was God’s provision. Both last year and this year we ended in the black with all the bills paid, by only a couple hundred dollars! Exactly our daily bread! Thank you to all who gave! 4. It was God’s People. 167 unique worships teams in 2012, 194 worship teams in 2013. This is a HUGE John 17 unity breakthrough for the church. Jesus’ prayer will be answered. John 17 unity is our destiny! It’s where we are headed. The church will be one! 5. It was God’s staff – Thank you specifically to all the youth that volunteered their time to keep the tent running. 6. God protected it. He kept us hidden and safe. Even during the Government Shut-down with lots of drama over the National Mall closing, God kept us going! 7. God expanded our tent pegs. Next year, permitting is already in place for 50 days of 24/7 praise. One day for each state! September 15 – November 4! Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more details. 8. It was build on years of intercession. I firmly believe that David’s Tent DC was the manifestation of prayers prayed by so many for decades.
It’s good for us to remember that all this was from Him, and unto Him. We give Jesus the glory for it all. More than anything, we want to remember the One who has worked so graciously, that we would find ourselves gathered in His name. Jesus we will NEVER forget you!
As we wrap up Davids’ Tent 2013 I want to remind us of one truth to keep us centered. The restoration of David’s Fallen Tent is found in one man and one man alone. His name is Jesus. Sometimes I wonder if we should call it “The Jesus Tent” instead! David’s devotion is inspiring, but Jesus’ devotion is the source of the reaction of worship that explodes from each one of our hearts. We love because Jesus first loved us. David’s Tent is a reaction to Jesus’ love. It was for David and it is for us. We worship, love, adore and praise Jesus, because Jesus loved us by dieing a criminal’s– death row sentence– for us, and was completely innocent!
One hundred Kings with one hundred armies could not defeat the great enemy of humanity, death itself. Only Jesus could do that! And He did it by taking death on face to face! It’s Jesus’ devotion, not David’s, that’s inspired David’s Tent in our hearts. And it is Him, not David, that I want to pull our remembrance to as a people, family, church, and nation.
“Jesus, we say that 1000 hours is not enough. When our physical and emotional strength fail us that we cannot keep this 24/7 watch, we want you to know that we still believe you are worthy of it. Jesus, we give you all praise because You are worthy of it! We did this all because we love You. And Jesus, we also did do this as an intercession for America. If what we have done is pleasing in your sight, I ask that you respond and give us a tangible sign that we might know that. Jesus this is all for you! We glorify you for all that you have done.”
It’s been a few days now since we wrapped up David’s Tent DC for 2013. Our staff have been busy with tying up loose ends from the tent but we’re already starting to look ahead to next year!
We’re taking a few days off to rest and then diving into a week of staff meetings and prayer. The time to share and pray with one another has been much needed and I know all of us have been looking forward to it! Throughout the next several weeks as we enter the holiday season we’ll have lots of time to pray together, listen to the Lord, worship Jesus and ultimately chart a course for next year –2014. We already have the permit for next year’s David’s Tent DC, 50 days of worship from Sep. 15 – Nov. 4, so we’ll be praying a lot into that. Another thing we’ll be praying into is national mobilization and how we can partner with God to see that happen even more than it has already. We want to see the whole nation come together to worship Jesus in a unified expression of praise in our capital city! Every voice counts!
In the meantime, invite your friends to next year’s event! It’s not too early to start planning your trip to Washington, DC. Say, a church trip? Or a family vacation? What better way to spend a vacation than worshipping Jesus! Also, please continue to keep us covered in prayer! Your prayers are powerful and effective so please pray for us and with us as we seek the Lord for 2014!
Looking back over the past 43 days or so, I’m completely blown away at what Jesus has done. People have gotten saved, people have been healed physically and emotionally and countless lives have been touched by Jesus. Over 200 bands from all over the nation have come to lead worship. Over 44 states and 37 nations have come to worship with us on the White House Ellipse. Over 5,000 people have already joined us online via our webstream. Thousands have come through David’s Tent, and tens of thousands more have been impacted by the testimony of David’s Tent through our social media channels.
The story of David’s Tent is a powerful one. Where else in the world can you find 200 different worship teams sharing the same stage in a really really long love song? Not only that, but through the government shutdown, a flood, and many other obstacles the song of worship to Jesus has continued! This testimony of faith has been a seed of hope in people all across America this fall. Over and over I’ve heard from people sharing with us how much they’ve been encouraged by the story of David’s Tent! Through it all the worship has been rising to Jesus! He IS worthy of it all!
Every day I’ve gotten the privilege of seeing and hearing first hand the stories of people that come to worship with us. I’m so encouraged and blessed by how the nation has gathered together here this fall to give Jesus a sacrifice of praise. For many people, it really has been a sacrifice. I’ve talked to people that took days off from work to drive 10+ hours to DC just to lead a worship set and then drive back. A church group drove in from Wisconsin just for a day. A single mom from New Jersey drove several hours with all her kids in tow just for a couple hours of meeting with Jesus at David’s Tent. I feel like I could go on forever about the people that I’ve met this fall. They’ve all been so giving and love Jesus so much! I’m always encouraged and challenged to love Jesus more every time I get to speak with one of them. It’s been my honor and joy to be able to be a part of putting this event on and creating a space for people to join together from all over the world to worship Jesus.
A HUGE thank you to all of you who have made it possible! You are all amazing and we’re so grateful for everyone who gave financially, prayed for us, and came to worship with us!
Please join us tonight for our Grand Finale from 7-9 pm! We’ll be livestreaming today from 5-9 pm, so if you can’t join us on the White House Ellipse please join us online! We also will continue to worship through the night. We just can’t get enough of worship! It’s too hard to stop! :)
We have less than 48 hours of David’s Tent DC 2013 left. It’s hard to believe it’s almost over! Every single second of it has been incredible! Even as it’s ending, I can tell you that I’m already looking to next year’s David’s Tent with anticipation in my heart. It’s with great joy that I share with you that we already have a permit for next fall! We’ll be back on the White House Ellipse worshipping Jesus from September 15th – November 4th of 2014. We decided to add a week on to our 40(ish) day event and do 50 days of continuous worship. A day for every state! Praise God!
We believe that David’s Tent is meant to be a national event and to be a place for the states to gather from all across America to lift up the name of Jesus. Last year teams from all 50 states came to lead worship at David’s Tent and this year we’re on track to see that happen too! Each year throughout David’s Tent we have thousands of people join us to worship Jesus on the Ellipse and even more do so on our livestream. Next year we would love to be able to livestream the entire event so that people from all across the nation can join us in our love song to Jesus no matter where they’re at! Stay tuned for more updates about next year from our founder Jason Hershey!
This year we still have 2 days left so please join us online at: http://new.livestream.com/DerekPackard/DavidsTentDC! If you miss the live broadcast (5-9 pm EST), don’t worry! They’ll be archived online and you can check it out! Last night we livestreamed from 5-9 pm and over 1,200 people joined us online! Wow! We want to invite you to turn on the livestream in your home and join us from wherever you’re at! We don’t have to wait til next year, let’s join in this song as a nation and lift up the name of Jesus!
Tonight we begin livestreaming online! Last year over 20,000 people joined us via our webstream. Many people’s lives were impacted by the worship and one lady even got healed! She was deaf in one ear and as she was listening to the livestream her healing was restored! Praise God!
I want to invite you to come into agreement with us from wherever you’re at. Turn on the webstream in your home, your office, your car, wherever, and worship Jesus with us from afar! There is power in agreement and unity! Join the 1,000 hour love song and add your voice to it from all across the nation! We’ll be livestreaming 5-9 pm every night through Tues. Nov. 5th!
It’s hard to believe we only have 4 days left. This year’s event has absolutely flown by and honestly I’m a little sad thinking about it ending! It’s been such a sweet, sweet time with Jesus and I wish it could just go on forever. But praise God, worshipping Him is my eternal destiny! Forever I’ll be around the throne of Jesus singing his praises. I can’t think of anything else that I’d rather do!
I’m so humbled thinking about how many people have come to worship Jesus with us from all over the nation and the world. Last we checked we had people from 44 states and 37 nations that have come to worship with us! Wow! I think it’s really significant that we’ve had almost as many nations as we have states come to David’s Tent. One day every nation, every tribe and every tongue will gather around the throne and praise Jesus forever! I love that we get to see a little glimpse of that here at David’s Tent. Even right now as I’m writing this the team that’s leading worship is comprised of people from many different nations in Africa and the Middle East. That’s so amazing!
There’s still 4 days left of David’s Tent, so join us here on the White House Ellipse or online from 5-9 pm each night!
