Scottish church leaders welcome Thy Kingdom Come prayer movement

Published on 12 May 2021

As part of the Scottish Church Leaders' Forum, Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair has welcomed the launch of the global Thy Kingdom Come prayer movement, which takes place each year from Ascension to Pentecost.

Thy Kingdom Come logo

From Thursday 13 May, Thy Kingdom Come will see churches up and down the UK taking part in a range of prayer initiatives including outdoor Pentecost celebrations, prayer walking in communities, online and in-person prayer events and family-friendly services.

This year's events will take a different approach due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but the goal of the movement is the same: to bring more people to come to know the love of Jesus.

In a statement welcoming the prayer initiative, which is also available in Gaelic, the 11 Scottish church leaders, including Dr Fair, said:

"On behalf of the undersigned churches in Scotland, we welcome the opportunity to participate in the global prayer initiative, Thy Kingdom Come.

"Thy Kingdom Come is now in its sixth year and draws thousands of Christians together, from across different denominations and traditions, to pray ‘Thy Kingdom come'.

"Support for Thy Kingdom Come in Scotland has increased markedly in recent years and we look forward to strengthening our fellowship through our shared prayers.

"The Thy Kingdom Come resources for 2021 have been renewed and updated. Alongside this, there is a range of fresh resources with a particular focus on engaging children and young people.

"At this time, we commend Thy Kingdom Come and invite you to join the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

"We pray together: ‘Thy Kingdom come'."

Special resources for Thy Kingdom Come

You can download a copy of the prayer journal as well as the Gaelic version and a large-print version. A copy in Braille is also available on request by emailing the Torch Trust. The 11 main videos are all also available in British Sign Language.

Around 100,000 print copies of the prayer journal are available to order for free here, alongside a selection of other resources for both children and church groups alike.

Thy Kingdom Come's team have also created a range of digital resources including:

For children:

  • An 11-part animation series called the Cheeky Pandas, packed with Bible stories, animations, worship, prayer and high-profile guests including Nicky Gumbel, Bear Grylls, Pastor Agu and Sola Irukwu, Pete and Sammy Greig, CBeebies' Gemma Hunt and BBC's Radzi Chinyanganya.
  • The children's app, created by Missional Generation, is also available this year alongside the Prayer Adventure Map.

For teenagers:

  • Thy Kingdom Come have produced a series of 11 video reflections from young influencers including Guvna B, Elle Limebear, Joshua Luke Smith and Pippa Baker with accompanying discussion plans suitable for use in colleges, homes and youth groups.

For everyone:

  • Video contributors this year include: frontline workers – the ‘hidden heroes of the pandemic'; Archbishop Stephen Cottrell; Archbishop Angaelos, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin; Methodist Youth President, Phoebe Parkin; a music video of the civic hymn – ‘We Seek Your Kingdom' with the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity; and newly created films celebrating modern ‘heroes of faith' Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom and CS Lewis.
  • The main Thy Kingdom Come app features lots of fresh content for this year, and Lectio 365's app will be available in eight different languages.
  • Other digital resources include the Escape Room.

What is Thy Kingdom Come?

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for five people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.

With a presence in more than 170 countries worldwide, Thy Kingdom Come continues to grow internationally, in terms of depth of engagement, with resources being translated into languages such as Finnish; Maori (New Zealand) Korean, Tamil and Sinhala (Sri Lanka) and Cantonese (Hong Kong).

This year, Christians in countries as diverse as Sudan, Greece, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, Canada, Trinidad, America, South Africa, Brazil and Burundi will be involved.

If you or your church group would like to commit to taking part in lighting up the world in prayer, you can add a star to the Thy Kingdom Come map on their website.