Huge prayer session by millennial Evangelicals for Israel this weekend

While reports warn of waning support for Israel by millennial Evangelicals, hundreds of young Christian leaders will descend on its capital this Sunday in a massive prayer and solidarity gathering.Eagles Wings, a non-profit New York-based organization, is organizing the service, which will be streamed live to some 90 million people worldwide.Pastors from around the globe will attend the event, many of whom are seeing Israel for the first time.Eagles Wings founder and executive director Robert Stearns sees young Evangelical skepticism of Israel as an opportunity to shore up support for Israel rather than a cause of concern.“The millennial generation is far more inquisitive; they want to understand the situation on a deeper level,” he explained. “They are driven by the concept of social justice. I don’t believe the problem is them turning away from Israel – I believe the problem is ignorance of the facts. “Once we get millennials here to the Holy Land, and they see the facts on the ground, I believe they will continue to be Israel’s greatest friends.”This weekend they will have an opportunity to do just that as they attend the three-day Awake Jerusalem festival, which celebrates not only Israel’s 70th anniversary but also the 50th year since Jerusalem was unified.The event, which is open and free to the general public, will feature Kulanu MK Michael Oren as Sunday’s keynote speaker, at 4 p.m. at the Haas Promenade.In addition to stops all around Jerusalem, the festival will also hold a prayer session in Bethlehem to show solidarity with the organization’s Arab Christian brothers and sisters.“As representatives of God’s love, we want to build these bridges wherever we go,” Stearns said.