NEWS PROVIDED BY
Leading The Way
May 1, 2025

ATLANTA, May 1, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ -- Dr. Michael Youssef, founder of the global media ministry Leading The Way and pastor of Atlanta's Church of The Apostles, is taking the AWAKE America prayer movement on the road, beginning with a series of city-wide rallies this fall, aimed at mobilizing Christians for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. Building on a foundation of nearly 500,000 dedicated prayer warriors, AWAKE America will host city-wide rallies in Boston, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C., to see the American Church revitalized and believers empowered to reach their communities with the Gospel.

AWAKE America began in March 2020 as a prayer movement founded on one desire: to see the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. Dr. Youssef, a naturalized American citizen who grew up under a socialist dictatorship in Egypt, launched the initiative out of a deep burden for spiritual renewal in the nation. Having witnessed the rich history of spiritual revival in America and the biblical ideals upon which the nation was founded, Youssef felt compelled to act.

“Several years ago, God laid it on my heart that I needed to go on the road—and He opened so many doors,” Dr. Youssef says. “There are places where people are saying, ‘We want you to bring this to our city.’ We want to do everything we can, including going on the road in America, to present a Biblical worldview and call people to Christ.”

The movement quickly gained traction, going viral on social media and amassing 100,000 participants within its first year. Now, five years later, AWAKE America has grown to nearly 500,000 prayer warriors, reflecting a widespread hunger for spiritual awakening among American Christians. This fall, Leading The Way is entering the next phase of the AWAKE America ministry: city-wide rallies across the nation, designed to strengthen the church and mobilize believers in some of America’s most influential cities.

The first event, AWAKE Boston, will take place on October 24–25 at the historic Tremont Temple in Boston, Massachusetts, in partnership with local churches. The two-part gathering will culminate in a timely message from Dr. Youssef, empowering believers to reach their communities and inviting the lost to surrender their lives to Christ. A special collegiate rally will feature Christian apologist, podcaster, and YouTuber Dr. Sean McDowell, who will teach a Master Class for students addressing a pressing question: “If God, Why Evil?” AWAKE Boston aims to ignite hearts and rally the church for spiritual renewal, setting the tone for the nationwide movement.

On November 1, Leading The Way will host AWAKE San Antonio at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio. This second city-wide gathering will continue the mission of seeing God do a work of spiritual renewal within the church, encouraging believers to stand firm in their faith and reach their communities for Christ. The AWAKE San Antonio rally will come on the heels of the 100th anniversary of San Antonio's historic San Pedro Springs Park revival.

The third event, AWAKE D.C., will occur on November 15 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., a city with a storied history of spiritual movements. Throughout American history, Washington, D.C., has been more than a center of political power—it has also been a place where spiritual movements have shaped the course of the nation, from national calls to prayer by early leaders to revival gatherings on the National Mall. Dr. Youssef and his team are praying for the Lord to move mightily in the nation’s capital once again, especially as moral and spiritual decline deepen. AWAKE D.C. will call believers to stand for truth, return to God’s Word, commit to reaching their communities, and pray for another Great Spiritual Awakening in the nation.

The rallies are a key part of Leading The Way’s 5-year Open Door Campaign to reach North America for Christ. Dr. Youssef sees this as a critical moment for the church to act.

“I don’t know how long the door [of opportunity] is going to remain open in America before we hear that the Bible is hate speech. In some countries, this is already the case,” Dr. Youssef says. “We want to walk through this door as long as God keeps it open. Because if we go to sleep, we’ll have missed a great opportunity.”

More than a series of events, AWAKE America is a movement to see the church revitalized and believers mobilized for Christ. Dr. Youssef, who became a Christian at 16 in 1964 and fled Egypt during the Six-Day War in 1967, brings a unique perspective to this mission. After living in Lebanon and Australia, he settled in the U.S. in 1977, became a citizen in 1984, and founded Leading The Way in 1988. With a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Emory University and over 50 books to his name, including the newly-released God’s Final Call (Tyndale), Youssef has dedicated his life to equipping the church to stand firm in a changing world. As the founding pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, he continues to lead with a passion for biblical truth.

Additional AWAKE America events are in the planning stages for 2026, with details to be announced later this year. For more information on AWAKE Boston, AWAKE San Antonio, and AWAKE D.C., including registration details, visit AwakeAmerica.com/Events.

SOURCE Leading The Way

CONTACT: Jason Jones, 512-720-2996, jason@jonesliterary.com