By Mallory Mattingly
Worship artist Brandon Lake is “still trying to process” what it meant for him to help lead worship at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday.
On Sunday, over 70,000 people gathered at State Farm Stadium in Arizona to honor the life of the late Turning Point USA founder. Worship leaders, pastors, government officials and thousands of Kirk’s fans gathered to worship God, speak about Charlie’s life and keep the revival going.
Lake led worship for nearly two hours before the service officially began alongside Phil Wickham, Tiffany Hudson, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes and Chris Tomlin.
“Still trying to process the last 24 hours…but all I know is, for a moment, more people than I can fathom paused to lock their attention on God lifting up their hallelujah,” Lake wrote on Instagram. “I don’t have the words to express how heavy I felt the glory of God in that moment.”
His post featured a video that captured Lake pausing for a moment to get those in the stadium to put their phones down and to lift their praise to the Savior.
Related: Charlie Kirk’s Wife Clings to Faith After His Death ‘Our God … Is So Good’
“I simply came to honor a widow’s wishes to have 2 hours of worship set the stage for the celebration of her husband’s life, and I walked out in awe of millions of hearts around the globe turning to Jesus,” he continued. “It was an honor to stand alongside my incredibly anointed friends @christomlin, @philwickham, @tiffanyhudson, @karijobe, and @codycarnes to bring the only thing we know to bring, our worship.”
Tomlin also reflected on the service on Instagram, saying, “So honored to lead a moment of worship at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service…Jesus was proclaimed so boldly.”
He prayed in another post, “Lord, we pray for a blessing over our nation. Lord, we pray for healing in our land. We pray for a great awakening. We pray for revival across this nation. In the name of Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, we pray. Amen.”
Throughout the hours-long memorial, the gospel of Christ was boldly proclaimed, culminating in Kirk’s widow, Erika, forgiving the young man who assassinated her husband on Sept. 10.
“That young man, that young man,” she said. “On the cross, our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know, from the Gospel, is love and always love.”
According to TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet, they tracked over 100 million overall streams of the service.
“Over 100 million people just heard the Gospel proclaimed again and again by speaker after speaker,” he wrote on X. “Truly remarkable.”
In the aftermath of Kirk’s death, millions around the world have opened their Bibles for the first time in many years. Others have decided to attend church for the first time in their lives.
Although Kirk’s death is tragic and horrific, God is using it to draw people to Him, and believers can be encouraged by His promise in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Read Next: Erika Kirk Forgives Her Husband’s Killer: ‘What Charlie Would Do’
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