By Shawn Smith
CCM powerhouse Chris Tomlin got the honor of leading worship at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk — one of the largest memorial services held for a private citizen.
Tomlin opened the service with “How Great Is Our God” at State Farm Stadium filled to capacity with 70,000 people, and about 20,000 observers in overflow venues.
“For Jesus to be proclaimed so boldly throughout this whole day by everyone…what an awakening moment in our nation. It feels like a shift; it feels like this real awakening that so many people have been praying for,” Tomlin told The Christian Post.
The Grammy winner, initially overwhelmed before the performance, turned his focus on why he was there in the first place.
Related: Erika Kirk Forgives Her Husband’s Killer: ‘What Charlie Would Do’
“I said, ‘Lord, I’m just going to lead people. I don’t really know how to even walk in this moment, but just to lead people to You,’” he said.
“I kept thinking about the words that I was singing over our nation, over the world: ‘Above all thrones and dominions, positions and positions, Your name stands above them all,’” he went on to say, pointing out that many powerful people were in attendance.
One of the most powerful moments of the event was when Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk went on stage and publicly forgave her husband’s assassin.
“That young man…I forgive him,” Erika told the audience. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”
“I think Erika’s words of forgiveness were the words heard around the world,” Tomlin said. “That simple moment of, ‘I forgive you,’ was more than anybody could say. You can preach all you want, but when you see something like that, when you see the true essence of the Spirit of God in somebody, that can only come from the Spirit of God.”
Artist Cody Carnes, who also performed at the memorial shared, how Erika’s words caused him to reflect on forgiveness.
“‘I forgive him.’ These words are reverberating through the earth today,” Carnes posted on Instagram “I believe the Holy Spirit set off an earthquake of healing because [of] it. Let us all join the choir of forgiveness.”
Tomlin, on his way to the memorial, witnessed evidence of what is being called The Charlie Kirk Effect when his Uber driver shared that he was getting baptized.
“‘Yeah. That thing that happened to Charlie, that really woke me up.’” The “Holy Forever” singer recalled the driver saying. “And I’m headed to the memorial in a couple of hours on a plane through the night, and I’m just thinking of how many people all over the country that that was happening to. God’s Spirit is moving.”
Even Vice President JD Vance shared how Charlie’s death has made him bolder in his faith.
“I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public, as much as I loved the Lord and as much as it was an important part of my life,” Vance said at Kirk’s memorial. “I have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.”
Vance went on to say,“The evil murderer who took Charlie from us expected us to have a funeral today, and instead, my friends, we have had a revival in celebration of Charlie Kirk and of his Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let’s pray that this is only the beginning of that revival.
Read Next: Churches ‘Jampacked’ Following Charlie Kirk’s Murder: ‘Exactly What [He] Wanted’
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