'Rock the River will Touch the Nations'

Bishop Wallace excited about long-term impact of event

July 10, 2009 - Very soon, bands will be tuning up, prayers will be lifted up, and youth will begin filling up the parking lot at LSU Stadium in Baton Rouge. Our long-anticipated Rock the River Tour kicks off on Saturday, July 18.

by Janet Chismar

"We are very, very excited,” said Bishop Charles Wallace when asked to describe the mood in Baton Rouge. “The time is right upon us. As we draw closer, in light of what pastors and ministries are doing, I think everybody will really mobilize and come together. We are expecting a great move of God.”

Wallace, pastor of Oasis Christian Center, chairs his community's Rock the River leadership team.

He has told other pastors and churches “from day one” that although the focus and concentration of the tour is to “touch youth in our community, I believe Rock the River is larger than that.”

God is using the tour to “tear down walls and bridge gaps that we’ve had in the Christian community among so many people,” Wallace explained. “God is bringing us all together.”

According to Wallace, “true revival will break out and change this world when the church can come together and put down our egos, our logos, our denominational differences, and just focus on what’s important – and that’s Christ and Him crucified.”

Although he is excited about July 18, Wallace said he is even more excited about the bigger picture. “I’m seeing it happening now because I’ve had a chance to talk to so many different pastors of so many different persuasions, which never becomes an issue for us. We realize we are one body and many members.”

He said that if the church could forget, not just for July 18, “but if we could let the Holy Spirit truly erase division and help us focus on Christ, this will impact not just the communities up and down the Mississippi River. I see that this will ultimately touch the nations of the world. That’s why I am excited.”

Wallace believes that God has “kept, preserved and sustained Dr. Billy Graham over the years where his name is a credible name in the Christian community around the world. God is using his ministry as a springboard to bring about the kind of reformation that we need in the Christian community.”

He sees the impact of the Rock the River being felt around the world. “I think the timing is right. I believe this is a God thing. I believe God is going to confirm what we are doing.”

The pastor is “honored to no end to be able to connect to and be a part of what God is doing at this hour. My excitement and enthusiasm is there and I don’t intend for it to just stop at Rock the River.”

Visit the Rock the River Tour site »