Hi, I am Phil and I have a desire to see thousands of people worshiping and teaching on the streets of towns and cities. I see such large crowds gather for independence, pride and climate change so I figure it can't be impossible to see large crowds gather in our age for Jesus too. I am hoping to connect with other people around the world with the same desire. I am a web developer and omysoul is a tool enable a crowd of people to see the same song lyrics on the screens of mobile phones, TVs, tablets and projectors. The aim is to make organising open air worship as effortless as someone posting on Twitter: "I am heading to Bristo Square 5pm with a guitar who wants to join?" Friends from various churches and different personal networks would join. Between songs some people might give short exhortations and as they do this Bible verses or pictures would appear on phone screens or be projected on walls. As people pass a few believers from other churches stop and join the group and find out what is going on. Contacts are exchanged and they join next time. This is not meant to be a tool for carefully staged flash mobs but for open worship where people learn new songs and passers by feel drawn to participate not just spectate. Jesus wants worshipper that worship in Spirit and truth he is not looking for a show. When we worship him we feel his presence and passers by will too. Some passers by might stop to listen to worship and perhaps respond to a invitation for prayer for healing and end up getting saved too. Some might post clips of songs, testimonies or teaching on social media. As this happens the word spreads and each time more people gather. Jesus said if I am lifted up I will draw all people to me. So the hope is that in a city there might be several groups form different churches worshiping at different times and different places with different styles. Then every once in a while there is a kind of "Avengers Assemble" and we all pull together and ship people in from surrounding towns and cities for a crowd of thousands. The modern Beltane Fire Festival start with just a small but determined group in 1988. With perseverance and creativity they have grown year by year to see crowds of 10,000 people. I think the hardest thing is finding the first twenty people. They don't care about the weather, the dark, the cold, their lack of ability, the lack of free coffee or their reputation. They just want to sing until they feel God's presence and the fellowship of other believers. They know if they acknowledge Jesus before men then he will acknowledge them on the last day before His father and the angles. If you want to join this you need a gather mentality (and this makes me feel really uncomfortable). Because everyone that does not gather is actually scattering. The act or not gathering teaches others not to gather. And this is what we have been accidentally teaching each other in church, how to be OK with not gathering. I started this App over five years ago. I realise that Jesus is looking for fruit on my tree. For you and I there is a work he had prepared in advance for us to do. And we do not want him to say when he sees us: "I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God." So this is why I feel this year I need to run with what I have even if it is not polished yet. It at least allows groups to see the same lyrics at the same time. In following videos and articles I will show you how to set up a free song server for your group.
Connecting
If you want to get involved please add comments to the video. Let people know where you are from and any skills you might have. E.g. worship leader, passionate worshiper, violinist, photographer, blogger, artist, web developer, street outreach, pastor, social media. If you are in Edinburgh please say. I will try to sort out a news letter sign up and also put up a basic website. Subscribe to the channel as this will be where you will hear the next news.
Technical
In the video above I used a cheap £239 Android projector. It is running a Chrome browser and connected to my phone which is running as a wireless hotspot. The lyrics app runs on the phone and on the projector and I can control the lyrics on the projector via the phone with no cables. This set up is probably also very handy for home groups. In winter the projector image is very clear in the evening but in summer the projector will be of little use outside. Then users will have to view lyrics on phone screens. Winter will soon be over (in the north) so I am keen to see people really run with this before evenings get too light. The projector is a great way of gathering the initial crowd. Once enough people have downloaded the app and know how it works you do not need the screen as much.