Forrest Frank testifies to the power of prayer before 30,000 at sold-out concert 

Forrest Frank opened up about the power of prayer in his life Father’s Day weekend during a high-energy concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that drew a sold-out crowd of nearly 30,000 – and demonstrated that the movement of God reflected in recent polling is more than a statistical trend.

The crowd filled GEODIS Park, which typically is packed with fans of the professional soccer team Nashville SC (MLS) but on this night was overflowing with enthusiastic children, tweens and teens who – no doubt – rivaled the energy that is common at pro soccer matches.

Frank is in the middle of his 29-city Jesus Generation Tour, featuring Tori Kelly, Cory Asbury and The Figs – and a stage anchored by a massive cross atop a grassy hill, ensuring everyone knows that Christ is the focus of the night. Already, Frank has sold out not only traditional Christian music markets such as Nashville but also non-Bible Belt locations outside the South, including Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

This week, a Lifeway Research survey found that Gen Z adults ages 18-28 lead all generations in church attendance and small-group participation and are more likely than older age groups to share their faith with others.

Frank opened the night with his anthemic song Jesus Generation, as if declaring from the outset that the young people in attendance are part of a growing faith movement. That message came to life when Frank sang, “Where are all the young people following Jesus?” and thousands of youngsters answered in unison with the song’s refrain: “We’re right here, we’re right here.”

From there, he launched into crowd favorites such as Amen, Good Day, UP!, DROP!, Jesus Is Alive, Your Way’s Better, Lemonade and Never Get Used to This – with thousands of fans singing along to every word.

Lit-up wristbands synchronized to the music added to the party-like worship atmosphere, transforming the stadium into a sea of orange, white, red and blue.

In between, Frank led the audience in moments of traditional worship before stepping aside as Sadie Robertson Huff took the stage, Bible in one hand and microphone in the other, delivering a gospel message and making certain that no one left without hearing about the hope found in Christ.

It was the first tour for Frank since the death in December of his grandfather, Neil Frank, a well-known meteorologist. Neil Frank’s wife, Velma, passed away a few weeks later.

“They wanted to pass together and God granted them that,” Forrest Frank told the audience.

He described his grandfather as the “spiritual role model in our family” and his grandmother as a prayer warrior whose influence still shapes his life today. Frank often stayed at their house as a child.

“And my grandma at like 2 or 3 in the morning would be putting her hand over my head and she would wake me up doing this thing where she’d be praying in this language – like this gibberish language that I didn’t understand,” Frank said. “And now that I’m older and a little bit more mature I understand that she was speaking a heavenly language – and she spoke that language over me every day of my life.”

Frank, who turned 31 in April, said he has “30 years of stored-up prayers” from his grandmother – prayers he believes helped sustain and guide him through life’s challenges.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life [and] there’s a lot of reasons why I shouldn’t be here today,” he said. “There’s a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t be here today, and yet we are.

“Could it be that we’re here today because somebody prayed for us?”

Frank and rising Christian star Tate Butts, who is 14, then performed the unreleased song Somebody Prayed, drawing one of the night’s loudest ovations.

The Jesus Generation Tour concludes Aug. 1 in Arlington, Texas.

Image credit: Michael Foust