Several high-profile Christian speakers addressed thousands who gathered Sunday on the National Mall for Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, an all-day prayer and worship festival ahead of the 250th anniversary of United States independence.
Held to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Second Continental Congress designating "a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayers" amid the trials of the Revolutionary War, several prominent faith leaders and Trump administration officials who spoke at the event stressed the importance of returning to that same spirit of humble repentance and reliance upon the Lord.
Several attendees from around the country who spoke to The Christian Post also expressed hope for spiritual renewal and a cultural shift in American society.
Here is a list of some of the event's most notable speakers, who highlighted the Christian heritage of the United States while calling on its people to return to their spiritual foundations for its 250th birthday.
1. Franklin Graham: 'America has become morally rotten'
Samaritan's Purse CEO Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, offered a sobering assessment of the moral condition of the U.S. in a recorded video message.
"Our nation was born in a struggle 250 years ago, and we're still in a struggle today. Our struggle then was to be free from British rule, but our struggle today is to be free from the rule of sins that are weakening the foundations of our great republic," Graham said.
Echoing his father, who said at the end of his life that he had "wept" over his country, Graham noted that much of the behavior that has become rampant in American society echoes the violence of the world in the days of Noah and the description of evil men in the latter days, according to 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
Graham warned that while the average American at the time of the Revolution had some semblance of biblical literacy, such a common spiritual heritage has largely withered over the centuries.
"The spiritual climate of 2026 is vastly different than the country that our Founding Fathers established in 1776," he said. "The vast majority of Americans then had at least a basic understanding of the Bible. Today, the vast majority have little to no understanding of biblical truth."
"America has become morally rotten, completely sick with sin," Graham later said, offering widespread violence, sexual immorality and gender confusion as "just the tip of the iceberg." He said faith in Jesus Christ and personal repentance are the only solution to such deep-seated brokenness.
"We have an insatiable appetite for violence, and I believe this grieves the heart of God, and will bring His judgment if we don't repent as a nation. I'm asked all the time if I believe there will be revival in America. I would love to see that, but there can be no revival without prayer and repentance," he said.
He played a clip of his father offering the invocation and issuing a similar warning at former President Richard Nixon's inauguration in 1969.
"My prayer for a miracle on [America's] 250th birthday is the same as my father's prayer over 57 years ago," Graham said. "I pray that we, as individuals and as a nation, will humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him and turn back to the God of our fathers in repentance."
He exhorted his listeners to accept the gift of salvation and repentance, warning that such a decision cannot be put off indefinitely.
2. Vice President JD Vance: 'That should give us all hope'
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance offered recorded video messages for the event. Trump's video was a replay of him reading 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 from the Resolute Desk, which was first recorded for the Bible-reading marathon last month at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
The passage Trump read recounts the Lord appearing to King Solomon in a dream following his dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem, during which God promised national blessing for obedience and warned of national calamity for disobedience.
Vance observed in his remarks that Christianity has been inextricable with America since its founding, tracing its religious heritage and reliance upon God from Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford's first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1623 through the Founding Fathers, the Civil War and the present day.
"In times of suffering and in times of triumph, millions of Americans continue to turn to prayer and their faith in God," he said, but went on to warn of the ruinous consequences if that spiritual foundation erodes.
"John Adams famously said that our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. 'It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.' It was obvious to the Founders that our faith was the ground upon which America stands. It was our very foundation as a people, and if this foundation were to crumble, so too would the very values that make us Americans."
Citing an observation from his "dear friend," the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, that "all law reflects a morality," Vance said, "Neither law nor morality appears in a vacuum, but ultimately come from religion, and the morality and religion that formed the American consciousness were decidedly Christian, founded upon the principles and the divinity of Jesus Christ."
Noting that George Washington proclaimed in 1783 that "imitation of divine charity is necessary for the mutual affection of our citizenry and the happiness of our nation," Vance warned that exhibiting such charity is the fruit of understanding and accepting God's love. He expressed optimism that young Americans are increasingly showing a spiritual hunger.
"If we do not see that God loves us, we have little reason and little inspiration to love one another. This love, which forms our morality, is the foundation of a peaceful and healthful society. That's why it's so encouraging to see a renewed sense of faith emerging among America's young people," he said.
"Defying predictions, the experts said that religion and faith were dying today. A wave of young Americans is returning to the pews, and we know that they're looking for meaning, for authority, for direction, and of course for closeness with God. That should give all of us hope for our future together as Americans."
"It certainly gives me hope as your vice president, because prayer is not merely something we do in times of crisis. It is a continual disposition of love toward God, and through that love toward one another, through our fellow citizens," he said.
3. House Speaker Mike Johnson rededicates US as one nation under God
During a 10-minute prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., offered the event's keystone formal rededication of the U.S. as one nation under God.
Echoing many of the other speakers, Johnson opened by acknowledging the hand of divine providence in American history since the voyages of Christopher Columbus and the settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth. He noted the extraordinary courage of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, which came less than two months after the Second Continental Congress called on the colonists to humble themselves in repentance.
Johnson listed other profound examples of courage in American history, such as the Civil War, World War II, the Cold War and the heroes of 9/11, but warned that America faces "a new set of challenges in a new era" from forces that seek to undermine its spiritual foundations.
"In recent years, we've seen sinister ideologies sow confusion and discord among our people. We witnessed attacks on our history, on our heroes, and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of this great nation," he said. "These voices insist to the young and impressionable that our story, the American story, is one of oppression and hypocrisy, and that this story can only be understood through the lens of our sins."
"Father, we reject that, we rebuke it in your name," he said to applause.
Johnson later invoked divine guidance, adding, "Lord, never let us be separated from your mercy and your love."
"Today, here, Lord, in this 250th year of American independence, we hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God. Look upon us with favor upon your country as we celebrate this momentous anniversary, and let your Holy Spirit descend upon this land, so that future generations will look back at this day in this present age, and once again see your providential hand at work," he added.
4. Pastor Jack Graham: US is 'at the brink of blessing'
Pastor Jack Graham, who leads Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, offered a message of hope for a nation in crisis and those who fear they are beyond repentance.
Referencing Joshua 3:5, when Joshua commanded the Israelites to "sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you," Graham explained that God's supernatural work goes hand in hand with His people separating themselves through holy living.
"He is the God of wonders. It's been said that revival is a new beginning of obedience to God. May God give us a new beginning," he said.
Graham asserted that "there is no person too hard for God to save, there's no problem too hard for God to solve, there's no prayer too hard for God to answer."
"There's no mountain too hard for God to move, there's no marriage too hard for God to restore, there's no body too broken that God cannot heal. There is no soul too divided that God cannot restore. There is no prodigal too far from God that He cannot forgive. Why? Because our God can do anything but fail."
Graham said he believes the U.S. is "at the brink of blessing," but exhorted Americans to reconsecrate themselves if they hope for God to heal their land.
"It's never too late for a new beginning in your life. The greatest miracle — we've been talking and hearing about miracles today — but the greatest miracle is the miracle of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the salvation of a soul that trusts in Him."
Originally published by The Christian Post
