Around 350 Christians from across Sydney gathered on Sydney Harbour during the final night of Vivid Sydney for One Sydney: Together in Christ, a powerful evening of worship, prayer, testimony and music celebrating Christian unity across denominations, cultures and traditions.

Held against the spectacular backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and Vivid’s glowing light installations, the event brought together Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal and other Christian communities under one shared message: what unites believers in Christ is greater than what divides them.

Organised in partnership with the Christian Alliance Council, the gathering featured speeches, corporate prayer, sponsor acknowledgements, a presentation on international 24/7 prayer, and live performances from leading Australian Christian and mainstream artists, including Budjerah, Bella Taylor Smith, Tarryn Stokes and Mark Vincent.

Christian Alliance Council President Paul Sedrak described the gathering as a significant moment for the city.

“Three hundred and fifty Christians in Sydney Harbour during Vivid, underneath the Harbour Bridge,” he said. “Amen to three hundred and fifty.”

Sedrak said the vision for Christian unity had been deeply shaped by a conversation he once had with a Muslim friend during a Ramadan festival, when he was asked why Christians appeared divided.

“The message was loud and clear,” Sedrak told attendees. “Christians must come together without competition, but as one body in Christ.”

He added that the night was not about promoting one church, one denomination or one organisation, but about recognising a shared identity in Jesus.

“What unifies us in Jesus is far greater than what divides us,” he said.

That message of unity was echoed throughout the evening. Speakers urged churches to move beyond competition and embrace collaboration, humility and shared mission for the good of Sydney.

One speaker described the timing of the event as a “favourable time,” using the image of a ship being carried into harbour by the wind.

“Surely it’s the wind of the Holy Spirit,” he said, calling on Christians not to seek power or prominence, but to “grow down in humility”.

“Unity is a beauty,” he said. “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”

Grant Bayldon, CEO of World Vision Australia, spoke about unity as something practical and missional, not merely symbolic. He said vulnerable communities do not measure Christians by denomination, tradition or label, but by whether followers of Jesus show up with love and service.

Communities, he said, do not care “what flavour of Christian” dug a well, opened a school or served those in need. What matters is that “followers of Jesus showed up”.

“Unity is about coming together in Christ so that our witness can be stronger, so that our service can be deeper,” Bayldon said.

Prayer was another central theme of the night. A representative from an international 24/7 prayer movement described prayer as the “furnace” that sustains unity, mission and revival.

“Without prayer, we cannot make it,” he said. “Through prayer unity comes, and through prayer unity will continue.”

He encouraged attendees to allow prayer to reshape every part of life — “your ministry, your family, your work, your mission” — rather than treating it as a separate religious activity.

Before performing, Budjerah drew from Ephesians 4:2, reminding the crowd: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

He then led the audience in a joyful call-and-response, asking: “You’re all ready for unity? Say yeah!”

The event took place during a broader week of prayer-focused gatherings across Sydney, including a large prayer breakfast reportedly attended by 1,800 people, as well as Pentecost gatherings in Blacktown Park and Seven Hills.

Speakers also reflected on Sydney’s identity and the need for the church to be a force for compassion, healing and cohesion, especially in a city still shaped by moments of grief and tragedy.

The program opened with prayer in the Orthodox tradition, invoking the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and asking that the work of unity be placed in God’s hands.

“This is not our battle,” the prayer declared. “This is your battle.”

The evening also carried a strong sense of future vision. Organisers spoke of hopes for larger gatherings in the years ahead, including the possibility of thousands coming together at the Sydney Opera House and public walks of Christian witness across the city.

For many attendees, the night was a reminder that Christian unity is not simply an ideal to admire, but a calling to practise — through humility, prayer, service and love.

As Sedrak put it, the message was clear: Christians must come together, not in competition, but “as one body in Christ”.