This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A revival has broken out at a Christian College, Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, and what started out as a scheduled prayer meeting has now extended for more than a week.
Decision Magazine explains it has grown to be “around-the-clock prayer, testimonials, Scripture reading and praise and worship of Jesus Christ by hundreds of college students, faculty, staff, community members and out-of-towners.”
The report noted, “For more than 150 hours and counting, Hughes Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of nearly 1,500, has been abuzz with nonstop prayers of confession, repentance, intercession, and adoration. What is being described as a spontaneous outbreak of revival followed a chapel message from Romans chapter 12 about confession, repentance, and forgiveness.”
Whether it reaches the status of the top revival movements America has experienced remains in the future.
But notable past events include the First Great Awakening during the 1730s and 1740s when Jonathan Edwards delivered his famed “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” sermon. The Second Great Awakening was during the 1820s to 1850s when Charles Finney offered a fiery message of repentance and in big tents, meetings lasted weeks and weeks.
The Third Great Awakening from 1875-1885 followed the end of the Civil War and the Great Chicago Fire, at a time when D.L. Moody was working to begin a Bible study for street children. The Azusa Street Revival, from 1906-1915 unveiled to America the Pentecostal movement, which followed prayers, sometimes for hours at a time, by William J. Seymour.
The last of the Big Five, as identified online, was the 20th Century revival, featuring Billy Sunday, who was followed by Billy Graham, who ultimately held more than 400 crusades in 185 nations.
At Asbur6y, Jim Shores, a professor, said, “The sweet spirit of adoration of the Lord, that is what has marked the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
It started on Feb. 8. Shores said that by 8 p.m. on Feb. 13, Hughes Auditorium was filled to capacity and two other chapels across the street on the school’s seminary campus were also full of worshippers.
Decision reported he said, “It’s praise and worship, but it’s going 24/7. We are responding to our Maker. And we are responding to His love. And that’s what it feels like. It feels like love. The presence of God is love. I think so much of what this outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been marked by is people coming to know that God loves them. And that’s who God is. That’s the heart of God.”
Charity Johnson, a member of the Asbury chapel worship team, said, “Allowing God just to have His space and welcome His spirit in, I believe, is what gave people the comfortability to just come to the altar and not feeling like this is a quick thing and let’s go to class. It’s made people see that it’s OK to just sit in His presence and not just rush off to the next thing. So, people being in one accord and being in agreement with just letting the Spirit lead, I believe is what was inviting God to just come and move as He did.”
The prayer now even has spread, the report said, to students from the University of Kentucky, the University of the Cumberlands, Purdue University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Transylvania University, Midway University, Lee University, Georgetown College, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University and more.
Fox News reported Asbury president Kevin Brown said, “We would say there is just a spirit of the Lord in this place, really [burrowed] its way into the hearts and minds of our students, staff, faculty, and our community.
“It just gives me so much hope that this next generation, this Gen Z generation, does not have to be defined by anxiety, but they can be defined by hope.”
Fox noted, “Asbury University, which was founded in 1890, is not formally affiliated with any Christian denomination but has its roots in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement that emerged from Methodism in the 19th century.”
An earlier revival swept across the same campus in 1970, when classes were canceled for a time.
Fox reported, “Mia Lush, a student who spoke to local NBC affiliate LEX 18, said, ‘People are coming from all over, and they don’t want to be anywhere else but here. Like, I’m a big Eagles fan, and I didn’t even watch the Super Bowl. I’ve been able to surrender things that I didn’t even know I would be able to surrender.'”
