In their book, "The Ten Greatest Revivals," Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter define a New Testament revival as an extraordinary work of God in which Christians repent of their sins as they become intensely aware of the presence of God in their midst. They say that a true evangelical revival is characterized by a deepening of their individual and corporate experience with God and an increased concern to win others to Christ.
One of the revivals they cover in their book is the Asbury Revival. On February 3rd 1970, the students at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, gathered for their regular morning chapel service. Since the speaker did not show up for the service, the leader that morning gave his testimony and encouraged the students to come forward and talk about their own Christian experiences
One student came. And then another and another. The entire altar filled up and students began to confess their sins and offer forgiveness to others for wrongs that had been done and offer their lives back to God This wasn’t a normal chapel service. Everyone could sense that. Everyone knew that God was truly there.
The service was supposed to last 50 minutes. Instead, it went on non-stop for 185 hours -- 24 hours a day -- as students and faculty poured into the chapel and turned back to God with their whole hearts.
Just like on Palm Sunday, word began to spread about what God was doing and the revival grew and grew and grew. People started flocking to tiny Wilmore, Kentucky, seeking God and His presence in their lives.
They knew God was there. They knew He was doing something special, and they wanted to be a part of it.
By that summer, the revival had spread to more than 130 other colleges and seminaries and scores of churches. There were reports of revivals occurring from New York to California and even as far away as South America.
Lives were transformed and changed forever by this revival in 1970, to the point that we still talk about it today.
Amazingly, almost 53 years to the date, another revival has broken out in the chapel at Asbury College. What started on February 8th of this year as a normal chapel service has turned into a full-blown revival, reminiscent of the 1970 revival.
Amazingly, almost 53 years to the date, another revival has broken out in the chapel at Asbury College. What started on February 8th of this year as a normal chapel service has turned into a full-blown revival, reminiscent of the 1970 revival.
The chapel service that began on February 8th is still going strong today, with no signs of stopping. Eye-witness accounts of the Holy Spirit moving and touching hearts are spreading on social media. Other churches and college groups are flocking to Wilmore, Kentucky, in hopes that they, too, might experience this move of God.
This account was shared on Facebook by Jason Vickers:
"The Asbury Revival: A First Person Account
"The Asbury Revival: A First Person Account
"I grew up going to revivals and camp meetings. I've seen people shout, run the aisles, and tightrope the backs of pews. I sometimes refer to this sort of thing as "swinging from the chandeliers." That isn't what is taking place at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. I know, because I just left Hughes Auditorium.
"If you are following the revival on social media, you will know that it began on Wednesday morning. My office is directly across the street at Asbury Seminary. Despite this proximity, as of this morning, I had not put in an appearance. I was not avoiding doing so. I'm simply in a busy season of writing about sacramental theology.
"When it comes to the manifestation of God's presence, I am no skeptic. Quite the contrary. I am a straight up believer that, across space and time, in the most unpredictable of ways, the holiness of God becomes palpable - the enveloping darkness atop Sinai; Isaiah's woe is me; the light engulfing St. Symeon in his study; laughter in Toronto.
"Alas, around 2:30 this afternoon, I crossed Lexington Avenue and made my way up the stairs of Hughes Auditorium, slipping into a seat on the back row. I wanted to see for myself what was happening. The following is a blow by blow account of what I experienced for the next hour and a half.
"I had been seated in the auditorium for less than ten minutes when I came to, by which I mean to say when I suddenly found myself having conscious thoughts about my surroundings and about what I was experiencing. The best way I know to put this is to say that it was as though in just a few short minutes, I had completely zoned out.
"Upon the resumption of deliberative conscious thought, two things stood out to me. First, there was a noticeable lack of tension in my body. I was completely relaxed. There was also a complete lack of mental tension or distraction. My mind was at utter peace. And I had only been there for ten minutes.
The second thing I recall thinking is that I could sit here in this chair forever. The desire to linger indefinitely was quite unexpected. I had planned to pop in for a few minutes before returning to work.
The second thing I recall thinking is that I could sit here in this chair forever. The desire to linger indefinitely was quite unexpected. I had planned to pop in for a few minutes before returning to work.
Suddenly, work was the farthest thing from my mind.
"I wound up staying for well over an hour. In the time that I was there, I could not get over certain distinctive qualities about the atmosphere. The words that came to mind were: gentle, sweet, peaceful, serene, tender, still. Some people were singing. Others were talking. Many were praying. But there was something like a blessed stillness permeating the place. No one was swinging from the chandeliers. In fact, it was right the opposite. What made this so wild was just how un-wild the whole thing was ... is.
"So, why leave? After about an hour and half, a particular verse of Scripture impressed itself on my mind -- the one about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Compared with those who have been there since Wednesday, I was a newcomer in the crowd. But the manifestation of God's holiness, which in this case was, to my mind, a manifestation of sheer peacefulness, was of such a quality that even the most fleeting contact with it is enough. Don't mishear me. I completely understand why so many people want to linger. I did, too. But the peacefulness in that place is so palpable that a mere ten minutes had made an impression that will last the remainder of my lifetime."
As more and more people testify to the move of God taking place in Kentucky, let us pray that God's Spirit would begin to move in our own communities and in our own hearts, that we would be touched by a fresh outpouring and anointing of the Holy Spirit, and that our lives and the lives of our communities would be revived, in turn.
I will be sharing additional eyewitness accounts of this revival from social media on our church Facebook page as they come across my newsfeed.
As more and more people testify to the move of God taking place in Kentucky, let us pray that God's Spirit would begin to move in our own communities and in our own hearts, that we would be touched by a fresh outpouring and anointing of the Holy Spirit, and that our lives and the lives of our communities would be revived, in turn.
I will be sharing additional eyewitness accounts of this revival from social media on our church Facebook page as they come across my newsfeed.
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