A large worship session has been running continuously for almost two weeks on the grounds of a small Christian college in Wilmore, Kentucky. People have flown in from all over the country to attend the event at Asbury University, and lines have formed outside the main chapel of the college to get a chance to participate in the singing, praying, and debating taking place inside.
On February 8th, what was expected to be a typical church service at Asbury College in Kentucky turned into something much larger. Videos of people weeping, repenting their sins, and raising their arms to the sky in praise of worship music began to spread across social media, garnering millions of views in a matter of days. This event, which has been referred to as a revival, the Asbury Awakening, and a moment of spiritual renewal, has drawn thousands of people to the school.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted, “The Lord is at work at Asbury and Lives will be Changed Forever.” Rob Hoskins, President of the biblical ministry OneHope, wrote, “If it’s ‘just’ a prophetic moment let it be. If it’s a revival in one life, one school, one community, rejoice.” Asbury Theological Seminary President Timothy Tennent suggested the term “Asbury Awakening” instead of revival. Asbury University President Kevin Brown wrote a letter to parents, announcing plans to accommodate the event for as long as it continues.
Every circle in the Christianity community has taken notice of and been inspired by the Asbury Revival.
Samford University is also witnessing its own movement of God with student-led worship and prayer that has lasted for roughly 48 hours as part of the Asbury University revival, which entered its tenth day on Friday.
Samford, a university in Samford, Alabama, is at least the fourth institution to experience a student-led spontaneous rebirth. Lee University in Tennessee and Cedarville University in Ohio have also seen spontaneous revivals this week, as reported by Christian Headlines.
Samford University President Beck A. Taylor thanked God for the revival in a Friday email to students. As of Friday morning, the revival at Reid Chapel on the Samford campus had been going on for 48 straight hours.
The distance between Samford and Asbury's Wilmore, Kentucky, campus is around 400 miles.
This is student-led, spontaneous worship, according to Taylor. "I can attest that the Holy Spirit is at work inside and among our student body after spending some time with students worshiping in Reid Chapel yesterday. It's not a planned, scheduled, or choreographed event. It's not fake or performative either. Students and others see it as a chance for Samford University to come together as one in Christ, to support one another in being faithful, and to show everyone the love and grace of Jesus."
"Resist the impulse to name what's happening, or to put it into some kind of a nice box," Taylor advised pupils.
All we need to do is continue to be obedient to God's calling, Taylor wrote. "I'm confident that God is accomplishing a new thing here," Taylor wrote. "HOPE is our theme for this year. The person and work of Jesus Christ are the source of our hope. Let's allow hope to abound in us as we worship Jesus today so that we might share God's hope with this university and the rest of the world."
The spontaneous revival reportedly started on Wednesday when a student "walked into Reid Chapel and began softly playing worship hymns on the piano," a campus representative told The Alabama Baptist newspaper. Soon, according to the publication, "a few classmates heard the music, walked inside the chapel and began to worship together with the student." There were 150–200 individuals in the chapel by 2 a.m.
Taylor tweeted, "Kids are giving from their hearts." The good news is being spread.
The broad revivals are occurring about 50 years after a significant student-led revival that swept through college campuses. The Jesus Movement finally took the name of that 1970s revival and appeared on the Time Magazine cover.
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