MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD'S PRESENCE

 

The revival at Asbury University attracted thousands of people within a two-week span. This was all happening in Wilmore Kentucky, a community with a population of some 6,000 people. One eyewitness reported that the services filled overflow buildings and a grass lawn with a 2 ½-mile backup of cars going into Wilmore.

Now we know that the fires of the Asbury Revival are spreading. Revival services have since begun at Samford University in Alabama, Cedarville University in Ohio, and Lee and Belmont Universities in Tennessee. Interestingly, more than 20 college campuses have been affected so far.

Since the start of the revival on Wednesday, February 08, no one is able to explain the cause and spread of the movement. There is no visionary, no official leadership, no program of activities and no structured promotion, yet the spirit of revival continues to grow.

That pattern of growth is consistent within the history of revivals. For instance, without the aid of the internet, the Third Great Awakening began in 1857-1858. By the end of March 1858 every church and public hall was filled to capacity in downtown New York City as ten thousand businessmen were gathering daily for prayer.

According to revival historian Dr J. Edwin Orr, approximately one million people were converted in the nation during 1858-1859. The influence of the awakening was felt everywhere in the nation. Almost simultaneously, another revival started in Canada. These two revival streams began to spread around the world. This influence led to revivals in Wales (1858-1860), Ireland and Scotland (1859-1860), and England (1859-1860). In 1858, about 200,000 converts were recorded in Sweden. The India Awakening began in late 1859, with the greatest revivals occurring in the south of India.

We must not omit to mention the revival overflow into Jamaica. On September 28, 1860, a Moravian missionary to Jamaica, began to record what historians call the “Great Jamaica Revival”. For four weeks, almost non-stop, one Moravian congregation was in prayer. The revival spread quickly to the Anglican, Baptist, Congregationalist, Methodist and Presbyterian congregations. For almost two years, churches were packed with worshipers. Participating churches recorded hundreds of conversions.  

One Congregationalist minister summarized the practical results of the revival as follows: “It closed the rum shops and gambling houses, reconciled long-separated husband and wives, restored prodigal children, produced scores of bans to be read for marriage, crowded every place of worship, quickened the zeal of ministers, purified the churches, and brought many sinners to repentance. It also excited the rage of those ungodly people whom it had not humbled.”

Like in the “Great Jamaica Revival”, revivals also affect secular society. Agreed, revivals begin among Christians and affect Christians. But the Christian witness affects the societies in which the Christians live. One revival in South Africa resulted in hundreds of stolen items being returned to businesses. In Canada, people returned to shops to pay for items they stole over the years. Some universities did not know how to handle confessions of plagiarism and stolen intellectual property.

Revivals establish new forms of community. Some refashion social and religious structures by transferring power from the center to the periphery. New leaders emerge. Different criteria for leadership are recognized. Different theological emphases are recognized. The impact felt from revivals are spiritually significant and durable.

From the little recorded, we know many institutions credit their existence either directly or indirectly to revivals. One of the more prominent is the Salvation Army, founded by William Booth, a Methodist minister. This evangelical ministry began in the East End of London in 1865. In Jamaica, the Bethlehem Moravian College (1861) is still equipping persons for service. The London Missionary Society’s Congregational churches had grown so strong that in 1867, they decided to pull their missionaries out of Jamaica, considering the island sufficiently evangelized. Baptist churches across the island reported 12,000 conversions, ending a 25-year decline in attendance.

No one will ever know the full impact of the Asbury Revival, started on February 08, 2023. What we do know is that that relatively small Christian university experienced an extraordinary encounter with an influence bigger than the students could imagine. The influence is similar to encounters others have had at different times in history.

Jesus attributed this type of anonymous encounter to the Holy Spirit. In speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).