Norwegian wife and mum Benedicte Mella, who lives in Kenya, went to visit Asbury University, because she heard of the revival and wanted to immerse herself in what the Holy Spirit was doing.
I’m part of a group of friends from different nations in Europe with a longing for revival in Europe. We meet once a year and talk on zoom during the year. Recently we were meeting in Budapest, I had just flown in from Kenya when someone in the group said: “We are longing for revival, shouldn’t we go where revival is happening?” I knew they were right, so spontaneously we booked tickets, slept four hours in Budapest and then boarded another plane bound for Kentucky the next day!
Arriving in Asbury University, and entering Hughes Auditorium, I found it striking that you couldn’t find a famous Christian person there. There were no big names or faces to attract the crowds. There were no screens in the main room, only a simple platform where two or three students led songs in a simple way with a few instruments. Nothing was being said or done to make people impressed or fascinated. Although the crowd was singing with all of their hearts, the atmosphere was really just simple, calm, and many there would describe it as pure.
They asked that people limit the use of mobile phones, so that they could experience actually being there.
Throughout the day, there would be some sharing of the word by the leaders at campus or trusted friends. They would also give some important core values they want everyone to know and hold to. Like radical humility, holy love and reverence. They also asked that people limit the use of mobile phones, so that they could experience actually being there.
Teaching was aimed at some of the most pressing challenges of the young generation today, like our obsession with our phones and addiction to porn. By calling it out, people seemed to feel relieved and freed to make a choice to surrender and repent. And then they would experience a new freedom.
The campus experienced revival many times throughout history, born out of one thing; prayer.
What happened and is continuing to happen in Asbury seemed to come out of the blue, but it’s not quite true. The campus experienced revival many times throughout history, born out of one thing; prayer. Travailing prayer is prayer with tears and groaning. It’s prayer that sometimes resembles a woman in labor. It’s the kind of prayer that matches the desperation of the need, explains PhD David Thompson by Asbury Seminary. He has been teaching, writing and living from a place of such prayer for decades. To him, what is happening is clearly God coming to answer all the secret prayer that has been going on for so long and by so many.
As of last week, president of Asbury, Dr.Kevin Brown, announced there will be no more open meeting as the university and they will go back to run as usual. Then he said: “The trajectory of renewal meetings is always outward—and that is beginning to occur. We continue to hear inspiring stories of hungry hearts setting aside daily routines and seeking Christ at schools, churches, and communities in the US and abroad.” It is time now for those who have been a part, and those who have seen from afar, to continue seeking the Lord where they are at, with all of our hearts, and then to bring what we all receive from him to the world.
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