Chris Lange, FISM News
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The revival that began Feb. 8 on the small Kentucky campus of Asbury University has continued to gain steam 13 days later even though services have been moved off campus for the public. The revival has drawn visitors from across the country and even as far away as Singapore.
“On Saturday alone, between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors came to partake in the Asbury revival,” The Free Press journalist Olivia Reingold wrote in a tweet, citing a university spokesperson.
Reingold reported separately that visitors “are driving overnight from states like South Carolina and Oklahoma” while others have been “flying in from Canada and Singapore to wait in line for hours—sometimes in the rain or snow—just to stand next to people they share nothing in common with except for a single conviction: God is visiting a two-stoplight town in Kentucky.”
On Monday, the university closed off revival services on campus to anyone over the age of 25 as the masses of people flocking to Kentucky had caused logistical issues for the small community. But that hasn’t stopped the revival from continuing as officials say that services will continue but will be held off campus beginning Tuesday.
“We cannot fully express the profound gratitude we have for stewarding this outpouring in the life of our school and beyond. Ultimately, we pray that our efforts in these days point to our Savior,” Asbury President Kevin Brown said in a statement.
Reingold posted an image of students worshiping inside the campus’s packed Hughes Auditorium captioned: “This is for my friends in New York and Los Angeles, who think religion is dead. It’s not—just go to Asbury University, where college kids have been praying for 12 days straight.”
The revival has spread to an estimated 20 other campuses across the country, including Samford University in Alabama; Tennessee’s Lee University; Baylor University in Texas; and in high school and college campuses in Wise, Virginia, to name just a few. Video clips of the revival posted to social media show students of every creed and stripe, representing different Christian denominations, singing, clapping, and praising God.
‘AFTER PRAYING, WE JUST KEPT GOING’
A group of Asbury students and staff members recently explained the way in which a mandatory campus chapel service sparked a global movement in a compilation of on-the-ground interviews posted on social media.
“After praying, we just kept going,” a student who was present for the initial chapel service said.
Another explained that, at the close of the scheduled one-hour service, the worship team “just felt the Holy Spirit telling them to stay there.”
One professor said that he had just begun a lecture when four students “banged on the door, charged their way in, and said ‘God is moving inside Hughes Auditorium.’” Several of his students responded immediately, “getting up from their chair[s] and running” to the building.
A female student said that after hearing about the extended service, she made her way to the auditorium to see what was happening. “I see these people worshiping, and I don’t know what they have, but I want it,” she said.
While the marathon worship service continues to grow, Asbury College announced that the “Outpouring services” will come to a close on campus as of Feb. 24, though regularly scheduled chapel services will continue.
A statement accompanying the announcement read: “Asbury University is humbled by how God is working. Please continue to pray, worship, and share the Gospel in your communities around the world.”