Something is going on on college campuses. There are still the conventional frat parties, sporting events, and final exam anxieties. There can be, dare I say, revival brewing. Students are bored with mundane faith sitting within the periphery of cafeteria visits and late-night benders. There is a movement of faculty students wanting to live out their faith. They aren’t serious about just going to church on Sunday but following Jesus Sunday through Saturday. They are up late into the night worshiping and up early the subsequent morning praying. They are walking their campuses sidewalks and sharing the gospel with classmates. They are throwing events that rival large conferences, but they’re doing it in what little spare time they’ve with extraordinary outcomes.
In February of last 12 months, I used to be speaking in Nashville. I almost at all times travel with someone, and this time, it was considered one of our worship leaders. We got back to the hotel, and he said, “Bro, we must always go to Asbury!” Asbury? I had heard concerning the revival happening there, but how away far is Asbury? Kentucky? I failed geometry…uh…I mean geography class. He began typing furiously on his phone, then looked up and said, “It’s only 4 hours away”. I took a fast power nap, after which we got within the automobile for a road trip.
We pulled up around 10:00PM and there was a line of individuals wrapped across the campus (and city). When we went inside, it was simply an old chapel stuffed with people (mostly college students) worshiping in song. I went as much as the balcony and sang with the others. I read a couple of chapters in my Bible, then stood up and sang some more. There was one particular moment where we sang the familiar song “Agnus Dei”, named after the Latin term meaning “the lamb of God”. These lyrics were sung again and again, echoing throughout the old chapel:
“Holy! Holy!
Are You Lord God almighty!
Worthy is the Lamb!
Worthy is the Lamb!
You are holy!”
Someone got here on stage and tried to maneuver the night forward, however the momentum of the voices in the group were too strong. We just stayed there. Tears were streaming down my face. The Lord was gracious to guide me to a passage within the Bible that was very timely. I used to be moved in a robust way.
Shortly after we returned home, a friend reached out. She felt led to collect the faculty students at Auburn University. In just six weeks, she had secured the basketball arena, locked down Passion Music to guide worship, and invited Jennie Allen and I to talk. Tonya (the visionary behind the gathering) branded the event UNITE, with a heart to attach college students to local churches around their university. She was burdened by the entire sexual sin on campus and asked if I might discuss finding freedom from sexual sin.
It’s not likely a “crowd pleaser” message, but I gave it, and Jennie Allen went up afterward, talking concerning the importance of living in a Christian community. The arena was stuffed with over 6,000 students! Jennie wrapped up with an altar call, and someone in the group desired to be baptized. Someone else shouted there was a pond by The Red Barn, a notable landmark on campus. Thousands of scholars went out to the pond, and over 200 students lined as much as get baptized. We were within the water for hours. This was not a “dunk and next” situation. This was 200 different Gospel-centered conversations. We went slow to substantiate that they were believers and baptized past midnight! News stations were reaching out, and we were on Fox News and nearly every Christian radio station within the country. Everyone desired to discuss what happened at Auburn.
I didn’t have much time to process all that God had done at Auburn University because once we returned, it was time to prepare for Passion in Atlanta. Nothing could have prepared me for Passion. There were 60,000 college students in a football stadium praising Jesus. I actually have never seen anything prefer it. The skeptic will think What about every NFL football game? It’s not only the number of scholars that brought the sense of awe–it was the common deal with God’s Word and God’s glory. While zero effort was given to be sure the messages fit together, they looked as if it would supernaturally construct upon each other. During the last session, right before Christine Cain closed out the conference, the group took over, singing “Agnus Dei” again.
It was the identical key as Asbury. The setting was very different. It wasn’t an easy chapel on a university’s campus. This was an NFL stadium with one of the advanced stages on the planet. Kristian Stanfill did an incredible job of leading us in worship by handing off “leadership” to the Holy Spirit as the group sang that very same familiar refrain for 25 minutes. In the words of Louie Giglio, “God does whatever He wants, wherever He wants, each time He desires to do it.” And He will use whoever He wants to make use of.
I returned from Passion in January, and UNITE, the brand new organization and movement, picked up steam. We were headed to Florida State University in Tallahassee. FSU has earned the title of the second-largest party school within the country. As I took the stage, I sensed the Lord wanted me to pivot to a message clearly laying out The Gospel. Jennie got here up afterward and taught about confession, giving students time to admit their sins to one another. Then we did an old-school altar call, saying, “If you ought to place your faith in Jesus, come forward.” Over the subsequent couple of minutes, 314 college students made their technique to the stage. We know there have been 314 because UNITE was in a position to get their information and connect them to an area church.
It only felt right that we must always have baptisms, but where?! Well, there may be Westcott Fountain—a fountain on campus that’s notorious for tossing in drunk people at midnight on their twenty first birthday. We said, “Let’s go to the Westcott Fountain!” Then, the group followed. The police were there waiting for us. I figured they might shut it down, but they simply seemed delighted that it was something apart from drunk college students climbing into the fountain. Over 300 students were baptized that night. But this time, the conversations were different than Auburn. We would say, “Have you ever been baptized?” They would respond with, “No, I’ve never even been to church, but I would like to follow Jesus.” It felt like a “first-century” movement of The Spirit.
Here’s an remark: The momentum is barely constructing. From Asbury to Auburn, then Passion to Florida State, college students want something greater than church on Sundays or religious rituals. They need to follow Jesus. Universities are pregnant with revival. The church, nonetheless, seems tired of that word. I see a cynical spirit capping the celebration or waiting to see if it was “real.” I’m not saying there should not legitimate reasons for cynicism on the market, but I’m saying a cynical spirit is in contrast to the optimism that holds true to The Gospel of Jesus Christ. After all, gospel translates to “excellent news”.
I would like you to know God is moving in our country. I believe it might be a miss if we didn’t pause to reflect with gratitude on all of the things He is doing in our midst. We should support these movements with our prayers and by sharing the stories of His goodness. Let’s not argue over what a revival is and what it isn’t. Let’s just pray for it, have fun it, and be an element of it anyway we are able to.
Are you uninterested in revival? I hope not.
Revival from Calvary Chapel on the King’s Highway on GodTube.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/John Price
He has written 5 best-selling books, and is currently working on “Your Story Has a Villain.” This book is for you when you’re weary from the struggle and able to embrace the abundant life God has for us. It will allow you to explore the tactics of Satan, equip you to beat spiritual battles, and remind you of the victory already secured through Jesus. Learn more at his website, jonathanpokluda.com. Click here for Unite Us, a movement of faculty students united to lift the name of Jesus.
