The goings on in Wilmore, Kentucky at Asbury College have captured the attention of the world. On February 8, after a typical Wednesday chapel worship service, students felt compelled to remain in the building and continue to worship. Thousands, of not tens of thousands of people came to worship. The revival was marked by confession, reconciliation, prayer, and students desiring to prioritize God above all else in their lives. It was student-initiated and student-led.
Before long, students in other universities felt the urge to meet, worship, reconcile, confess, and reprioritize. Again, these instances were student-initiated and student-led. Without coercion, their hearts were moved to seek the Lord in a new way. One of those campuses was Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. While I cannot attest to most of these events, I have dear friends in administration and on the faculty at Samford. They have shared they believe their students were experiencing true revival in their lives. I praise God for that news!
The results of what has been deemed the Asbury Revival or the Asbury Outpouring have yielded “stories of hungry hearts setting aside daily routines and seeking Christ at schools, churches, and communities abroad,” according to Asbury President Dr, Kevin Brown on February twenty-first in his Facebook post concerning the university’s discontinuation of hosting meetings, which occurred on February twenty-third.
This past month, many churches held annual “DNow weekends” for middle and high school students. DNow is a contraction for Disciple Now. It is a weekend designed around worship, small group study, recreation, and fellowship to help teenagers grow in their faith. I have seen God do wonderful things in young people’s lives through DNow.
There are many groups and denominations who have solid student ministries and lead students to grow in faith. I applaud all those who work with students. I support their efforts, and I pray for their success. I do, however, particularly cheer and pray for the teenagers in our community who find themselves on the front lines of ever-changing cultural and moral issues. My desire is that they find the strength to grow in their faith, live it out in front of others, and find genuine and creative ways to share the never-changing Gospel with their peers.
Let’s hear it for the students. In our tumultuous times, when bad news and tragedy rise to prominence on our news feeds almost continually, God is still alive, well, and active. Many times, He chooses to move in the lives of our students. When a youth group, a school, or even a church is influenced by a sincere group of students seeking to truly worship and serve. God, we had better look out! Sold-out students, before they are jaded by “adulting” can be a powerful force for good.
Revival history shows that movements of God usually begin after a season, (not a day or a week), of prayer by sincere individuals asking Him to move, and willing to place Him first in their lives. Simply praying for blessings without sincerity and willingness to adjust our lives to God’s standards and to serve Him from a position of gratitude falls short. Sometimes we want God’s will “our way” instead of His way. Perhaps we really do not ask God for true revival because we want Him to bless us in the ways we request rather than ask Him to help us adjust to Him. Maybe the idealism of students gives them an advantage.
I love students and student ministry. My bride and I served in student ministry for twenty years. We still promote, support, and assist student ministry on several levels, including writing and teaching. There is something special about how God uses sold-out students.
If we want to experience true revival, we should each seek God with all our hearts, ready and willing to adjust our schedules, attitudes…our everything to place God first…unless we are too far gone, jaded by life’s struggles and stresses. I hope not.
Again, let’s hear it for the students! Although it sounds a bit cliché, 1 Timothy 4:12, when the Apostle Paul was writing to Timothy, his young friend in the ministry, reads, “Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Students, be encouraged, willing, and zealous in your passion for God. Lead idealistically and enthusiastically believing He can make a difference if we truly seek Him with all our hearts.
kevingarrett.org 