Thousands flock to Asbury Revival

After an estimated 50,000 Christian worshippers, celebrity pastors and onlookers flocked to a rolling revival meeting at Asbury University over the past 13 days, the school’s administration has announced a new schedule for prayer services in hopes of restoring order to the campus in this tiny Central Kentucky town.

Students at Asbury University have been praying and worshipping for the past thirteen days, attracting thousands of people from across the country.

Dubbed ‘The Asbury Revival’, the event is thought to have started after a man gave his life to Christ following a mid-week service at the campus on February 8th. His decision led people to continue worshipping and has not stopped since.

After the chapel service, a few dozen students stayed to continue worshipping and praying. Word spread throughout the day that students were still in Hughes, and more and more students returned.

Social media has been flooded with videos and pictures of the revival with hashtag #asburyrevival has nearly 55 million views on TikTok.

As word spread, first on social media and then in news reports, including a segment on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” people from surrounding communities came to experience what people were calling a revival, wooden seats soon filled up, with newcomers replacing those in a steady stream as people left.Sitting and standing, some with hands raised in prayer, others jumping, dancing or kneeling, prayer has been constant inside the room. Groups of people gather in circles around the room to pray, often offering to pray for strangers they have just met. Lines form at the front of the room, as some seek prayer at the altar. A small group of musicians on stage plays familiar worship songs.

NBC reported that on Feb. 14, the worship had 3,000 attendees spread through Hughes Auditorium and four other facilities and across the grounds. The article said people have travelled from states including Hawaii, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee and Indiana.

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 plus people attended revival services over the weekend at Asbury. This is all happening in the small town of Wilmore, Kentucky which normally has a population of 6,000.

Lines to enter the service have been long and town police had to divert traffic.

One creator addressed the idea that Gen Z is “leaving the church” in a caption under a video of the service, writing, “We are leaving spaces where God is not free to move. We have an urgency to pursue what is real and true. We don’t want a performance. We want the authentic presence of God”.

“Generation Z is leaving the church” No. We are leaving religion. We are leaving spaces where God is not free to move. We have an urgency to pursue what is real and true. We don’t want a performance. We want the authentic presence of God. These are the moments I could dwell in forever. This is just the beginning of what is to come. #asburyuniversity #asbury #asburyrevival #revival #genz #genzchristians

Attendees attested to a sense of unity in the room and an intense feeling of the presence of God. “I walked into Hughes and the peace I felt was immediate,” said Anna Lauren Jacobs, a 2022 Asbury graduate and current law student at the University of Kentucky who came to experience the revival. “It’s a kind of joyous peace that is transcendent, and just invites you into a deeper understanding of what it means to partake in Heaven.”

Asbury University has announced Friday that public worship services in the school’s Hughes Auditorium would end on Monday.

Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 21, services available to the public will be held at another location in the central Kentucky area. Asbury will still host evening services for college-age and high school students (25 and under) through Thursday, Feb. 23, the university said.

And Asbury will live stream limited portions of services through Thursday which is the National Collegiate Day of Prayer.

“As part of Asbury’s intention of encouraging and commissioning others to ‘go out’ and share what they have experienced, all services will be hosted at other locations and no longer held at Asbury University. We encourage guests to utilise these other designated facilities for worship and gathering. More information will be shared,” the school posted on its website.

It is the second time a revival has taken place at Asbury University. In 1970 a worship service continued for 144 consecutive hours.

The former vice president of the United States has tweeted his support for the non-stop evangelistic event.  Pence has said he has been “deeply moved” by the reports of revival at the Christian university.

“Deeply moved to see the revival taking place at @AsburyUniv! The Lord is at work at Asbury and Lives will be Changed Forever. To the young and old #AsburyRevival, God Bless You All & Praise the Lord!

“As a college student, I too travelled to Asbury in 1978 for a Christian music festival. There it was as though I heard the gospel for the very first time. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour and my life has never been the same,” Pence wrote on Twitter.

(Picture Courtesy: Craig Keener)