Will the Asbury awakening give us an outbreak of rectification, maybe nationwide or more than that? I’ve already mentioned that 50,000 people from all over the world showed up. The extraordinary 6,000 citizens of Wilmore and the leadership of the college somehow found ways to accommodate them, although sitting on the college lawn was often necessary.
Some 200 of the 50,000 were from academic institutions here and abroad, it’s reported, and — this is vitally important — some 21 or more religious and secular colleges and universities throughout the country have already had their own revivals while often communicating with students at Asbury College. News outlets have covered the awakening extensively, and a post on Twitter got 68 million views.
The excitement comes from people mostly saying the awakenings are not one-act plays, but that their influence will go on and that the spread will continue voluminously in line with the most profound Christian teachings. Understand that the students did not see the event as just about them. Yes, this is a time when they feel the world has done them wrong and they are acquainted with the reporting about Generation Z not being as religious as previous generations, as too given to drugs and other miswrought behavior.
But it is important to think about a sermon the students heard before the awakening began. The speaker referred to Romans 12, a New Testament chapter that asks for a renewal of mind and acceptance of God’s will and then a living sacrifice. The message was that the faithful should humbly use their personal gifts to lovingly serve others in need.
“What’s happening at Asbury is not and will not remain confined,” said Lee University Campus Pastor Rob Fultz on Twitter early in the Asbury event, according to Christian Broadcasting Network. “It will, and already is awakening the deep wells of revival on campuses across the nation. They have been churning, pressing against the seals that have kept them hidden, and they are about to burst with new life.”
