Up to 90,000 people have descended from all directions on the small Kentucky town of Wilmore over the past fortnight, eager to taste of the revival that broke out at Asbury College on February 8th. Folk have been coming from all over America, and indeed, from as far away as Finland and the Netherlands, many having to queue up to six hours to get in.

Revival or spiritual extravaganza

Such a mass influx of visitors on a town of just 6,000 has clearly caused logistical problems for local residents. It might also have dramatically altered the dynamics of the revival in progress. As we reported last week, the movement started as a quiet, spontaneous, grassroots spiritual refreshing among a community of local students. It’s characteristic of virtually all genuine revivals that they are grounded in a community setting, be that a prayer group, church, college or village.

It’s characteristic of virtually all genuine revivals that they are grounded in a community setting, be that a prayer group, church, college or village.

Courtesy of modern technology, news of the embryonic movement quickly diffused to nearby colleges, and soon students from these places were arriving in Wilmore. In what became the fastest-spreading revival in world history, people were soon flocking from different parts of the United States, eager to tap into this Holy Ghost phenomenon. In no time, far more visitors than Kentucky students were packed into Hughes Auditorium and various overflow centres.

As pilgrims continued to pour into town, the meetings could easily have turned into something of a spiritual jamboree – a mass Christian celebration, with many turning up just to enjoy the thrill. For good or bad, this would mean that events were no longer rooted in genuine community. The very nature of the movement would have altered. In other words, it could have morphed into a thoroughly different genre of ‘revival’ (one that personally is of little interest to me).

It would appear that, thanks to the careful oversight of campus leadership, this didn’t happen. The meetings carried on pretty much as they had started – albeit with far greater attendance. A scan through a 7-hour YouTube video from last weekend proved to me that the emphasis was still very much on Christ and His glory, attended by the wonderful liberty in worship that His presence brings, yet meetings retaining a sense of order and seemliness.

Moving with the Spirit

The flocking of believers to locations where God is moving, of course, is no new thing. Over a century-and-a-half ago, many hundreds of mainly church leaders and elders crossed the Irish Sea from Scotland, England and Wales, keen to witness and participate in the great revival that diffused over Ulster in 1859. Such journey was a major undertaking in those days; and many could ill-afford to make it. But still they went.

British Airways even put on an extra scheduled flight from England to cope with the demand.

The same phenomenon occurred fifty years later, when revival erupted in Wales in 1904. More recently, we saw thousands flock to Toronto (1994) and Pensacola (‘95), desperate to ‘catch the fire’ that had apparently been sparked in these centres. British Airways even put on an extra scheduled flight from England to cope with the demand.

Many have denounced such ‘revival tourism’. But are we to judge others who have sought God about making such a trip – and who then spread their enthusiasm to others on their return home?

Some might say it would be more constructive if believers came together on their knees in their home localities and interceded for the Spirit of God to come upon them there. Certainly, we don’t have to travel long distances to experience the presence of God. He doesn’t restrict Himself to one geographical location; He can be found anywhere, anytime.

My local house group discovered this by experience just last Thursday. At the start of the meeting, I shared a little about events at Asbury – some knew nothing of it – then we spent a protracted period in spontaneous, heartfelt worship, prayer and testimony. Before we knew it, the room was bathed in His glorious presence. No one wanted to move, so we just rested in that atmosphere for a while, soaking in His peace and love, before ministering to one another.

Scathing criticism

While the secular press has generally given favourable coverage of the movement, many Christians have been quick to find fault with Asbury – some even scathing in their condemnation. Some insisted the revival was not genuine, for Asbury, they claim, is a woke, liberal college that promotes LGBT teaching. Yet the College holds strict principles on sexuality, regarding “all forms of sexual intimacy that occur outside the covenant of heterosexual marriage to be sinful distortions of the holiness and beauty for which God intended”.

Clearly no movement involving humans is going to be perfect.

Clearly no movement involving humans is going to be perfect. With a spontaneous movement like this taking everyone by surprise, hindsight may well show that some things could perhaps have been handled differently. As 24/7 Prayer leader Pete Greig said, “This isn’t everything, but it’s something”. For believers to so readily condemn a series of events for which an abundance of glowing student testimonies have been shared and which may well prove to be a genuine breath of God’s Spirit is no light matter – let us discern wisely (1 Thes 5:21) while avoiding haste in our judgements.

God is the preacher

One issue that initially caused me concern was the lack of preaching at services –until I realised that God’s word has indeed been proclaimed, and the congregation regularly given biblical exhortations. In any case, the Holy Spirit has been the great preacher, ministering directly to worshippers. Indeed, Spirit-led worship seems to be at the heart of this movement.

We find a similar thing in previous Asbury movements; 1908 was described as predominantly ‘a revival of prevailing prayer’. The 1970 revival was marked by public confession; “day after day the campus communities were absorbed in only one thing – getting right with God and seeking God’s will. Many students stayed in the chapel the better part of a whole week”.

As that season of blessing spread to other campuses and churches, “sermons and the order of service were forgotten. Church altars which for years had been little more than pieces of furniture now became hallowed places where men and women were reconciled with one another and with God”. The 1970 revival bore lasting fruit.

Bearing fruit

It is of course, too early to ascertain the fruit of the current movement. But in any case, meetings have now been stopped; the last one taking place on Sunday evening (19th Feb). A wise decision, in my opinion, the main reason being to allow students to resume their classes (though some services will continue for a time in one or two local churches).

After two weeks of near continuous meetings, the Asbury revival is already over.

After two weeks of near continuous meetings, the Asbury revival that drew worldwide attention – with hundreds of web-pages devoted to it, and over 68 million views on TikTok – is already over. What its effects in terms of personal refreshing, college and town renewal, and much wider impact will be remain to be seen. Time will tell.

Asbury hasn't led to a worldwide global awakening (and won't), as some over-enthusiastically predicted. But, as we note in News n Views, events at Wilmore have inspired similair prayer and worship movements all over America, and have acted as a great stimulation to believers around the world. May the same Holy Spirit that moved Asbury be ever at work in our own hearts, continually reviving us and drawing us ever nearer to Jesus our omnipresent, omnipotent, glorious Lord.