Revival & Awakening – Yesterday & Today
As a revivalist and student of revival history, the Holy Spirit has shown me many aspects of revival and their various overlays. With this understanding, we are moving forward to help church leaders move into revival and community-wide awakening.
I have been a part of revivals. I was saved in a revival in a Baptist church. I was a pastor in a church used to bring revival into Indiana that touched many communities and states and Brazil, South America. That revival resulted in new churches being planted, others seeing significant growth, thousands coming to Christ, and many healings and miracles.
We are seeing pockets or regions where revival and awakening are underway. Sometimes, it is just one church in an area, while other churches in the same community are experiencing nothing. We can learn much from revival and awakening history, starting with the Bible. But as we study the 1700’s, 1800’s and 1900’s, we are brought into the present. The Lord showed me a repeating pattern in each revival, along with the condition of the church, country, and communities in those specific times, how these patterns impacted the church, and how the church responded.
I have learned how they started, continued, and ended. Revival is messy and challenging to everything we know of the organized religious doings of the local church and denominations. When revival comes to a church, they will have to decide to let go and let God move, or it will stop quickly. Revival is not about having a visitation of God, it is about making our hearts, lives, and churches a habitation of God's glory and presence that carries into the community. It is where the hearts of the lost are suddenly made aware of a Holy God, their sinful, lost condition, and the need for a Savior. Revival transitions into an awakening of God’s reality in the community.
No longer will a pastor or the church leader be able to just pastor his church. They will now be tasked with stewarding and hosting this revival, and it will be different and challenging, but God has shown us throughout history what we must do to continue and keep the revivals going and growing. Church leaders will have to learn this saying. “Hold it loosely, but guard it ferociously.” For this reason, God is raising up men and women who will function in the Five-Fold Ministry gifts, come alongside the pastors, and work together to do Ephesians 4:11-12.
Historically, holy communion was a key to local and regional encounters that birthed and built momentum in various revivals and awakenings in our country's history. And now, God is showing us the importance of this again and for this time. To learn more, visit our Communion Encounters page or contact us directly. We are seeing a great move of God.
Contact us to learn more about the critical components of past and current revivals and how to see revival and awakenings in your life, church, and community.