Tag: revivals

Christian ministry, Christian mission, evangelism, mission, revival, revivals , , , ,

Brief Biography of Pioneer Mission

by Geoff 27 December 2025 1 Comment

Brief Biography of Pioneer Mission in PNG

And excerpts from Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Philippines, Kenya, Ghana and the South Pacific. More details in blog God’s Surprises and God’s Surprises – PDF

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Blog: Geoffrey Waugh, founding editor of the Renewal Journal

Blog: Geoffrey Waugh – Ministry & Mission CV

PDF: Brief Biography of Pioneer Mission in PNG

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Revivals Index – history’s mighty revivals

Pioneer Mission

Revival swept the highland villages in Papua New Guinea from 1973, just before and into their independence from 1975. I had the privilege of being there just before that and teaching village pastors and teachers in Bible Schools, which became part of preparing them for revival.

I landed in the 3-5,000 feet mountains of Papua New Guinea (PNG) among the Enga tribes as a raw, enthusiastic, inexperienced teacher. I had begun teaching with a class of 48 eight-year-old boys in Sydney at age 19 in 1957.

From 1965 I taught Basic English in PNG, first in mission station schools and then in village schools, less than a decade before revival transformed the church and villages there in PNG from 1973 and before PNG became independent in 1975. The Australian government poured money into PNG to raise educational and health levels to prepare them for independence.

Engas then wore nothing above the waist, and wore nets made from Pandanus fibres hung from belts made of vines or bamboo. Acquired old leather belts became popular. Now they have access to trade store clothing. More modest than many Europeans, no man would touch a woman in public including any of his wives. Big men like tribal leaders had many wives. Bride prices, given to the bride’s clan, included many pigs, maybe cows, and special shells.

The culture, wildly different from my Australian background, valued communal loyalty above individual choices. Payback, eye for eye and life for life, was not just an option but a responsibility. If someone stole from your food garden or house, you or your clan should payback the insult. That often escalated into tribal war with bows and arrows and spears.

A school I started in a remote village when I was single, the only European in that village, grew grade by grade for each of six years, adding a new grade and an indigenous teacher each year. I moved on after the first year. Someone from that village stole food from a nearby clan’s gardens, so that clan raided the village and pillaged more food. The village responded with reciprocal raids. It escalated until the nearby clan burnt down the whole school with its classrooms made of bamboo walls and thick grass roofs. The village had to rebuild the whole school.

A student I later taught in my Bible School, got involved in a fight over a tribal land border. The son of a chief, he went to prison (calaboose) for a month, building roads, along with his father and the tribal warriors. Upon release his tribal leaders re-enrolled him immediately back into Bible School, proud of his loyalty, courage, and skill. These were leaders in revival.

I accompanied two native female village teachers to an education conference via the town of Madang, using the regular Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Cessna planes. I showed the young ladies around the town. Unknown to me, local young men followed us, angry with me for taking two of their brown skinned ladies to where we stayed in a mission boarding house. They assumed I wanted sex. Fortunately the night watchman found those men creeping toward my room with knives ready to stab me. The watchman explained that we had separate rooms and I was a good man. Village teachers like them also became leaders in village revivals.

Another tribal group wanted to kill me because I had taken my school students swimming in a big pool in the river gorge nearby. But one student was washed downstream, almost drowning. His worry was not his cuts or bruises but that he had lost his school uniform sarong.  He stopped his clan from coming to attack me in payback! Tribal elders insisted that I never take students swimming again there. That student later became a pastor leading revivals in the villages.

I enjoyed teaching Basic English in many schools, and then teaching leaders in Bible Schools where I used both the national Pidgin language and the local Enga dialect. Those young leaders became village teachers and pastors. Most of them became leaders in revivals among the Engas which transformed hundreds of lives in each area.

They no longer cut a joint off a finger at the death of a close relative to show that relative’s spirit their sorrow. They no longer sacrificed to the spirits for protection but trusted God. They learned to forgive and agree on settlements instead of insisting on an eye for an eye. The first corpse I saw was a man cut in his neck with a tomahawk, lying on a hollow log bridge, because he had committed adultery. Someone in the woman’s clan had killed him.

Government law in PNG made it being illegal to stop after a vehicle accident in case of immediate payback by offended locals. By law you must not stop but report immediately to the nearest police station. Gradually life changed. Peace increased as repentance and revival spread..

Of course, like us, they were not perfect nor always Christ-like. But they learned and grew in compassion and care.

I was the only single male teacher, based in four mission stations and many villages. Twenty or so single European female teachers and nurses also lived and worked there. After three years single there (and invited to many meals with single women) I married Meg, one of the teachers. I would run from my school the three hours (usually a 5 hour trek) across high ridges to visit Meg at her school at weekends. But we did not hold hands in public. Even at night that was risky. We did that one night in the dark down a ridge track. Then I saw a low glow of a straw bundle small fire approaching in the dark (a local torch) along the track. Meg and I quickly separated.

“I see you are coming,” I said politely in the Enga dialect.

“I see you are there,” replied the school student politely, and passed us by. Next day stories circulated around the school and villages that we were caught being naughty.

I proposed to Meg there, and we married on furlough in Sydney. Then we returned to teach local leaders in Bible Schools. Our first child, born in the one-room European ward of the mission hospital, never crawled because the woven bamboo floor hurt her knees. So she held onto chairs and boxes, walking by nine months. Our homes, made from bamboo walls and floor with a thick grass roof, kept us cool in the daytime tropical heat. Village ladies passed our popular white baby from woman to woman with their unwashed breasts. Our baby caught a mild eye infection from that encounter, soon fixed with eye drops.

I was the founding principal of the full-time Bible School there where respected leaders trained to be pastors and teachers in the villages. We did not know we were preparing them to lead in village revivals, with strong Spirit-filled teaching, following God’s Word, just like in the Gospels and the life of the early church in the Book of Acts.

Here are some photos of those early pioneering days.

Village communion with bamboo cups & sweet potato

Baptisms in creek

Typical village

School student

 Bamboo and vine bridge in gorge

 

Geoff and Meg

Back in Australia I taught on renewal and revival at Trinity Theological College and Christian Heritage College in Brisbane and led many short term mission teams to around 20 countries to encourage revival.

For 20 years we have lived in an extended family in our home designed and built by my son where by 2025 we have four generations living together, still involved in ministry and mission.

Here are some excerpts from Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Philippines, Kenya, Ghana and the South Pacific. More details are in the blog God’s Surprises and in the free book God’s Surprises – PDF

Australia

Back in Australia I worked as a Baptist minister with the Methodist and then Uniting Church in Christian Education in Brisbane and Queensland, leading conferences, camps, conventions, and church services. That included united renewal conventions in the Anglican, Catholic, and Uniting Church cathedrals. I also worked part-time for two years as the inaugural Lifeline telephone counselling director in Toowoomba and a lecturer in Religious Education at the university there.

Later I taught about renewal and revival to Uniting Church (Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational), Anglican and Catholic students at Trinity Theological College, part of the Brisbane College of Theology. Then I lectured at and became a Fellow of Christian Heritage College in Brisbane with its schools of Education, Social Sciences, Counselling, Business and Ministry.

Revival spread among Indigenous Australians from an outpouring of God’s Spirit among Elcho Island aborigines near Darwin from February 1978. That spread across northern Australia. We invited them to Pentecost weekend meetings in Brisbane and they invited us to their annual celebrations in February. God moved powerfully among them in repentance, reconciliation, conversions, baptisms, and deliverance from domestic violence and alcoholism in large numbers.

I was the founding editor of the Renewal Journal (now www.renewaljournal.com). That led to invitations to overseas short-term revival mission trips in around 20 countries including in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, as described in my book God’s Surprises (free on www.renewaljournal.com).

Here are highlights from a few of those revival mission trips.

Asia

Sri Lanka

We taught many overseas students in Trinity Theological College, mainly from the South Pacific but also from Asia. I conducted the impressive and totally free wedding in Brisbane of two students from Sri Lanka. Philip worked as a part-time cleaner of St Stephen’s Presbyterian (then Uniting) cathedral, so we held the wedding there for free. Church ladies freely provided flowers for the service and for the following day’s Sunday Service. The mother of a student friend at college owned a boutique clothing shop which also hired wedding clothes so she gave them free choice of impressive wedding outfits. Those students lived in a Salvation Army hostel so the hostel provided a smorgasbord wedding breakfast for them as their gift.

Philip and Dhamika’s relatives led village churches and a Bible School in the hills around Kandi in Sri Lanka. They invited us to visit and encourage them and lead revival meetings. They inherited land with fresh spring water so they built a small factory to bottle and sell the water to support their church and mission work. Our time there included dedicating their new factory for God’s kingdom purposes.

 

India

One of our teams visited Grace Bible College and school in New Delhi. It was the largest Bible College in India with 600 students. Graduates worked in many hostile regions and faced a lot of opposition and persecution. Two of their students returned to Nepal during the time of one of our visits to Nepal. Those students were shot by Maoists. They were accused of being spies.

 

Nepal

A retired friend in Brisbane worked with the government in Nepal to help with international marketing. He befriended and supported many local pastors and a young evangelist. The evangelist arranged revival meetings for us in West Nepal, East Nepal, and Kathmandu where he had started a church. That Hosanna Church grew into one of the biggest congregations in Nepal and planted many new churches, established schools, trade colleges, and Bible Schools. We saw the Lord pour out his Spirit on pastors and leaders there many times. Most pastors had been imprisoned often, and some bore scars from beatings there. If, for example, a pastor conducted a Christian wedding and relatives complained about that, the pastor could be imprisoned for a month or more for disturbing the peace.

 

Philippines

I taught on revival at a seminary in Manilla in the sweltering heat of the Philippines. My M.Th. students reported on revival and miracles. One Baptist pastor, who was also a police inspector, reported that a church he visited sent groups of young people to sing and speak at hospitals and nursing homes.

One of those teams held monthly meetings in a mental hospital. The staff said that their patients may not understand much, but those patients did enjoy the singing. More than 40 came to the first meeting. The team offered to pray for anyone who would like prayer. They prayed personally for 26 people. The next month when the team returned, all those 26 had been discharged and sent home.

Africa

 

Kenya

Francis, a Christian Heritage College graduate from Kenya began Nairobi Believers Mission (NBM) in the slums of Kibera, Nairobi, where a million people live, jammed together in small mud brick homes with rusty iron roofs.  Our mission teams visited Francis to serve leaders and speak at meetings there.  In spite of poverty and political unrest, their churches continue to grow steadily.

“Can I take some bread home?” asked a young man at our communion service in the slums of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa. We shared real drink and some loaves of bread together among 30 people in their corrugated iron shed where I was the guest preacher.

“It’s your bread,” I answered. “You decide.” He quickly shoved a handful of bread into his pocket. Then most of the others did the same. Two weeks later, Francis, the young pastor, emailed me: “I’ve visited the slum homes of those people and they are still eating that bread. It’s still fresh.” Apparently God multiplied it.

Francis added: “Actually the miracle continued months after we began NBM and were feeding members each Saturday afternoon with tea and bread.  God continued multiplying the food and there was always enough.”

 

Ghana

A young pastor in Ghana in West Africa, invited me to hold meetings there. So I arrived with three others from Brisbane during our college break in July, forgetting it was monsoon time in Ghana. We flew into a deluge of rain on the Monday. Our hosts planned night meetings in the market from Tuesday, with morning teaching in a local church.

We drove for over an hour in pouring rain from Accra, the capital, to the town of Suhum in the hills for our first meeting on Tuesday night. The heavy rain had flooded the power station there so the whole town was in darkness. We prayed earnestly, asking God to take over. Within 15 minutes the rain stopped, the town lit up with power, and we began. The host team began excitedly shouting that it was a miracle.

Soon the musicians from one of the local churches had plugged in their instruments to the sound system.  The loudspeakers did not face the faithful Christians gathered in the fluorescent-lit open area, but pointed at the surrounding houses, the stores, and the hotel. Those excited Africans sang and danced for over two hours, attracting hundreds to the meeting.

When we invited people to respond and give their lives to Christ, they came from the surrounding darkness into the light.  Some wandered over from the pub, smelling of beer.  They kept the ministry team busy praying and arranging follow-up with their churches.

We moved about laying hands on people and praying for them.  People reported various touches of God in their lives. Church teams prayed for hundreds of people. Many were saved. Many were healed. One man testified, “I came to this meeting blind, but while you were singing I found I could see.”

Each day we held morning worship and teaching sessions for Christians in the Apostolic Church, hot under an iron roof on those clear, tropical sunny days.  During the second morning I vividly ‘saw’ golden light fill the church and swallow up or remove blackness.  At that point the African Christians became very noisy, vigorously celebrating and shouting praises to God.  A fresh anointing seemed to fall on them just then.

Although it didn’t rain the whole time we were holding meetings there, the day after our meetings finished, the torrential rains began again.  The following week we saw floods in Ghana reported on international television.  Later on we received letters telling us how the church where we held our morning meetings, and the other churches, had grown, expanded their building, and had sent out teams of committed young people in evangelism.  Through that experience, God showed us a glimpse of what he is doing in a big way in the earth right now.

 

South Pacific

We often visited the South Pacific nations close to Australia, including Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji. I describe many revival movements in my book South Pacific Revivals (free on www.renewaljournal.com).

Many revival movements swept the South Pacific islands. I was blessed to see some.

God’s Spirit fell on the Law School of the University of the South Pacific just after Easter 2002. The Law School is in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Many were dramatically saved and transformed. Those committed students also went on mission to other South Pacific nations and to Australia. Now they are lawyers and leaders, and a president of their Christian Fellowship became a Member of Parliament in Tuvalu.

Some of those teams came with me to Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. God has been moving there in unusual ways for a hundred years. Vanuatu people first evangelized the island, one becoming a martyr, A wife of the highest ranking chief returned to life after she died and told them that she had seen God and they should leave their heathen ways and become Christians. Many revival teams have served God there.

God poured out his Spirit on children and youth in the Western Solomon Islands from Easter 2003. They loved to sing and pray daily in the church after school. God gave them visions, revelations, words of knowledge about hidden sins and bad relationships and many other spiritual gifts such as healings and speaking and singing what God revealed.

A mother asked me what it meant when her young boy had a vision of Jesus with one foot in heaven and one foot on the earth. I immediately remembered Matthew 28:18 – All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Many youths had visions of Jesus.

We saw God touch around 1,000 youths at a Solomon Islands National Christian Youth Convention in 2006. One night at the convention they responded, running to the front of the open-air meeting. For half-an-hour their worship team sang “He is Lord” while we prayed for them. They fell like dominoes. Many testified to healings, visions and revelations. One young man returned to his village that night and found his mother ill, so laid hands on her and prayed for her. She was healed. His brother then asked for prayer and he too was healed. The young man had never done that before. A whole group from the Kariki Islands, further west, saw revival in their islands on their return. God moved powerfully in every meeting they held and in their personal prayers.

Solomon Islands transport


God’s Surprises

I will Pour out My Spirit

God’s Surprises – Blog: revival movements in 20 countries
God’s Surprises – free PDF eBook
Current movements of God’s Spirit in 20 countries

I summarized some of our revival mission trips in God’s Surprises.

See more resources on the Main Page

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

Blogs Index 1: Revivals (briefer than Revivals Index)
Blogs Index 2: Mission (international stories)
Blogs Index 3: Miracles (supernatural events)
Blogs Index 4: Devotional (including Testimonies)
Blogs index 5: Church (Christianity in action)
Blogs Index 6: Chapters (Blogs from Books)
Blogs Index 7: Images (Photos & Videos)

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Baptisms, Christian ministry, church growth, revival , , , , ,

Largest baptism events in US history – May-June 2025

by Geoff 19 May 2025 2 Comments

Largest baptism events in US history
May-June 2025

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Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
MORE REVIVAL REPORTS
North America – Current Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
North America – American Revival Reports – 2023
North America – Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
North America – A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
North America & Europe – Revivals in 2024
Revival Reports – 2025 – https://renewaljournal.com/2025/05/14/revival-reports-2025/

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

Over 7,750 Baptized at Huntington Beach in Largest Single-Day Baptism in US History

More than 7,750 people were baptized in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Huntington Beach, California, in an event organizers say marked the largest single-day baptism in American history. Hosted by Oceans Church and led by Pastor Mark Francey, the event dubbed “Baptise California” drew approximately 30,000 attendees from more than 300 churches across the state. Participants of all ages publicly professed their faith through baptisms, either in the ocean or in portable baptisteries positioned along the beach. You were part of the largest water baptism in American history,” Francey told the crowd. “Who thinks that God could do it in the other states of America?” The mass baptism, now in its second year, exceeded last year’s turnout of 6,000 and is seen by organizers as a spiritual catalyst for an even larger national event planned for next month. Called “Baptize America,” the initiative aims to unite thousands of churches across the United States in what is described as “the largest synchronized baptism in history.”

The next event will be held on June 8 and falls on Pentecost Sunday, a date that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in the Christian tradition. Organizers believe the timing is symbolic and strategic, pointing to revival and national spiritual renewal. “We’re going to flood local churches in every single one of our states, and we’re going to see a mass water baptism across our land,” Francey said. The Baptize America campaign seeks to unite churches from diverse backgrounds around a common theological practice: the public declaration of faith through water baptism. Its website states, “This is not about any single church. It’s about churches across the nation united, pursuing the fulfillment of the Great Commission.” The event also featured worship performances from prominent Christian artists, including Bethel Music, Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes. Among those baptized was a 71-year-old woman named Joanne, who shared with organizers that she had considered baptism for four decades but never followed through.

Organizers hope the June event will signal a growing movement of national repentance and unity in the Church, with the website declaring, “If God can do it in California, He can do it in any state. And if He can do it in America, He can do it in any other nation in the world.” The Baptize America team is recruiting churches across the U.S. to join the June 8 movement. “Join the movement today,” the site urges. “Our nation and the nations of the earth will bear witness that God is not done with America. It will be saved.” In a previous interview with the Christian Post, Francey said he hopes to take Baptise California not only across America but around the world. “I think that when God wants to do something, he kind of creates the right atmosphere and ecosystem for it to happen,” he said. Francey said he got a vision from God to promote baptism to help the local church about two years ago while praying. “I don’t know where God wants us to go. But we’re kind of prepared for whatever He wants us to do,” the pastor said.

“Ultimately, our desire is to make the Day of Pentecost the day that Christendom celebrates water baptism,” he said. “I think it happens organically every once in a while, but the Book of Acts was obviously started with a prayer meeting that led to bold preaching in the public square, then to a public declaration of faith that 3,000 believed, and then were baptized.” Each person baptized at the events hosted by Baptize California will be provided with resources from an online database to help them connect with a local church of their choice, he added. “This isn’t like a parachurch organization that’s going to kind of blow in and blow out, just get a crowd and just trying to get people hyped. Our heart was to unite the local church, to work together, to really reach our world, and then to build a kingdom by connecting all of these people that are making a decision to get connected to the local church,” Francey said. “For us, the win isn’t the count of how many got baptized, really, it’s going to be how that translates into how we are getting people connected to the local church.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Baptize California saw 12,000 baptized in 2 days

https://reachfm.ca/articles/god-lit-a-match-baptize-california-saw-12000-baptized-in-2-days

A crowd that gathered at Huntington Beach for the ‘Baptize California’ event on May 18 and 19, 2024. (Baptize California/Facebook)

A total of 12,000 people were recently baptized over two days in California in what is being called the nation’s largest baptism event to date.

“You can smell another Great Awakening in the air like rain before it hits,” Pastor Mark Francey, founder of the event, shared in an interview with CBN. “God lit a match yesterday! If God can do this in the church in California, it can — and it will — happen in the rest of America!”

The event was called ‘Baptize California’ and was held on May 18 and 19. The biggest service happened at Huntington Beach where 6,000 people were baptized, many in the ocean.

Across the state, a host of other churches also participated and collectively baptized an additional 6,000 people.

Pastor Francey leads Oceans Church in California. Last year he hosted the event ‘Baptize SoCal’ which led to 4,200 people being baptized. The event held in 2023 was at the infamous Pirate’s Cove, the same place many were baptized during The Jesus Movement in the 60s and 70s, portrayed in the recent film The Jesus Revolution.

“My wife, Rachelle, and I could hardly sleep thinking about how God could be so kind to let us be a part of the largest baptism in the history of America,” Francey said. “We are proof that God really can use anybody.”

The event lasted over 5 hours and included an evening concert on the beach.

“We saw hearts healed, lives changed, and many souls committing themselves to Christ, and getting baptized,” says Rachelle, Francey’s wife, on Instagram. “This is a testament to God’s enduring love for California and His unyielding desire to see His people renewed and restored.”

June 8, Pentecost Sunday 2025

26,000 Baptized across U.S. in Historic One-Day Event

Revival swept the nation as thousands declared Jesus as Lord. Pentecost Sunday made history once again.
Michael Foust
 Jun 09, 2025

26,000 Baptized across U.S. in Historic One-Day Event

More than 26,000 individuals across the United States were baptized Sunday in what is believed to be the largest synchronized baptism event in the nation’s history. Dubbed “Baptize America,” the one-day initiative saw 26,657 individuals baptized and 6,445 salvations recorded across 1,080 baptism events hosted by 650 churches in all 50 states, according to preliminary numbers. Organizers on Sunday night said about 10 percent of churches had yet to report.  

The baptisms took place in a wide variety of areas — from small rural churches to outdoor locations like Pirates Cove in Corona del Mar, Calif. In Colorado Springs, Zeal Church held baptisms indoors at Citadel Mall, with hundreds of onlookers. 

It was the brainchild of Oceans Church (Calif.) Pastor Mark Francey, who previously helped organize three other mass baptism events: 2023’s Baptize SoCal, 2024’s Baptize California and another Baptize California event this year. Those gatherings, like this year, saw thousands baptized.

“This wasn’t just about a moment in the water; it was about launching people into a life with Jesus, surrounded by a community that can help them grow,” Francey said Sunday. “We witnessed countless personal transformations and families baptized together; it was a movement of hope.”

Francey announced on Sunday that Baptize America will become an annual event held each year on Pentecost Sunday. 

“This is just the beginning,” Francey said. “We believe Pentecost Sunday will be marked yearly by revival, renewal, and restoration across America.”

 

RELATED STORIES

RENEWAL JOURNAL

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES) 

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
MORE REVIVAL REPORTS
North America – Current Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
North America – American Revival Reports – 2023
North America – Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
North America – A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
North America & Europe – Revivals in 2024
Revival Reports 2025 – https://renewaljournal.com/2025/05/14/revival-reports-2025/

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival

Christian renewal, church growth, Iran, renewal, revival, revivals , , , , ,

Revival Reports, 2025

by Geoff 14 May 2025 5 Comments

Revival Reports, 2025

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Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, Emails:
Revival Reports 2025 – https://renewaljournal.com/2025/05/14/revival-reports-2025/
SEE ALSO:
North America – Current Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
North America – American Revival Reports – 2023
North America – Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
North America – A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
North America & Europe – Revivals in 2024
North America – Revival continues in Kentucky – 2025
North America – Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
North America & Global – Revival Reports 2025
England – 2 million Brits are trying church again – 2025
UK & USA – Revival among Gen Z, 18-25 year old – 2025

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

 

Reports from England & Europe

Something wonderful seems to be stirring…

📷 Snapshot #1: Friday
In Hackney, East London hundreds of young people from three local churches stay up all night to pray and seek God. Al Gordon writes “I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s a remarkable sense of consecrating love setting apart the young, calling them to holiness.”
📷 Snapshot #2: Saturday
In Trafalgar Square thousands gather to hear the gospel. Many healed and saved. Evangelist Daniel Chand sums it up in one word: “Historic”.
📷 Snapshot #3: Sunday
St Aldates, Oxford where George Whitfield gave his life to Christ, is overflowing. So many young people give their lives to Christ they lose count. Steven Foster says: “It broke our systems. From the start of the service it felt like literally anything could happen and probably would. It was mostly Gen Z responding but also prison leavers and people in recovery.”
Jesus tells us to be alert to the signs of the times, but then again we need hope not hype.
And so, after 25 years of 24-7 Prayer, contending non-stop for the tide to turn, refusing to believe for anything less than revival, I am hesitant even to type these words: something seems to be shifting at last. Just when it felt like failure. When in our darkest moment we found ourselves wondering if it had all been a waste of time.
I dare to believe because this last weekend is just the latest iteration of something bigger that seems to be happening. Over Easter
– many churches reported bumper attendances.
– 12000 were baptised in France one of the most secular nations on earth
– 419 were baptised by our friends at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
– 469 gave their lives to Christ at Audacious church in Manchester
– 116 got saved at Soul Church in Norwich
And meanwhile – beyond events, programmes, conferences and successful services – the long-term societal markers also seem to be shifting.
– Public intellectuals from Tom Holland to Jordan Peterson to Ayaan Hirsi Ali are arguing for faith in God.
– Influencers with millions of followers are professing faith – some even getting baptised.
– Columns in the Wall Street Journal and the London Times are reporting a return to religion amongst the young. The Spectator even using the (over-excited) headline ‘Revival’.
– More than 7000 school classrooms have now been turned into prayer rooms thanks to Prayer Spaces in Schools
– 25% of Australians are saying they’d accept an invitation to church and 70% that they talk to the God they’re no longer supposed to believe in!
Now if you’re reading this and thinking ‘it doesn’t feel like that where I live,’ all I can say is this:
Firstly, let’s pray! It doesn’t matter how small the spark, if you pour petrol on it you can start a fire. Pray on your own. Pray with others. Set up a 24-7 Prayer Room.
Secondly, let’s be confident in sharing our faith. There are clear signs of a growing spiritual hunger in the land – people are more open than they were to the Lord. These things always begin in certain hotspots before they spread out.
Thirdly, let’s invest in young people. The turning is most marked among Gen Z. Let’s not miss this moment of opportunity.
(2024 report)
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Revival stirs in the UK

May be an image of 4 people and text that says "CP) UK Churches Experience Surge in New Commitments to Christ Since the Pandemic"
The Christian Post  May 2025
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New research reveals that twice as many people in the UK are committing to follow Christ compared to five years ago. Both large and small churches are seeing spiritual growth, with a notable rise in young people exploring faith. Despite changing attendance patterns, churches are adapting and confidently sharing hope, fueling a quiet revival across the nation.

UK churches see twice as many people commit to following Christ since pandemic: research

By Christian Daily International , 

Churches are seeing twice as many people committing to following Jesus Christ compared to five years ago, according to the latest research report titled “Changing Church” published by the Evangelical Alliance in the United Kingdom.

The findings reinforce related research disclosed recently in “The Quiet Revival” Report by the Bible Society showing an increase in young men becoming Christians.

Danny Webster, director of advocacy for the U.K. Evangelical Alliance, commented in a news update that “more people are approaching churches and exploring the Christian faith — and in this area smaller churches are seeing salvation at a comparable rate to large churches.”

“What I’m seeing as I travel around the country are churches that are adapting well to the landscape, serving their communities wholeheartedly and growing numerically as they confidently share the hope of Jesus with those around them.

“There’s an openness to the Christian faith, especially among young people, which is reflected in our new Changing Church report. The next few years may well be even more dramatic in this time of spiritual openness.”

The data showed that average church attendance has been upsurging by 13% since January 2020, which is still considered an “underestimate of what’s happening across the U.K.” by Webster.

Larger churches have grown at the same time as smaller churches shrunk, he said, meaning that “the overall attendance change across all the churches surveyed was 22%, with larger churches seeing significant growth disproportionately contributing to that number.”

Churches with 47 or fewer members dipped by 15%, but a quarter of churches with more than 165 members grew by 21%.

The Evangelical Alliance had anticipated a decline in weekly church attendance, a trend now confirmed by data showing a drop from 90% in 2020 to 78% in 2025. However, most respondents who no longer attend weekly still participate in church gatherings about three times per month.

“The changes to church life we are witnessing are not evenly distributed, and beyond the findings of this research more is needed to understand how different denominations are faring, how churches in different parts of the country are growing or declining,” wrote Webster.

“What is clear is that in the UK people are coming to know Jesus as His good news is confidently shared. It is an encouragement for us to continue to follow Him, and help others come to know Him.”

See the full report here.

This article was originally published by Christian Daily International. 

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UK: Generation Z sparks Bible boom

UK Bible sales soar by 87% as young people rediscover faith in uncertain times.

In a striking cultural shift, Bible sales in the UK nearly doubled over five years, rising from £2.69 million in 2019 to £5.02 million in 2024. While general non-fiction sales fell, the hunger for God’s Word grew – driven especially by Generation Z.
Surveys reveal that 62% of 18- to 24-year-olds describe themselves as spiritual, compared to only 35% of those over 65. Far fewer Gen Z identify as atheists (13%) than millennials (20%) or Gen X (25%).

Publishers and ministries note that young people are picking up the Bible to find hope, identity, and guidance amid mental health struggles and post-pandemic uncertainty. “The Bible has something important to say to young people,” says Mark Woods of Bible Society.

Modern translations like the Good News Bible: Youth Edition – featuring notes, infographics, and space for reflection – have nearly doubled in sales since 2021. The NIV and Good News Bible now outsell the traditional King James Version.

Source: Bible Society

Joel News, October 16, 2025

UK: Churches lead 420 projects transforming Bristol’s communities

Across Bristol, churches are stepping up with hundreds of projects tackling deep needs – from warm spaces for the lonely to support for children, refugees, and the homeless.

A new report reveals 427 active church-led initiatives across the city, run by 195 churches. These include children’s programs, mental health support, community cafés, and food insecurity relief. Many are part of the Warm Welcome Campaign, offering free entry, warmth, listening ears, and practical help to thousands.
The study, by Good Faith Partnership and Christian Action Bristol, found two-thirds of churches run social action projects, with 75% focusing on children or community hubs. Almost 70% work with local charities to tackle homelessness, addiction, and refugee integration.

Church leaders emphasised that collaboration is key. “Inter-church partnerships are working well, both locally and across the city,” the report notes. “Churches are more than places of worship – they’re vital contributors to a thriving Bristol,” says Alisha Cole of Good Faith Partnership.

The authors highlight a biblical vision: “If the Church is the body of Christ, made to reflect Him, then it has a radical mission to contribute to the flourishing of the places it exists in.”

Source: Good Faith Partnership, Christian Action Bristol

Joel News, October 16, 2025

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IRAN

Two thousand Iranians turning to Jesus every day

By Charles Gardner —
underground church Iran

The Bible Society, which operates around the globe, reports that more than 2,000 Iranians are turning to Jesus every single day! One 92-year-old believer, whenever she’s on a bus, pulls out a small book and asks her neighbor to help her read the tiny font.

In fact, she is secretly getting strangers to read the gospels. Every time she does it, the person sitting next to her ends up taking a New Testament home.

This is brave work in a land where leaving Islam is potentially punishable by death. But the Iranian revival is good news for Israel – and the Jews! For these dear people have been taught by their government and mullahs that Israel is their archenemy.

But now that they have opened their lives to Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, they find they are also growing to love the Jewish people, longing and praying for a restoration of the peace that the two nations once enjoyed.

This is profoundly good news for those who have eyes to see the bigger picture. For the strict Islamic state of Iran, whose rulers want to wipe out the Jewish people just as Hitler did and who are chief sponsors of monstrous terrorist groups like Hamas, is now the focus of a Christian revival where some two million people have discovered that Jesus, the Jew, is the Savior of the world.

As the mosques shut down in great numbers, passionate Christians are filling the vacuum, though of necessity staying ‘underground’ for now, out of sight of the religious police.

The Islamic foundations are crumbling for the chief sponsors of terrorism, a fact graphically prophesied by the psalmist thousands of years ago when he wrote of them: “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more. With one mind they plot together, forming an alliance against you.” (Psalm 83:4f)

Among the enemies named are ‘Ishmaelites’ and people from Philistia (Gaza) and Tyre (Lebanon), with Assyria (covering parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey) joining them. Does this ring any bells?

Yet the psalmist (Asaph) is not vindictive. He calls on the Lord to bring shame on them so that they will know “that you alone are the Most High over all the earth”. And we are hearing that many in the Muslim/Arab world, even in the strictest of regimes, are indeed discovering the truth of Yeshua.

In the UK too, where Jews feel increasingly threatened and pro-Palestinian marchers are allowed to call for Israel’s demise on the streets of our cities, there is a revival of Christianity, which gives us hope.

After conducting a thorough survey, the Bible Society reports a remarkable fourfold increase in young men aged 18-24 attending church over the last six years.

Amid rumors that Donald Trump is about to announce recognition of a Palestinian State (albeit without Hamas), here in the UK we are hearing reports of a recruiting campaign for Islam within the National Health Service. And even Conservative MPs and peers are making previously unheard-of calls for recognition of ‘Palestine’.

A British TV program has just been rightly lauded for exposing a shocking miscarriage of justice against a host of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of theft, false accounting and fraud when in fact it was due to a faulty computer system.

But I also believe the monumental miscarriage of justice of modern times has been the grossly misleading narrative – through media, parliament and elsewhere – of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Restored to their ancient land through internationally recognized treaties, not to mention God’s law – their ultimate title deed – they are constantly subjected to a host of lies and propaganda accusing them of stealing what is their own property.

It’s important that we see the big picture of the unfolding spiritual warfare taking place. When Jesus sent out the 72 disciples to spread the gospel (as recorded in Luke 10:19,21), he told them he had given them authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.

And he was full of joy through the Holy Spirit because God had hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to babes.

It is not the proud and arrogant who will inherit the earth, but the meek and humble. And the latter will also be granted a clear-sighted vision of what is really happening amidst the turmoil of these terrible times which are surely preparing the way for our Lord Yeshua’s return.

As the darkness deepens around the world, especially in the Middle East, the light of Christ is shining ever brighter. It must be tempting for Israelis to feel greatly perplexed.

The psalmist assures us: “Do not fret because of those who are evil… for like the grass they will wither… A little while, and the wicked will be no more… but the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.” (Psalm 37:1f, 10f)

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Afghanistan
Audio and simple acts of courage

In a bustling Afghan marketplace, a rug vendor was handed a small mp3 player filled with Scripture and devotions in his own language. As he listened to the message of Jesus, tears streamed down his face. Having lost friends and family for questioning Islamic teaching, he now found unexpected hope.

That rug vendor wasn’t just a merchant – he was a tribal chief. He immediately requested a player for each family member. A simple act of evangelism became the start of gospel witness to an entire tribe.
This is just one story from a growing underground movement. Over the past two years, more than 3,000 audio Scripture devices have been distributed across Afghanistan through a partnership between FMI and Keys 4 Kids Ministries.

“Afghanistan is a battleground for extremist ideologies,” says FMI leader Nehemiah. “But in the midst of fear and darkness, the gospel cannot be silenced.”

Despite Taliban control and ongoing threats from jihadist groups, Afghans are responding to the Word. Nehemiah calls believers worldwide to pray – for new listeners, for new believers, and even for the militants themselves. “God is moving in powerful ways,” he says. “Even here.”

Source: FMI, Keys 4 Kids Ministries

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America

California May 3, 2025 – 7,750 baptized

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On May 3, more than 7,750 people from all walks of life were baptized in the Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach, California, marking the largest single-day baptism in U.S. history. Hosted by Oceans Church and Pastor Mark Francey, the “Baptize California” event united over 300 churches and drew 30,000 attendees for a powerful day of worship, public faith declarations, and spiritual renewal. This historic moment is just the beginning-organizers are now inviting churches nationwide to join “Baptize America” on June 8, aiming for the largest synchronized baptism ever and a wave of revival across the country. If God can do it in California, He can do it anywhere!
A crowd that gathered at Huntington Beach for the ‘Baptize California’ event on May 18 and 19, 2024. (Baptize California/Facebook)

A total of 12,000 people were recently baptized over two days in California in what is being called the nation’s largest baptism event to date.

“You can smell another Great Awakening in the air like rain before it hits,” Pastor Mark Francey, founder of the event, shared in an interview with CBN. “God lit a match yesterday! If God can do this in the church in California, it can — and it will — happen in the rest of America!”

The event was called ‘Baptize California’ and was held on May 18 and 19. The biggest service happened at Huntington Beach where 6,000 people were baptized, many in the ocean.

 

Across the state, a host of other churches also participated and collectively baptized an additional 6,000 people.

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The Return to Religion is a Turn to Jesus

According to Barna’s latest data, two-thirds of all U.S. adults say, “they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today,” marking a 12-point increase since 2021, a clear indication of “meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States.”

Two significant indicators show how this trend is playing out in the lives of these younger adults, and both are at the heart of exactly how people are seeking answers in religion in general, and Christianity in particular.

Increase in Bible reading

The first is an increase in Bible reading. “For the first time since 2021, we’re seeing an increase in both Bible use and scripture engagement, particularly among younger adults and in men,” says John Plake, the Chief Innovation Officer for American Bible Society. “People are curious about the Bible and Jesus.” As you might expect, this curiosity in Bible reading is leading to a tangible trend: Bible sales. According to data collected by BookScan, sales of Bibles rose 22% last year, a startling statistic considering that most other categories of book sales were flat. And just who is driving this dramatic increase in Bible sales and reading?  Gen Z.

Spiritual longing

The other indicator isn’t as measurable as Bible sales, but it is perhaps even more dramatic. Younger adults are looking for meaning and hope in something that transcends their everyday lives, something Lauren Jackson calls “spiritual longing.”

And just where do people go when confronted with this longing? Jackson says: “I want a god.” This desire for a god follows decades of loneliness, anxiety and growing dissatisfaction amid rising secularization. The rise of the “nones” — those who claim to have no religious affiliation — has made headlines for a long time now, while those who found meaning in religion shrank in numbers and influence. At least it seemed that way, as belief in God was overshadowed by the so-called “New Atheists,” epitomized by Richard Dawkins in his 2008 book, The God Delusion. “America’s secularization,” writes Lauren Jackson in a New York Times op-ed piece, “was an immense social transformation.” By 2021, nearly a third of Americans identified as “nones.” But this shift didn’t lead to more satisfying lives. Quite the opposite. Research shows that those who are less religious “rank lower on key metrics of well-being” than those who have some kind of belief. “They feel less connected to others, less spiritually at peace and they experience less awe and gratitude regularly,” writes Jackson.

Especially among Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — the rates of loneliness and anxiety have skyrocketed. As Jonathan Haidt concludes in The Anxious Generation, social media bears much of the blame for this “epidemic of mental Illness.” Although Haidt is a self-described atheist, he uses spiritual terms to describe both the impact of and the solution for this destructive trend. “The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation,” he writes, “not just in adolescents, but in all of us.” And what does he suggest anxious and lonely people do to reverse this trend and improve well-being? Engage in “certain spiritual practices.” And more people are engaging in spiritual practice — and becoming genuinely curious about Jesus.

Return to Jesus

One of the places people are apparently looking to satisfy this longing is the multi-season television series called The Chosen. In fact, one-third of all people who have viewed at least a portion of an episode are not believers at all. But they are curious about a show that is telling the greatest story about the greatest person in history.

Reports indicate that people who may have left the Christian faith are returning, partly as they’re “re-exploring Christianity” through The Chosen. Others are agnostics or even atheists who are seeking answers and appreciate the way the show portrays Jesus. By portraying Jesus and his chosen followers as real people with human traits we can identify with, The Chosen is introducing the faithful and curious alike to Jesus by simply inviting them into the story of God’s beautiful plan to offer hope to people living in a time when anxiety, loneliness, and despair are everywhere in our world. And this introduction comes at a critical time: A moment when more and more people desire and seek precisely such an invitation. “Nobody becomes a Christian because they lose the argument,” John Plake posted on his social media page. “It’s because they’re invited on the journey.” That’s what this “return to Jesus” is all about. People are curious, people are watching, and people are joining the journey Jesus invites us to take.

Source: CBNNews  (,  May 18, 2025)

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June 8, Pentecost Sunday 2025

26,000 Baptized across U.S. in Historic One-Day Event

Revival swept the nation as thousands declared Jesus as Lord. Pentecost Sunday made history once again.
Michael Foust
 Jun 09, 2025

26,000 Baptized across U.S. in Historic One-Day Event

More than 26,000 individuals across the United States were baptized Sunday in what is believed to be the largest synchronized baptism event in the nation’s history. Dubbed “Baptize America,” the one-day initiative saw 26,657 individuals baptized and 6,445 salvations recorded across 1,080 baptism events hosted by 650 churches in all 50 states, according to preliminary numbers. Organizers on Sunday night said about 10 percent of churches had yet to report.  

The baptisms took place in a wide variety of areas — from small rural churches to outdoor locations like Pirates Cove in Corona del Mar, Calif. In Colorado Springs, Zeal Church held baptisms indoors at Citadel Mall, with hundreds of onlookers. 

It was the brainchild of Oceans Church (Calif.) Pastor Mark Francey, who previously helped organize three other mass baptism events: 2023’s Baptize SoCal, 2024’s Baptize California and another Baptize California event this year. Those gatherings, like this year, saw thousands baptized.

“This wasn’t just about a moment in the water; it was about launching people into a life with Jesus, surrounded by a community that can help them grow,” Francey said Sunday. “We witnessed countless personal transformations and families baptized together; it was a movement of hope.”

Francey announced on Sunday that Baptize America will become an annual event held each year on Pentecost Sunday. 

“This is just the beginning,” Francey said. “We believe Pentecost Sunday will be marked yearly by revival, renewal, and restoration across America.”

 

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45,000 worship in Angel stadium, July 19, 2025

More than 45,000 people packed Angel Stadium, Anaheim, Los Angeles in California, on Saturday night July 19 for the annual Harvest Crusade, an evangelistic event led by pastor Greg Laurie, with another 200,000 tuning in online and over 500 radio stations broadcasting live across the U.S.

The event featured prominent Christian artists Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe Carnes, Chris Tomlin, Brooke Ligertwood, and We The Kingdom. A highlight of the evening came when the crowd joined in singing “The Blessing” with Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, a moment Laurie called “truly a taste of Heaven” in a social media post.

In what organizers described as one of the largest responses in the 35-year history of the Harvest Crusades, more than 6,500 people made professions of faith in Jesus Christ. So many individuals came forward during the invitation to follow Christ that the fire marshal was forced to stop the flow of people onto the stadium field, Laurie shared on X (formerly Twitter).

A packed Angel Stadium crowd worships together during the 2025 Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, where more than 45,000 gathered for music, prayer, and a gospel message from Pastor Greg Laurie.
A packed Angel Stadium crowd worships together during the 2025 Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, where more than 45,000 gathered for music, prayer, and a gospel message from Pastor Greg Laurie. Greg Laurie X account

“We prayed this would be one of the greatest Harvest Crusades in our history—and God did exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think,” Laurie posted, paraphrasing from the Bible. He called the moment when he led the crowd in what is often called “the sinner’s prayer” a “holy moment” as thousands filled the aisles.

 

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September 9, 2025, at Oklahoma

Over 1,000 commit to Jesus
May be an image of 2 people, crowd and text that says "CBN NEWS Revival Hits Again! 9,000 at U of Oklahoma, Plus Ohio State Football Players Reach 1,000+ for Jesus"
CBN News
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Revival has hit again! This time at the University of Oklahoma and at Ohio State:
On Tuesday night September 9, 9,000 students gathered to seek God together at the University of Oklahoma’s basketball arena.
And in an event at Ohio State, members of the national champion football team led their second Fall Kickoff event called “An invitation to Jesus.”

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Wednesday, September 10, Charlie Kirk shot

Jesus defeated death
May be a black-and-white image of 1 person and text that says ""Jesus defeated death so you can live" -Charlie Kirk 1993-2025 The Beloved"
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He posted this on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday, September 6, one of his final public messages before he was tragically shot and killed on September 10. He founded Turning Point USA. They arranged his Memorial Service, Wednesday, September 21 at the packed State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with thousands more in an adjacent stadium.
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May be an image of 1 person and text that says "Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ. -ERIKA KIRK FOXLOCAL LOCAL"
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Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, forgave her husband’s accused killer while speaking at his memorial service. His life and bold faith continue to impact millions.

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September 12-13, 2025  Faith Fest, North Carolina

 

‘Changed for Eternity’: 1,000+ Choose Christ at Massive FaithFest 2025 Gathering

Tens of thousands of people gathered recently under a 110-foot cross to seek Jesus Christ at FaithFest in Wilkesboro, NC.  Official numbers have not been released, but reports indicate more than 1,000 attendees made decisions to give their lives to Christ, and approximately 100 were baptized on the spot.

FaithFest reported on Saturday night, September 13, “Closing in on 100 baptisms and more to go! Praise Jesus!”

Organizers stated, “We are still speechless after FaithFest 2025. For the first time ever, we completely sold out – but even greater than that, we saw eternal impact. Salvations. Rededications. Baptisms. Restoration. Revival. The Lord’s Spirit swept through this venue in a way we will never forget. Praise Jesus!”

Pastor Greg Laurie preached at the two-day, weekend event, sharing how God had saved his life when he was a young man, confused and searching for truth.

“Franklin Graham called and asked me to speak at FaithFest in North Carolina. He spoke at it last year and loved it – so I said yes. And what a blessing it was!” Laurie stated Facebook.

“There must have been over 50,000 people over the two nights I had the privilege of speaking. At least 1,000 made commitments to follow Christ—though it’s hard to count precisely, because we weren’t able to have them come forward. Instead, they stood where they were, and we brought New Believers’ Bibles to them—over 1,000 given out! A big thank you to Craig Church for the invitation. And yes… I enjoyed more than my fair share of fried chicken and Southern specialties while I was there!”

 

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September 2025,  Revival stirs in Tennessee

Revival now, not just in history.
May be an image of 1 person and text that says "CBN NEWS 'Blown Away': Hundreds Saved and Baptized as 8,000 Students Seek Jesus at University of Tennessee"
CBN News
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More than 8,000 college students gathered together to seek God and worship Jesus on Tuesday night at the University of Tennessee for the UniteUS campus event, the ministry reports.
UniteUS is an evangelistic outreach geared toward GenZers that has been presenting the Gospel on multiple college campuses. Their latest stop was the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The ministry reports that approximately 500 students responded to the salvation message, and many were baptized right outside of the arena.

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September 2025,  Students and youth in Florida

University of South Florida, in Tampa.
Evangelism & revival spread.
May be an image of 1 person, crowd and text that says "7000 Students Worship together, 1000 Received Jesus, 300 Baptized: 'God Is Raising Up An '"
More student commitments
May be an image of 2 people and text that says "CBN NEWS UniteUs in Tampa Sees Former Satan Worshipper Baptized, 1,000+ Choose Christ as Lord"

Follow Jesus

CBN News

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The Spirit of God is moving once again in the hearts of thousands of college students, this time at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Nearly 7,000 young people filled the Yuengling Center to worship Jesus on Thursday night, while hundreds publicly declared their faith at the UniteUS campus event, according to the ministry.
Leaders reported to CBN News that the event saw over 1,000 decisions for Christ and more than 300 water baptisms.
“WHAT A NIGHT TAMPA! There is a move of God happening in Gen Z and we got to witness just a glimpse of it tonight. Thank you, Jesus.” Unite US wrote on Instagram.
“This generation won’t be silenced! Revival at the Yuengling Center on the campus of the University of South Florida….God is raising up an army!” Pastor Travis Johnson said.

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September 21, Sunday in one church in Texas.

“Never seen that before.”  God’s Spirit impacting them.
May be an image of ‎1 person and ‎text that says "‎NEW @BN ש 682 BAPTISMS DEAD. BURIED. RAISED. 'Caught in a Hurricane of Grace': Nearly 700 Baptized at Texas Church During Sunday Service‎"‎‎
CBN News
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A Texas church is celebrating how “God is changing lives in miraculous ways,” after nearly 700 people were baptized and hundreds more responded to the Gospel message during a powerful Sunday service.
Josh Howerton, senior pastor at Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, Texas, recently reflected on what took place during a September 21 service where hundreds of people showed up to hear the Word of God.
“Never seen anything like today. Stairs filled with people with Bibles on their laps bc seats were full,” he wrote on Facebook. “Almost SEVEN HUNDRED PEOPLE baptized this weekend at Lakepointe. Hundreds responding on the spot. The tide is turning.”

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October 2025  Bring your Bible to School Day

Bring your Bible to School Day, USA, involved more than 50,000 schools, with participation planned in all 50 states. The 2025 event was held on Thursday, October 2.
Millions were involved.
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USA: Generation Z’s quiet turn to Jesus

“I want a god.” This striking confession from a Gen Z young adult sums up a surprising trend in the West today. After decades of growing secularism, the tide is turning – especially among the young.

New Barna data reveals two-thirds of US adults now say their commitment to Jesus remains important, marking a 12-point rise since 2021. Bible sales are also soaring – up 22% last year – driven largely by Gen Z’s curiosity about faith.
Why the shift? After years marked by loneliness, anxiety and an empty digital life, many are searching for meaning that transcends their screens. “The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation,” writes atheist Jonathan Haidt. His solution? Engage in spiritual practices.

This spiritual longing is drawing many to Scripture and to Jesus himself. The popular series The Chosen plays a key role, with a third of viewers identifying as non-believers or agnostics. By portraying Jesus and his disciples as relatable humans with divine purpose, the show invites seekers into God’s story.

John Plake from the American Bible Society puts it plainly: “Nobody becomes a Christian because they lose the argument. It’s because they’re invited on the journey.”

Source: Barna Group

Joel News, October 16, 2025
SEE ALSO

North America – Current Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
North America – American Revival Reports – 2023
North America – Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
North America – A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
North America – Revivals in 2024
North America – Revival continues in Kentucky – 2025
North America – Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
North America & Global – Revival Reports 2025
England – 2 million Brits are trying church again – 2025

RENEWAL JOURNAL

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS(BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION(INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES(SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES) 

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 

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Revival Reports 2025 – https://renewaljournal.com/2025/05/14/revival-reports-2025/
SEE ALSO:
North America – Current Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
North America – American Revival Reports – 2023
North America – Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
North America – A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
North America & Europe – Revivals in 2024

North America – Revival continues in Kentucky – 2025
North America – Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
UK & USA – Revival among Gen Z, 18-25 year old – 2025
North America & Global – Revival Reports 2025

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival

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2023: A year of revival on college campuses

by Geoff 16 December 2023 3 Comments

2023: A year of revival on college campuses

Joel News International,
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2023: A year of revival on college campuses

By Talia Wise —

Texas baptism (CBN)

This year we witnessed a powerful move of the Holy Spirit across college campuses, beaches, prisons, and churches – so much so that 2023 could be dubbed a “Year of Revival.” It could even point to the beginning of what many have called a spiritual awakening in America.

Faith leaders have testified that “revival is happening” in pockets across the U.S. spanning different age groups, denominations, and backgrounds.

‘The Asbury Awakening’

Many would say that the biggest “firestarter” of them all was a simple worship service at Asbury University in Kentucky where 100 people fell to their knees and bowed at the altar in Hughes Auditorium, just to worship God.

“On Wednesday, February 8, a very small but very faithful group of Asbury students listened to the nudging of the Holy Spirit and stayed in Chapel a little longer, and then a little longer, and then way longer,” shared a student speaker. “And we had no idea that the world was about to know God better.”

That small act eventually inspired thousands to flock to the college campus where they sought God’s presence for more than two weeks, leading to repentance, healing, and salvation.

“Peers, professors, local church leaders, and seminary students surround me—all of them praying, worshipping, and praising God together. Voices are ringing out. People are bowing at the altar, arms stretched wide,” wrote Alexandra Presta, the editor of the student-run website The Asbury Collegian. “A pair of friends cling to each other in a hug, one with tears in her eyes. A diverse group of individuals crowd the piano and flawlessly switch from song to song. Some even sit like me, with laptops open. No one wants to leave.”

What took place garnered national attention and began to spring up across other campuses.

“THE FIRE IS SPREADING. Reports say students from more than 21 colleges have now arrived at Asbury University in Kentucky for revival services. Just imagine what will happen if this spreads nationwide,” wrote missionary Lee Grady in February.

Lee University: ‘Awakening the Deep Wells of Revival’

Lee University, a private Christian college in Cleveland, Tennessee is 250 miles away from Asbury University, but students from this small school felt compelled to take part in what was taking place and it began a movement of revival on their campus.

Lee University Campus Pastor Rob Fultz noted on X, “What’s happening at Asbury is not and will not remain confined. 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.”

Fultz reported the revival had reached the Lee campus, writing: “A mighty move of God started this morning at Lee and it has been building throughout the day. We are approaching the 10th hour, nothing but voices in prayer, worship, and repentance.”

He also included a video taken of the worship in the campus’s Stone Chapel. Students were coming to the chapel, crying out to God, praying, and repenting.

The revival continued to spread to schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

“I think there’s a move of God that’s happening; there’s a revival that’s happening, and I wanted to be in the Presence of God,” Regent University student Shameka White told CBN News. “I wanted to just be among believers. And we need it in the climate of the world today.”

Cedarville University

Cedarville University President Thomas White shared five short video clips of the revival at his school – just 10 days after the start of the Asbury revival.

“Tonight a large number of students gathered again to pray, read Scripture, testimonies, and to worship Jesus for about two hours! We had 2 more students saved tonight. Tomorrow night we are sending our students out to other Universities to share the Gospel,” he wrote. “Keep praying for wisdom and a genuine movement of the Lord! The last video is from students who stayed around to keep worshipping. They were still there when I left about 11 pm!”

In an email to the Cedarville faculty and staff, White wrote, “We are so thankful for how God is working on our campus in recent days.”

Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Some of the evidence that God was moving on college campuses did not involve massive worship services in an auditorium, but rather, outdoor prayer gatherings and spontaneous baptisms wherever there was water.

In February, Michael Fehlauer, the lead pastor of the New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, posted videos to social media that showed baptisms being performed in a public fountain at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Auburn University

An impromptu baptism at Auburn University in Alabama started with one student wanting to be baptized but grew to roughly 200 people who decided to give their lives to Christ.

In September, Hundreds of students made a public declaration of their new life in Christ by dipping in a lake near Red Barn as spectators watched in awe.

“I’ve seen Auburn basketball beat Kentucky. I’ve seen Auburn football beat Alabama, but I have never seen something like I did Tuesday night,” Auburn University senior Michael Floyd told WFSA12 News.

More than 5,000 people showed up to Unite Auburn’s “Night of Worship”. The campus ministry’s outreach was created to bring the Alabama school’s Christian community together for a night of worship. It featured guest speakers New York Times Best-Selling Author Jennie Allen and Pastor Jonathan Pokluda, and worship was led by Passion Music.

“It was such a move of God,” Allen told CBN News. “There is something very special happening right now. I believe in their hearts I think they are, they are hungry for God and, and they want God in a very real way, this is not manufactured.”

A Move of God at HBCUs

One organization reported in March that God was also moving powerfully among the country’s historically black colleges and universities, also known as HBCUs.

The Black Voices Movement, a ministry of Circuit Riders, is on a mission to reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus Christ by empowering young black men and women across America to be evangelists and preachers of the gospel.

It is an important work because statistics show only 1% of American missionaries are black.

Yasmin Pierce, the director of the Black Voices Movement, told CBN News they had tours to 20-30 HBCU campuses this year and have seen many salvations.

“We are all about the gospel. We’re evangelists. We love Jesus. We’re so grateful for the cross,” Pierce explained.

‘Radically Transformed’ College Students

Healings on college campuses were also reported this year. One report from Texas A&M in College Station revealed that an A&M student who couldn’t previously walk unaided, walked 20 steps after Aggies students prayed over him. One young man shared what he saw in a video posted to Facebook.

Tarik Whitmore, the young adult pastor at New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, told CBN News he is seeing a movement among college students who are getting saved and then boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ with the student body.

The result is campuses are being transformed for Jesus – and it is happening quickly.

“We are seeing these people repent from compromise and make a decision to make a public declaration of, ‘No, I want to give my whole life to Jesus starting today.’ And then we see them radically transformed before our eyes where their lifestyle is radically different [and they have] boldness to preach the Gospel to their friends like never before,” said Whitmore.

Kentucky

This spiritual awakening was not just limited to college campuses but spread throughout towns in America.

As CBN News reported, in a small community in southeastern Kentucky, hundreds of people were changed by a move of God’s Spirit.

Pastor Scott Phipps told CBN News that for 77 nights God moved “in a mighty way” as people were delivered, healed, and set free from addiction.

“People are really pouring their hearts out to the Lord and the altars are full,” Phipps said in January. “There’s no room at the altars and people are just pouring in.”

Nearly 300 people showed up to North Main Community Church in Barbourville, Kentucky to have an encounter with God.

“Addicts have been delivered every night. And one thing about the people coming is that most of them do not have any background in any Christianity whatsoever,” Phipps added. “The Lord says those who have been forgiven much, loveth much, and many of these people were at death’s door.”

He shared that the light of Jesus Christ is shining brightly in a dark season.

Phipps explained, “As far as the world is concerned it looks like it’s not going to get better, but at the same time the Bible says we would shine as light in the midst of a dark world in a crooked and perverse generation and nation. It is a great time for [revival].”

Louisiana

In Hammond, Louisiana, a four-day church worship service turned into an eight-month-long revival at an old Baptist church.

Old Zion Baptist Church held its first service on Oct.16, 2022 by June 2023 thousands had decided to put their faith in Jesus. People from 17 states and two countries traveled to the church to see what God was doing.

“The Awakening in Louisiana has truly been life-changing. When God sent me there on October 17, I never would have dreamed we would still be there! It has been the most supernatural event I’ve ever seen,” Evangelist David R. Harrison of Voice of Hope Ministries told CBN News in June.

“Thousands of decisions have been made for Christ! Salvations, restorations deliverance, and healings,” Harrison reported.

“Has there been many battles along the way? Yes! But, it truly has been worth it all just to see the thousands of lives who have been changed! I’m so thankful and humbled that God would allow me and my family to experience such an amazing move of the Holy Spirit. To God be the glory, great things HE hath done,” he added.

Massive Beach Baptisms

One beach in California, once the site of spiritual outpouring among young people during the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, became a historic location where thousands gathered to be baptized.

Inspired by the movie “Jesus Revolution”, thousands of people came from all across America and the world to take part in the “Jesus Revolution Baptism” in July at the now-famous Pirates Cove in Newport Beach, California.

Harvest Christian Fellowship Sr. Pastor Greg Laurie held the massive baptism event where 32,500 people gathered and 6,794 made decisions to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.

Laurie, whose salvation story is featured in the “Jesus Revolution” film and who was also baptized at this location 50 years ago, couldn’t believe the size of the crowd.

“We have around 4,000 people signed up to be baptized today, can you believe that!” Pastor Laurie exclaimed. But then the number grew even larger.

Just a week earlier, more than 4,000 people were baptized on that same beach on Pentecost Sunday to celebrate not only the gift of eternal life but to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Jesus Movement.

Oceans Church organized Baptize SoCal – an event advertised as “the biggest water baptism in history.”

More than 280 churches and 8,000 attendees watched as 4,166 people flocked to the shore of Pirates Cove to declare their new life in Christ.

“What an amazing and historic day,” said musician and pastor at West Coast Life Church, Ray Gene Wilson. “Thousands baptized at Pirates Cove, God is moving in California!”

“A moment I’ll never forget,” one attendee commented on Instagram.

God Behind Bars

God Behind Bars, a national prison ministry, has baptized 599 prison inmates and seen 126,000 salvations this year.

The organization strategically works to reach the more than 2.3 million people in the prison system and bring the hope found in the Gospel.

The ministry’s goal to win souls for the Kingdom of God is exploding into an outreach that is providing hope to thousands in a dark place.

“In prison, it’s very easy to be a bitter, cold person,” one inmate recently shared. “But because of my relationship with Jesus Christ and because of who I’ve become while being in prison, I’ve learned (to be) a joyful person. Having a life sentence plus 30 (years), and people not understanding where this joy is coming from or not understanding how you can maintain a smile while going through adverse moments…and I know that it only came from God.”

Over the years, worship leaders like Brandon Lake, Naomi Raine, and Kirk Franklin as well as speakers like Sadie Robertson and Russell Wilson have prayed and sung alongside inmates. It could be described as a glimpse into a small facet of what we will likely see in Heaven – people from all walks of life worshipping Jesus Christ.

The ministry once shared that what is happening in the prisons is a “new thing” and it is evident in the joy that is felt and the lives that are changed.

“God is bringing revival to prisons! Jesus is doing a NEW THING,” they wrote.

Spontaneous Baptisms at Churches

Many churches across the country have experienced record-breaking water baptisms – some spontaneous.

More than 2,000 baptisms took place across Life.Church’s 40-plus campuses in August.

The Oklahoma megachurch celebrated as people took that step of faith at a large facility pool used by the church, while others got baptized at satellite campuses. Some even got baptized in their bathtubs,  previously recorded video showed.

“We’re not praying for revival. We’re in the middle of one. I thank God for what he’s doing,” Life.Church founder and pastor Craig Groeschel said. “God is doing a big thing.”

In Houston, Texas, 755 publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ at Champion Forest.

Nearly 300 people were baptized one Sunday morning at The Biltmore Church in Arden, North Carolina. And in one service at Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, TN, 136 people were spontaneously baptized.

But the numbers represent far more than mere statistics, it is a representation of lives transformed and citizenship established in Heaven.

“This is something to celebrate, people being raised from death to life,” remarked one Long Hollow leader. “And how good is it that we don’t have to earn the victory? We don’t have to earn salvation. We get to rest in the victory Christ already won on our behalf.”

Gen Z

As revival and mass baptisms have hit every generation this year, in many ways Gen Z has been leading the way. This year served as a spotlight on the increasing hunger among young people for God.

A recent Pew Research study claims that Gen Z is losing their religion, but in reality, there is a spiritual awakening that is happening among that generation.

Thousands are hearing the gospel message, making professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and answering the call to ministry.

 

 

“This I believe is for Generation Z, for this generation coming up now,” shared Dr. Corne Bekker, dean and professor of the Regent University School of Divinity. “This is their moment where God is getting a hold of their hearts.”

“Their eyes are opening, and they are surrendering their lives to Christ,” he continued.

The move of God is not just happening in the U.S.  Bekker references revivals overseas and believes that what’s taking place on a global scale is the beginning of the next Great Awakening.

“From my perspective, I believe it is here,” Bekker said. “The time is now; the kingdom of God is here. What should be our response? Repent and believe in the Good News.”

Bekker believes this could be the last great move of God to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ. — CBN

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Revival continues worldwide – Africa and Brazil

by Geoff 5 October 2023 No Comments

Revival continues worldwide – Africa and Brazil

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Revival continues worldwide – Africa and Brazil

Guinea Bissau: Revival unfolding in majority Muslim country

A move of God of ‘biblical proportions’ is taking place in Guinea Bissau, reports missionary David Hoffman.

Guinea Bissau is a northwest African country with a population of two million people. Somewhere near 70% of the population is Muslim and 11.7% of the country identifies as Christian. Right now, Islam is making a strong push for religious and cultural dominance, but at the same time, God is moving powerfully.
Recently World Harvest, a ministry led by evangelist Jacob Ebersole, held several outreaches across Guinea Bissau. The Muslim president of the country intervened personally to help get the stage into the country. He also attended the first night of the Gospel crusade.

Guinea Bissau falls within the 10/40 Window which is a geographical area of countries that are the most unreached with the Gospel. With the current ‘Islamic evangelisation’ push into Guinea Bissau, Christians are beginning to rise up in boldness to proclaim the Gospel like never before while they still have the opportunity and freedom to do so.

One example of this occurred after a prayer meeting on the crusade field when thousands of teenagers spontaneously began to take to the streets in the capital city of Bissau. They proclaimed the Gospel and sang worship songs from one end of the city to the other.
The first night of the crusade was a massive success. “Thousands came far and wide to hear the Gospel. Some even traveled in canoes and boats on rough waters from islands off the coast to be a part of this. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Ebersole said. “We’ve had the privilege of being on the front row witnessing a move of God that seemed impossible at every turn. Night after night, tens of thousands cried out to Jesus in repentance and faith. There were over 18,477 documented decisions for Christ.”

Ebersole said he’s not interested to lead people into emotional decisions, and took steps to make sure the numbers reported are accurate and not over-inflated. As the Gospel campaign across the nation continued, hundreds of young people spontaneously traveled to the next town to help with the next crusade.
One influential businessman said that no one would come to a Gospel crusade because the city is almost 100% Muslim, plus it was during Ramadan. After the crusade, he was shocked seeing that many Muslims cried out to Jesus. What he thought would be the ‘Lions Den’ turned into a great victory.

Sources: Jacob Ebersole, David Hoffman

Brazil: Young people are hungry for a deeper faith

According to a recent Barna report, nearly 75 percent of Brazilian teenagers say they want to learn more about Christ.

At just 14 years old, Lavínia Fernandes competes with the other young people in her church, located in Recife, Pernambuco, northeast Brazil, to see who can bring the most friends from school to the Saturday services. There are now more than 10 people from her class at school who started attending church through her. “My friends comment that I became kinder and happier after I became a Christian and that they can see God in my life,” said the teenager.

Like Fernandes, millions of other Christian teenagers throughout Brazil and other Latin American countries are experiencing something special in their journeys of faith. Recent research by the Barna Group reveals that Latin America is home to a “connected, digitally enabled generation” that is committed to their faith, engaged with the Bible, and hungry to learn more about Jesus.
The number of evangelical churches in Brazil has jumped from 17,033 in 1990 to 109,560 in 2019, an increase of 543 percent, according to the latest data available. In 2019 alone, an average of 17 new evangelical churches opened per day in Brazil, according to researcher Victor Augusto Araújo Silva, at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Long a country dominated by Catholicism, the arrival of Baptists, Lutherans, and Calvinists to Brazil at the end of the 19th century helped usher in the arrival of the evangelical movement. In the 20th century, missionaries from the US brought the Pentecostal movement, predominantly to the north and southeast parts of the country. By the 2030s, evangelicals may outnumber Catholics, projects demographer José Eustáquio Diniz Alves.

For Nathan Zortéa, a youth pastor at the CCvideira church in Fortaleza, Ceará, a congregation in the northeastern part of the country, Brazilian teenagers reap the fruits of evangelical churches whose reach crossed socioeconomic and racial lines. “The social inequality that exists in Brazil ends up showing our teenagers that the gospel is good news of justice and righteousness, of a God who is for you and not against you. Our churches have played a fundamental role in presenting these teenagers with a gospel that invites them to live something new,” said the leader of the A13, a youth ministry that currently has an average weekly attendance of more than a thousand teenagers.
Teens in Latin America are highly motivated by a sense of social justice. The more the teenagers are engaged with the Bible, the more they feel motivated to seek justice. For pastor Lucas Nagib, from Lagoinha Baptist Church in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, one factor that has led young Brazilians to stand out in relation to those from other countries is these teenagers’ high commitment to expose their faith with their peers and friends through social media.

Sources: Lavínia Fernandes, Nathan Zortéa, José Eustáquio Diniz Alves, Lucas Nagib, Barna Group

Joel News International # 1318,  October 5, 2023  view on the web

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Revival continues worldwide – Africa and Brazil

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Australian Aboriginal Revival from 1979

by Geoff 28 July 2023 No Comments

1979 Elcho Island Revival (Australia)

From Beautiful Feet

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Australian Aboriginal Revival from 1979

See Pentecost in Arnhem Land, Australia, by Djiniyini Gondarra

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival:
www.renewaljournal.com

Introduction
This revival occurred mainly among the Aboriginal people living in the north and west areas of Australia. The revival continued into the 1990s and beyond as Aboriginal teams would travel from place to place throughout the nation conducting meetings.

Pastor Djiniyini Gondarra
of Galiwini’ku Church

Challenges Among the Aboriginals
The Galiwin’ku church on Elcho Island in 1979 was experiencing many challenges.
► There was persecution.
► Many people left the church and were speaking against it, wanting to shut it down.
► The government was bringing money and other things into the community, causing material possessions to capture the people’s attention (cars, televisions, boats, nicer homes, etc.).
► Alcohol was a major problem, leading to many fights, domestic violence, and deaths.
► Vandalism was common.
► Polygamy was part of the culture.
► Young people were sniffing fuel and drinking a mixture of acetone and methylated spirits.
► Entire communities were in confusion and had no direction.
► Satan had his hand on everything.

In the 1960s there were some very powerful revivals that had caught the attention of the world. These included:
► 1960 Charismatic Movement
► 1965 Timor Revival (occurring in a relatively short distance to the northwest of Australia)
► 1967 Catholic Charismatic Renewal
► 1967 Jesus Movement

With this news, missionaries on Elcho Island and beyond began to experience this reviving influence, and the experiences transferred to Aboriginal people in the Galiwin’ku church.
► Miracles began to occur in the local clinic as the workers prayed for healing.
► Demonic powers were broken as the people came into contact with teachings from Derek Prince and others like him.

Beginning in the Uniting Church (denomination), the revival spread throughout Australia among the Aboriginal peoples. With its Pentecostal features, it caused much concern among the conservative missionaries that were associated with the Uniting Church.


Northern part of Australia

Planning of Special Meetings
To help the Galiwin’ku church take steps forward, after August of 1978 the leaders of the church asked the Pentecostal evangelist Dan Armstrong, of Sydney, Australia, to come and conduct a series of meetings, which were to be held in May the following year.

Extraordinary Prayer
Two Decades of Revival Praying: A small Aboriginal community of about 30 adults with their children, living in the far northern end of Elcho Island, for 20 years had been praying daily for revival in Australia and the world. They met for prayer every morning, during the day, and again each evening.

Prayer in Preparation for the Dan Armstrong Meetings: About six months prior to the meetings that Dan Armstrong was scheduled to hold at the Galiwin’ku church in 1979, prayer groups of 4 people or less were set up throughout the community in preparation for the meetings. Some of them met 3 times per week, some of them met every day at lunch, as well as after church services on Sundays.


Prayer Meeting

Immediate Changes Were Witnessed
The enhanced time commitment to prayer was immediately responded to by the Lord, as He placed in His people a hunger for the Word of God.

The desire to fellowship also grew, so much so, that the church could no longer contain the people, so they began to meet on the basketball court.

A “spirit of love” began to flow between the members of the church.


Services had to be held outside the church building

Offensively Confronting Demonic Powers
Demonic powers recognized what was occurring and they began immediately attacking the leaders with various types of sicknesses. As concentrated prayers were made, praying in homes where demonic manifestations were occurring, the powers of Satan were broken, and things really began to change.

Dream
On March 13, 1979, an aboriginal man named Wirriyi, had a dream of a fire on Elcho Island. In the dream he saw a fire coming down from the northern end of the island and traveling along its length, burning up everything on the island.

He saw the fire coming towards himself and he wanted to run away and jump into the ocean to escape the flames, but he heard a voice speaking to him from out of the fire:

That fire is the life of Yolngu [Aborigines]. That is for the end, for the future. If the Yolngu live like that fire – if your life is like the fire, burnt up – then, after it grows new life, it will be really good.

In the dream the fire burned the entire body of Wirriyi so completely that he became nothing but ashes. After the fire passed, the ashes of everything that was burned turned into new plants that were fully grown with fruit on them. At one moment Wirriyi was burned up, and then the next he was fully alive. The fire was the word of God.

The Revival Starts
Following that dream, the very next day, March 14, 1979, which many say was the start of the Elcho Island Revival, the fire in Wirriyi’s dream was ignited.

Pastor Djiniyini Gondarra, of the Elcho Church in the town of Galiwin’ku, had been on vacation for 4 weeks, and when he came back, having had a long day traveling, with three connecting flights, he was ready for rest.

Upon his arrival at the airstrip there was a large welcoming party that wanted to greet him. Because God had been doing so many things while he had been away, they wanted to tell him about them with a meeting at his home that night.

After the evening dinner, they held hands and began to pray.

Suddenly, we began to feel God’s Spirit moving in our hearts and the whole form of prayer life suddenly changed and everybody began to pray in the Spirit and in harmony.

One elder said:

That was the first time I felt like I was floating.

Some of the people said that God was visiting them to establish His kingdom on earth, breaking free those who had been for so long in bondage to Satan.

On that same evening the word of what God was doing spread like flames of fire and reached the whole community. Djiniyini explained what happened beginning on the next morning:

The love of Jesus was being shared and many expressions of forgiveness were taking place in the families and in the tribes. Wherever I went I could hear people singing and humming Christian choruses and hymns! Before then I would have expected to hear only fighting and swearing and many other troublesome things that would hurt your feelings and make you feel sad.


Open-air meeting

Singing on the Beach
Toward the end of March 1979, Djiniyini assembled the choir on the beach to practice for the Sunday service. With 15 people present, it turned into a very powerful time of worship which they had never experienced before, and it continued from 7 p.m. till midnight.

From that night on, this worship on the beach was held every night, and the numbers grew so rapidly, that by the end of April there were 150 to 200 people meeting every night of the week for 4-5 hours.

As people would pray for lost family members or others, the people prayed for would frequently turn to Christ within a few days.

Visions
Many had visions during this time.
► Some saw fireballs coming down from the sky.
► Some saw the church on fire.
► Some saw flames of fire resting on the heads of the people (Acts 2:3).


Dan Armstrong, Gelung & Djiniyini Gondarra

The Crow and the Dove
It was around April 1979, that the pastor of the Galiwin’ku church (Djiniyini) had his Bible attacked by a crow, tearing it to pieces. This was very meaningful for them, because the crow was associated with the totem for their clan. That night and the following day, Djiniyini and his wife, Gelung, were very disturbed. It led to prayer with a group of others, cleansing their home and property of all unclean spirits.

During the following days the crow would come to their home and would peck on their door. When they would open the door, the crow would fly away, and as it flew away another bird came, a white dove, chasing it and fighting with it as they were flying away together.

Dan Armstrong

Dan & Sue Armstrong Meetings
On Saturday evening, May 1, 1979, the small aircraft carrying Dan Armstrong and his team landed at the Galiwin’ku airstrip, where they were greeted by a group of young men running alongside the plane as it taxied to a stop. There was tremendous anticipation among the people, as they had been praying for this event for 6 months.

The night of their arrival was to be a time for the main leaders and those involved in the preparation for the meetings to meet and become acquainted with the Armstrong team. A feast was planned to be held on the beach for this fellowship time.

As they were sitting on the beach singing songs, people began coming out of the dark, and one by one they came close to the group, kneeling and weeping. Hands were laid on these people, and following prayer, many were slain in the Holy Spirit. For several hours this praising and prayer continued.

Following the first night, word spread throughout Elcho Island and hundreds began coming to the meetings. Never having been exposed to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they were amazed when the manifestations of the Spirit of God began to occur.
► Conviction of sin was very pronounced, as one of the most sin-hardened men in the community came forward, kneeled, and cried like a baby. This man was born again and became a health worker.
► Repentance of some of the most prideful and hardened people
► Deliverance from demonization
► Speaking in tongues
► Joy of the Lord: with laughter and giggling
► Prostrations (slain in the Spirit)
► Crying
► Overwhelming peace
► Healings


Open-air meeting

The News Spread
As word of what God was doing spread, and reached neighboring islands and towns, people began coming from those distant locations, and the numbers grew every night.

Daily Bible Studies
Not willing to leave the people to experience emotions without grounding them in the Word of God, they had Bible studies every day to ensure the revival had biblical roots. As the days went on, these daily Bible studies also grew in the number of attendees.


Baptisms

Ministry of Deliverance
As historic revivals are read and studied, it is often found that they were preceded by offensive attacks against the powers of darkness—specifically using the ministry of deliverance.  Many of these revival accounts have been rewritten, intentionally omitting those occurrences. But if one looks deeply enough, it will be found that demonic manifestations were often seen and dealt with, prior to or during the revival itself. And this wasn’t only in jungles or among the “heathen”; it also occurred in revivals taking place in Europe and North America in the 1990s and later.

The ministry of deliverance was utilized during this revival as well, and it was what turned the page and opened the door for the power of God to flow.

Discerning of Spirits
The Holy Spirit identified several strong spirits affecting the area and He directed the people to renounce those spirits as they prayed. The main spirits were pride and unbelief. After those spirits were renounced, there was a tangible change in the atmosphere.
► The gift of discernment became profound, enabling believers to recognize what spirit was at work. When these spirits were called out and commanded to leave, there were immediate changes that were recognized in the people of the community.
► The aboriginal ancestral belief in god was shown in reality to be an antichrist spirit. When that spirit was exposed and rebuked, the fire of the Gospel spread even more intensely.

Demonization
During the Dan Armstrong meetings, the manifestations of demonic powers were pronounced:
► As people were set free from demonization, the shackles holding back revival were no longer in place.
► Demonic manifestations came whenever the services started.
► Dogs throughout the town would begin howling and fighting. The dogs would even come into the center of the open-air meeting area and begin fighting among themselves.
► Demons would begin to manifest through people (like in the Bible).
► Those with serious mental illnesses became much worse and would throw stones at the people during services, giving evidence that the mental illnesses were misdiagnosed, and these were really cases of demonization.

Meeting at the Ceremonial Grounds
The church scheduled a special meeting with Dan Armstrong to be conducted at the ceremonial grounds, where demonic activity was known to be very strong.

Before they got there, the entire team began to experience severe stomach cramps. Even though they were feeling sick, they went anyways, walking into that area singing the song, “In the Name of Jesus.”

Many strange manifestations began occurring with those who were demonized at this time (plus the howling, barking, and fighting of the dogs). But the Holy Spirit came and cleansed the area. Following this, many lukewarm Christians were revived, and many others came to Christ.

Some of the locations where the revival spread

Vision During Men’s Gathering
There was a special prayer gathering of about 50 men, and during their time together, a passage from the Bible was read—1 Corinthians 1:26-29. Following that, the men began to cheer, shout, leap, and run around, saying:

God choose us!

Some heard angels singing.

A unifying feature of the Holy Spirit manifested itself, as the men began singing in tongues, uniting them all together as one.

An older man then shared a vision:

I saw all of us have a stick in our hand. We put the stick in the fire and the end of the stick was ignited. We all then began running, and wherever we ran, we were able to start fires.

Following the Dan Armstrong meetings, these men formed teams, and wherever these teams went, the revival fires would spread to all of those locations.

Though this church numbered about 200, filled with relatively poor people, they paid their own ways and travelled by boat, plane, or bus, to the entire region, and throughout Australia, spreading the revival’s fire.


Open-air meeting

The Revival Continued
By the end of 1979 the Elcho Islanders received numerous invitations from many parts of Australia to come and conduct or participate in meetings. Beginning in mid-1979, those ministry trips began, and they continued into the 1990s and beyond, igniting revival fires wherever they went. That ongoing story can be read in John Blacket’s book: Fire in the Outback.

Results of the Revival
► During the 6 weeks prior to Dan Armstrong’s arrival at Elcho Island, 200 adults had committed their lives to Christ.
► During the Armstrong meetings, another 200 made that commitment.
► During a short period of time after Armstrong left, another 50 converted to Christ.
► It wasn’t only Aboriginals that were being saved; it was also whites who made commitments to Christ.
► This was a total of at least 450 new Christians out of a total of around 1,200 living on the island, and this was in only 4 months.
► Marriages were restored.
► There was a love for everyone, and not just for those within their own tribes.
► The community was clean, as people disposed of their trash appropriately and began planting gardens.
► Alcohol use dropped.
► Gambling became almost non-existent.
► Relationships were healed.
► Marriages were reconciled and healed.
► Divisions in the culture began to be healed.
► People were happy.
► People in the community were singing, not just at night, but also during the day in their homes and along the streets.
► Just hearing the stories of what was happening in one place sparked the revival in the location where it was told.
► The health center reported far fewer than normal sicknesses. This was caused by
• Elders praying for the sick, resulting in healings.
• Reduction in substance abuse.
• Inner healing of the mind by the Holy Spirit producing physical healing to the bodies.


Djijiyini Gondarra

Sources
► Arnhem Land Witnesses Controversial Revival by Anne Lim
► Dianne Ethelle Buchanan, Christian Pioneer by Mark the Evangelist
► Early Evangelical Revivals in Australia by Sue Tinworth
► Fire in the Outback by John Blacket
► Fire in the Outback by John Blacket (free Ebook)
► God’s Firestorm by Khesed.org
► Local Revivals in Australia by Stuart Piggin
► Transformation – Revival – God’s Wild Firestorm & Indigenous Tears by John Blacket
► Pentecost in Arnhem Land by Djiniyini Gondarra

Videos
► Free downloads from Christian History Research
► God’s Firestorm 1 – Elcho Island: by John Blacket
► God’s Firestorm 2 by John Blacket
► Twelve Free Videos: by Khesed

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Jesus Revolution

by Geoff 21 April 2023 No Comments

Jesus Revolution:

I met the Jesus People

The Jesus Revolution movie, 2023, now in cinemas and available on DVD

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Jesus Revolution: I met the Jesus People
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TIME Magazine, June 21, 1971

By Ron Burnett, a Staff Reporter on the Townsville Daily Bulletin, who went to Seattle to join the delivery flight of the first Qantas jumbo jet, the Boeing 747B. He wrote three articles for September 1-3, 1971.

Scores of hippie-type youngsters frequently embraced me at a theatre in an American city recently. They sang in rock style about Jesus Christ – not as a Superstar, but as a Saviour. They invited me to a “love feast” – but by the time it happened I would be Australia-bound in the Qantas super jet, the Boeing 747B. I rubbed shoulders with “drug freaks”, sex devotees and dropouts as they pushed forward to embrace a new life. For four never-to-be-forgotten hours in Seattle, USA, I was caught up in a revolution. It happened when, following a chance encounter in a Seattle street, …

I met

The Jesus People

I should have been at a cocktail party in Seattle’s swank Hotel Olympic. I suppose it was discourteous to my hosts, the Boeing Company – but I didn’t mean it that way.

Seven hours earlier, in a lunchtime scroll through downtown Seattle, two girls, long-haired, long-frocked and bare-footed, had proffered a leaflet. I took one. It was beautifully printed, with a central motif of the risen Jesus Christ. There was a caption: “A CELEBRATION OF REURRECTION AND LIFE – at Moore theatre, Seattle.”

“Will you come?” asked one of the girls, a strikingly pretty blond.

“I might,” I replied non-committedly.

That night I went to the Boeing Company’s cocktail party in the Hotel Olympic’s sumptuous Georgian Room. But that earlier invitation kept nagging at my mind.

After five minutes I excused myself and asked a taxi driver to take me to the Moore Theatre, which turned out to be seven blocks away. I alighted from the cab just before eight o’clock.

And that’s how I came to be at a Jesus People rock festival.

There were small groups of long-haired, bare-footed people on the sidewalk. They fitted my conception of hippies.

But something was different.

Their faces glowed with a remarkable radiance – and, without exception, they carried Bibles.

But their clothes, their hair, their beards set them a world apart from me. They were of another culture. For fully three minutes I was afraid to approach them.

Timidly, I approached three of them, and introduced myself. I told them I was from Australia and that I loved Jesus.

EMBRACES

The effect was startling – like the utterance of a magic password. Each of them embraced me warmly and expressed praise to God.

Quickly the word spread. Others gathered and embraced me as naturally as if I were a long-lost brother – and indeed they called me “Brother”.

This was the start of a fantastic experience – a never-to-be-forgotten four hours with the Jesus People, the movement that’s taking America by storm.

These are the young people, largely of the Hippie culture, who were immersed, many of them, in the drug and sex culture – or lost in escapism – or hung up on revolution – or were just plain drop-outs.

Now, these members of the drop-out generation were embroiled in a revolution of a different kind – THE JESUS REVOLUTION. By the thousands, they are forsaking drugs, sex, violence and human vegetation. They say they have found the secret and the reality of the life and love in Jesus Christ. They speak of being “unhung” from the past, through lives linked up permanently and experientially with the very life of God – without the aid of any artificial stimulants, pills or medication.”

_________________________________________

 

 THE JESUS REVOLUTION – “GREATEST”

AMSTERDAM, August 31, 1971 (A.A.P. Reuter)

Dr Billy Graham has said here that the Jesus Revolution in the United States supported by tens of thousands of Hippies, is the greatest movement America has ever known.

“The Jesus Children … go out to preach the Gospel in the slums, the ghettos, theatres, and even the underground railway … this is taking place in America today,” the American evangelist said.

The Hippies who supported the movement had rejected drugs and were studying the teachings of Christ, he said. Dr Graham was speaking at the opening of the weekend of a seven-day European Congress for Evangelism attended by 1,200 delegates from 35 countries.

He said the church, which had always overcome critical situations in the past, was at present going through its greatest crisis in 400 years. Forces within the churches were undermining the Gospel, he added.

_______________________________
SET FREE

Typical was the cry which came from one brother: “I was a homosexual, but Jesus set me free!” And the testimony of a wife: “We were saved! He (her husband) changed, and it’s getting better all the time.” …

The Jesus People love to “rap” (talk) about Jesus. Better than a rap is a “heavy” rap. (“Heavy means real profound,” one girl told me. “Heavy hits you in the heart. It really does something inside of you.”)

And they major on “heavy Bible drill” (intensive Bible study).

The Jesus People see themselves – and many conventional churchmen see them this way too – as the “shock troops” of “now Christianity … a spearheading force for the evangelisation of the world.”

They claim that Jesus is the answer not only to personal “hang-ups”, but to the hang-ups of the whole world.

They showed no evidence of despising the conventional churches – one, indeed, acknowledged that he had been “saved through the preaching of a straight minister.” And a Jesus People’s “decision” card has a space in which to enter “Church attending.” There are reports, too, of church young people’s groups caught up in the Jesus People fervour, and of home Bible-study groups of adults multiplying. …

But I gained the impression from this Seattle contact that the Jesus People “saved” from the Hippie culture are not flocking to the churches. They have their own meeting houses, and they regard their ministry as an outward thrust into the very heart of the community. But they welcome support from the churches, and indeed believe that churches which do not emulate their outreach will be “left behind”.

A heavy weight of the thrust is into the culture from which many of the Jesus People came – the “junkies”, the sex devotees, the drop-outs, the escapists, the revolutionaries, the no-hopers. But the Jesus Movement is also said to have swept many a university campus, and the Jesus People do not hesitate to address the message of Jesus and His love to people of fundamentally different cultures and age groups.

My own experience was convincing. Hippie-style boys and girls, many still in their teens, embraced me fervently, without a shred of reserve – me in the most conservative of plain dark grey suits, a short haircut, and more than double the age of many of them.

NO GAP

There was no culture gap … no generation gap.

And the outreach across cultural boundaries was reflected, too, in “The Truth”. This is the JESUS PEOPLE PAPER …

The Jesus People Paper carried testimonies by two top-line entertainers, Johnny Cash and Jeremy Spencer.

It told of the transformation of editor-publisher David Abraham in San Francisco. Abraham had published the mass circulation drug culture paper, “The Oracle”, in San Francisco. It featured sex, drugs, anarchy, Eastern religion and “eye-poppingly explicit photos” … But David Abraham was converted to Christ. He transferred all rights to his sex-peddling paper to a San Francisco commune of the Jesus People. He installed a former junkie and heroin dealer, Chris D’Allessandra, as editor. The paper is still called “The Oracle”, but “now it peddles Christ and salvation”, – and its circulation has jumped from 20,000 to 100,000.

The Jesus People Paper in Seattle featured the 12,000 decisions for Christ at a Billy Graham crusade in McCormack, and quoted the evangelist’s declaration that “Christ is the living God … He can fill the void in your heart. He can give purpose and meaning to your life.”

_________________________________________

 HOW ENDURING?

 Just how substantial or enduring is the Jesus Revolution?

Some say it’s a fad.

Others believe it’s a movement of the Spirit of God, stirring the young people of a “lost” generation; and that the churches must embrace it and nurture it.

Some say it’s emotionally excessive, too theologically superficial, and wide open to heresy.

Others say the Jesus Movement has both strengths and weaknesses, and that it is unwise at this point either to commend wholeheartedly or to condemn.

Many prefer to reserve their judgement.

All this reporter can say is that … he met the Jesus People … He saw evidence of transformed lives, and the keynotes he heard were love, peace and joy – in the context of a startling and unprecedented religious revolution.

_________________________________
THE KING

Under the heading, “Tacoma Meets the King”, the Jesus People Paper reported the amazing outcome of a seven-day Jesus People musical festival in Tacoma, south of Seattle, in July.

“Five hundred young people actually met Jesus … Several heroin addicts were instantaneously cured … Scores of young people were baptised in water … A ‘heavily sedated’ longhair finally decided that his life was more than just 60 years to blow. He threw his dope to a dumbfounded policeman and said that he was free.

“THE KING IS JESUS CHRIST,” the article explained. “This does not mean a form of religion, a philosophy of life, some theological brainburst, or a moral standard that is impossible to live up to. We aren’t talking about a way of life, we’re talking about life itself. We mean that Jesus Christ is alive today and that you can have a personal relationship with Him. Without this relationship, all philosophies, religions, drugs, and spiritual enlightenment are just more dust on a pile of decaying humanity. Only when you know the love of Jesus can you say without doubt that you’ve tasted life and it was good for living.” …

I learnt a little about the Jesus People coffee houses, with their distinctive Bible connections, dotting the land – for example:

House of Amos

House of Caleb

Earthen Vessel Coffeehouse

I AM Coffeehouse.

One may read on their signboards invitations such as the one in front of the House of Amos:

“STOP BY ANY TIME TO RAP, READ AND ENJOY GOD.”

_________________o0o_________________


Jesus Revolution movie, 2023

 

I MET THE JESUS PEOPLE – Part 2

 CONVICTED OF SIN – on 30 Tabs of Acid

 A YOUNG GIRL’S STORY ON A SEATTLE SIDWEALK

 

As I settled into my fascinating evening with the Jesus People, I had no difficulty in appreciating why journals of international repute have devoted many pages of prime space to this “extraordinary religious revolution” (as “Time” called it).

Or why Australia’s Rev. Alan Walker, just back from the U.S., referred to the Jesus Revolution as “the most startling development on the religious scene” … or why Billy Graham in Amsterdam last weekend described it as “the greatest movement America has ever known.”

I spent my first half hour with them on that Seattle sidewalk, outside the Moore Theatre. I asked questions – and my Jesus People friends, with utter frankness, told me stories of reclamation from futility and despair. …

I talked first with 19-year old David Potter, of Tacoma, who has been a “Jesus People” for eight months.

“I got saved at a rock festival in Portland, Oregon,” David said.

I asked David if he had been a drug user.

“I pushed drugs, and I took drugs,” he told me – “acid (LSD), mescaline, cocaine, speed – something like stay-awake pills; it’s concentrated, and you really get ripped out. It felt great. It was a release from worries and responsibilities.”

NO REALITY

But not, as David discovered, the key to reality.

Eventually he “started running into the Jesus People” in California. Moving up the coast, he found himself at the Portland rock festival, with the Jesus People. He wondered whether what they were saying about this person named Jesus was real, or a fantasy. They said He was alive, and that He was love.

“But the way I actually got saved was when a straight minister got up on stage and said, ‘I want you to listen. I want to share out of my heart. I want to share my Jesus. He’s life, and He’s love.’

“That was heavy,” David said.

“I had a preconceived idea about Christianity. It was all regulations – you can’t do this, you can’t do that.

“But this guy, when he rapped, he laid it down. Christianity is peace within, peace with my God.

“Now I know what Christianity is about. All you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart. I did, and I FELT THE POWER OF GOD come down. It was like a vacuum cleaner going through my body.

“It was just real heavy. I was in the middle of all those people and just got saved!”

David said that God led him to a Christian camp, where he “got into the Word of God” – or, as the Jesus People repeatedly call it, “heavy Bible drill.”

Was it a passing phenomenon?

David was definite enough. “After nearly a year, the Lord Jesus is better and more real every day,” he said.

He told me that God led him into a coffee house ministry in Tacoma.

REAL HEAVY

“We reach out directly to the long-hairs,” he said. “I present Jesus Christ in such a way that people don’t feel they’re being forced into it. It’s something you can’t force on people. It’s a real heavy thing when you’re rapping about Jesus.”

David reckoned that about 65 per cent of the Jesus People had been taking drugs, but had given them up to follow Jesus.

Several Jesus People estimated that about 70 per cent of the Jesus People reclaimed from drugs never returned to the practice. They said this was in contrast to the two per cent drug cures achieved by Government efforts.

 

A YOUNG MAN told how, having embarked on drug-taking, he went to the Catacombs, a Christian coffee house in Seattle.

“The people started telling me about Jesus – how real He is, and how beautiful life is,” he said.

“They invited me to the House of Caleb for dinner. I could see these Christians had something that I just didn’t have. I could sense it.

“Then they asked me to Calvary Temple. I was curious – I wondered what they had. I was getting restless, and when the altar call was made I got up and went down on my knees and asked for forgiveness. And I wept. After it was all over I just felt so beautiful. The Holy Spirit came down on me. It was so wonderful.”

 

Twenty-year-old MIKE BARD has also taken drugs. He told me, “I didn’t know Jesus could be so exciting. I got saved three months ago.”

I asked Mike if he had a job.

“I work with the Jesus People Army,” he said. That’s my job – going out to tell people about Christ. I go back to all my lost people and tell them what Jesus has to offer – and I tell them what He has done in my life. About 10 people have come over and eight have been saved.

 

Seventeen-year-old VALERIE ARENDS took up the story. She described her experience of being saved. “It was just like lifting a great burden off my shoulders. You can feel the weight lifting. I felt I was floating.”

JESUS NOW

“We have rock bands,” Valerie explained. “They sing shout Jesus Christ, and about God the Father, and about the Holy Spirit. They just let it be known. They put it in modern music that will reach the kids of today, because today’s kids don’t want things of the past. They want what’s right now – and the Bible says that Jesus was, and is, and shall be.

“They want Jesus now! They want someone who’s still as beautiful today as ever He was.”

 

I had gone to the Moore Theatre with a prejudice against rock music in a Christian religious setting. What I saw and heard changed my mind. It was impossible not to be impressed by the rock musicians’ deep sense of reverence as they played and sang about the love of Jesus; their faces radiant – devoid of the sensuous atmosphere that one might normally associate with rock bands.

There was no hint of the “Jesus Christ Superstar” idiom. And I thought it significant that the Jesus People Paper carried this paragraph by Billy Graham: “While the rock opera (‘Jesus Christ Superstar’) is supposedly based on the Bible, it lacks a clear compelling testimony of Scripture to the person of Jesus Christ. Over and over a chorus asks, ‘Who are you?’ and the opera does not supply the answer.”

The Jesus People themselves are not hesitant about shouting the answer – “Jesus is Saviour!”

 

Next, I talked to BECKY BARR, a warm-natured 23-year-old blonde who told me with face aglow, “I’ve been saved about four months – praise the Lord.”

Then Becky told her astonishing story.

“I Was convicted of sin on 30 tabs of acid,” she said.

“I just got a handful, and I don’t know just how many I stuck in my mouth.”

A TRIP

Becky had found life meaningless and hopeless. She had sought release in an “acid” trip.

“But it was horrible,” Becky said. “I was really scared. I thought I was going to die. I actually thought I was going to hell.

“The person I was with turned into the devil. For a couple of weeks I could see the devil. He kept coming after me.”

“And I kept seeing snakes. It was a sickening thing.”

She went to hospital, and ran away. Then, in Berkley, California, she kept hearing people say, “Jesus loves you.” She saw the same message written on walls.

Once more she took drugs, but felt horrid. She cried, “God, if you’re there, hear me.”

“I felt that God was just something out there, all ready to get you.” Becky said. “So I tried to get up and run away.”

“Then I had a sense of someone laying down his life. That’s Jesus. I didn’t know it then.”

Becky went to Seattle – and there was this message again, “Jesus loves you”, chalked on the sidewalk. Someone invited her to a revivao meeting. She felt the Holy Spirit “just fill that place with love”. But she resisted.

Becky told how she kept praying – “But then I just got crazy again.

“One night I thought I had to burn myself up. But I couldn’t do it. …

“I cried out, ‘Jesus is in my heart.’ And I was all right.”

Becky was led to “a guy’s house”. He invited her to church. There she poured out her heart: “Well, Jesus, if You really are the truth, I’m sold! I want it. I’ve messed up my life, and if you can straighten it out, I want you. I just can’t do it anymore.”

“Praise God. He’s real,” Becky said. I just kept on praying and praying. And all of a sudden the horrible snakes went away. There was just peace.

“My whole life was an ugly story,” Becky Barr finished. “But the only thing that’s beautiful is Jesus – and Jesus is mine.”

Mike Bard took up the theme. “I’ve found what people are looking for,” said Mike. “I have it, and there’s no way I’m ever going to give it up.”

I asked Mike to be more explicit. Just what were people looking for?

“What people really need,” this earnest and joyful young man told me, “is peace and joy and love. They want a oneness. They find it only in Jesus. That’s all I can say right now. There are no worries because you take everything to the Lord. Your life is in God’s hands, and He’s going to take care of you – eternally.”

Mike said that the conventional churches could learn something from the Jesus Movement.

“Many have already learnt,” he said. “Many more support field churches. We fellowship with them.

THESE ARE THE CHURCHES THAT ARE MOVING WITH GOD.

THE CHURCHES THAT ARE NOT DOING THIS ARE GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND.”

As more Jesus People flowed into the Theatre, I asked my exciting new friends, “Who organised this rock festival?”

“The Holy Spirit,” Mike Bard said. “He organises everything.”

“I’ll tell you how the Holy Spirit set this up,” Mike said in reply to my further questioning. “We didn’t have any money when we rented this theatre. But we did it in faith, and we prayed, and the day we had to write the cheque, six hundred dollars came in – the amount we needed.

“We prayed for food, too, because we were running really short. Then all of a sudden, money came in for food. Last night we ate roast beef!”

I learnt, too, that the Jesus People needed a festival headquarters. They said that the Holy Spirit moved – and a Seattle gentleman gave them a three-storey mansion for the purpose.

And the Jesus People Paper! “We pay $950 to get each monthly issue printed,” Mike said, and we don’t know where the cost comes from.”

When I remarked anew on the absence of any obvious sign of organisation, Mike explained, “The reason it’s so unorganised is because it’s not an organisation. It’s not a business: it’s the body of Christ.

ORGANISER

“People look at us as if we’re kind of goofy – but the Holy Spirit is the organiser. For example, six people, working independently on the paper, found when they came together that they all had the same theme. That’s the Holy Spirit at work.

“Wherever Jesus People meet, they’re printing newspapers,” Mike continued. “They’re telling about Jesus on the street corners. We’re speaking to whoever the Lord leads us to.  We want to speak to the younger kids, but at times I’ve had real heavy raps with adults – and they’ve been really convicted.”

________________o0o________________


Jesus Revolution movie, 2023

I MET THE JESUS PEOPLE – Part 3

AN EXBODYGRUARD OF THE HEAD BLACK PANTHER PLAYED REVERENT GOSPEL ROCK AT A JESUS PEOPLE HAPPENING. I SAW AND HEARD IT IN SEATTLE. IT’S PART OF THE FINAL ARTICLE IN A SERIES OF THREE, DESCRIBING HOW “I MET THE JESUS PEOPLE.”

“I’M FOR REVOLUTION” cried the Jesus People Preacher Girl

 

As I ‘rapped’ with the Jesus People on the Seattle sidewalk. a steady stream of people – most of them young, long-haired and bare-footed, but some older and in ‘straight’ dress – flowed into the Moore Theatre.

I entered the lobby. More Jesus People. When they heard I was a newspaper-man from Australia and a Christian, there were fervent embraces. It was uninhibited love.

Mike Bard sat with me in the theatre, which by now held about 2,000 people, with room for hundreds more – and still they came.

Mike told me that the drummer who helped beat out a beautiful and reverent rock gospel melody called “I am your Captain” was an ex-bodyguard of the head Black Panther.

The organist was a graduate of one of the nation’s finest music schools.

The most electrifying (and heart-piercing) feature of the Jesus People rock festival was soon to follow.

A slender, pretty girl, with finely groomed long hair, gowned in what I would call a multi-coloured patchwork polka-dot ankle-length dress, moved to the microphone. With a contagious joy and enthusiasm, she welcomed us to “the fastest growing movement in America, soon the fastest growing movement in the world, the Jesus Movement.”

This was Linda Meissner, founder of the Jesus People Army, publisher of the Jesus People Paper, and Jesus People Preacher extraordinary.

“Give me a J! . . .” cried a radiant Linda – somewhat incheer leader fashion, yet infinitely more profound.

“J” roared the throng.

“Give me an E!”   …   “E”

“Give me an S!”   …   “S”

“Give me a  U!”   …   “U”

“Give me an S!”   …   “S”

“What does that spell?”

“JESUS” – a mighty chorus from 2,000 throats.

“Who is He?”                    –     “JESUS”

“What’s that, you say?”    –     “JESUS”

“Who’s our Saviour?”       –     “JESUS”

“Who’s alive right now?”  –   “JESUS”

“There’s so many Jesus People in Seattle now, it’s not hardly safe for sinners to go into the streets,” the vibrant preacher cried. (A fresh chorus of God-praising phrases). “It’s so beautiful to be part of the heavy Jesus Movement. Don’t give me any of that hog-wash about what’s going to happen 20 years from now. HIS time in now!”

STICK AROUND

“Tonight, before this festival’s over, there’s going to be hundreds of miracles. If you’ve never seen a real miracle, stick around!”

Expecting a massive response to the Jesus message, Miss Meissner announced there would be a mass baptism on the coming Sunday afternoon.

“Support the good news of Jesus Christ this week-end in Seattle,” she continued. “Go our in Christian warfare, shooting your little guns at peope, ‘I love you, I love you, Ilove you’!” – pointing an imaginary gun at the audience, the words rapping from her lips in staccato fashion. “Our ammunition is God’s Word.” …

Linda said that God had given them “a fantastic huge Jesus Movement headquarters” (the three storey mansion). God had also moved in the provision of kitchens, meeting places, clothing and food.

With emergency kitchens, said Linda, the Jeus People Army would be out feeding the poor. …

FILL THEM

“We have the facilities to feed the poor,” the preacher girl went on. “Other groups feed them, and that’s beautiful. But the Jesus People can fill them.

She asked for “adult participation” too. In the back was a table where people could “sign up for the Jesus Revolution now”, give their professional or trade services, and become active as Bible teachers and counsellors.

She urged an outreach to high school kids and to the University of Washington. “Let them all know that Jesus Christ is alive.”

Linda Meissner held the audience (and an Australian reporter) captivated as she sang with soulful intensity the Jesus People song –

‘Jesus, Jesus, can I tell you how I feel?
You have given me Your Spirit;
I love you so’

There was an intermission, and a “straight” minister who had earlier joined us took me back-stage, where briefly I met a shining-eyed Linda Meissner.

She told me she was 30. He looked more like 20. She had been “saved since I was 17.”

“Jesus has shown me a vision that He’s going to raise up a Last Day Army of full-time dedicated disciples who will fulfil in this generation the great commission to evangelise the world,” Miss Meissner said.

Linda had been an Iowa farm girl. In college, she heard a challenge by David Wilkerson, gave her life to Christ, and joined Wilkerson’s Teen Challenge in New York City. Later she travelled to Seattle to start Teen Challenge in the north-west. For a time the response was poor. But she “began to pray and seek God, and God opened up the Jesus People Army.”

The “straight” minister was the Rev. David DeMoss, pastor of a church in Tacoma, Washington. His hair-style and dress, like mine, were strictly conventional – but neither of us felt out of place in the warm atmosphere of Jesus People Love.

David DeMoss is enthusiastic about the work of the Jesus People – “but I’m not ducking out of my own church.”

He saw the Jesus People’s Army as “the combat troops” of the “new” Christianity. The indigenous church could be a vital part of the Jesus Revolution. The task of the older generation in the church was to “keep open the limes of supply for the vital young people going into the Christian battle” – “to give faith support, financial support, spiritual support, and to provide the wisdom and understanding of years – the knowledge that comes through experience.

I believe the churches will feel this burden and accept this tole when they see the reality of what’s happening right now – this manifestation of the power of God,” Pastor DeMoss declared.

LOVE

He said it was love that made the difference. “These kids go out, and they don’t talk love, the live it.” …

“These kids are living it every day, demonstrating it in everything they say and do. That’s what the church has got to come to.”

I hurried back to my seat in the theatre. Linda Meissner had begun to preach. In the Jesus People idiom, it was “heavy”.

“You can carry what banners you want,” Miss Meissner told would-be revolutionaries. “But these are the heaviest words – ‘I am the life” …

“We are on the edge of a precipice – one of the heaviest storms the world has ever seen. Society is struggling for love and happiness. We can feel our whole country cracking at the foundations, and we’re scared. Where can we jump to? What can we cling to? …

“You can say you don’t need God. You may say this Book’s a bunch of garbage – or you can listen to the words of Jesus who says, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ …

“Try Jesus, and your search will be over. It’s the inside of man that needs to be changed.

“That’s why I’m for revolution, because I can’t stand a continuation of ‘business as usual’. I can’t stand the thought of thousands in the streets doping it up, selling their bodies to prostitution, killing themselves, dying of hunger, in pain and sickness – the suffering humanity of the world.

“You may be able to sit comfortably in your room and watch TV, but I can’t stand the thought of so many people on a fast-moving train heading down the track towards the precipice. …

“Will you let the world perish while you chew gum and buy paper dolls? I want to do something.”

The preacher warned that a “head” knowledge of Jesus Christ was futile.

GUT LEVEL

“It has to start from gut level inside” – somehow the term, coming so earnestly from Linda Meissner, did not seem crude. “And you look up and see it’s not a stupid fairy tale. Because you look up and see the cross. And there’s God’s Holy Son bleeding and dying there – dying for you!

“You feel your sins covered with blood … and they’re gone! About 18 tons of garbage and guilt is taken away, ad you can’t help but say His name again – and it’s joy and peace and love.

“And before you know it, you’re just grabbing that brother and sister around you ad saying, ‘I love you’. And you say, ‘I mean it. I have met God’.

“This is the answer for the world. Before you know it, people start loving each other. They bring goods and clothes. In the early Christian church, everybody shared. And they took the good news throughout their world.”

Linda Meissner had spoken of the train heading for the precipice. Now she said, “There’s another train a-comin’. It’s the Gospel Train. And the engineer has conquered death, hell and the grave. His love has conquered history. He not only died on that rugged cross, but He rose again from the dead.

“He’s alive,” she cried triumphantly. “He said, ‘Be of good courage. I’m coming back’.”

She launched into a Jesus People gospel song again. …

“We’ll spread the good news
That God is in our land,
And they’ll know we are Christians by God’s love.”

And from hundreds of throats – “I love you Jesus”.

A sweet girl named Mary Norman sang with haunting sweetness “The Last Supper” – and Linda Meissner invited people to “come to Jesus”.

“Jesus says, ‘Come, the supper’s ready’. ‘No, I’m not worthy’, you say – and besides, I don’t have the money’. And Jesus smiles and says, ‘It’s free.’ It’s supper with the King – and it’s free.”

Linda launched reverently singing “The Lord’s Prayer”. Hundreds of voices rose in unison with hers.

Flourishing a tambourine, she sang a soul-piercing Gospel invitation –

‘Come to Jesus!
Come to Jesus!
Come to Jesus right now!’

“Just pray to Jesus, and you’ll have a Jesus happening,” Linda told them.

By now, dozens of people had poured to the front to have “supper with the King.”

IRRESISTIBLE

I went with them. The sweep of that moment was irresistible. I didn’t count, but I think more than a hundred stood there, some weeping, some praying, and all praising Jesus.

Then an electrifying moment.

“Jesus loves you. You love Jesus. And you all love each other,” Linda Meissner told the converts. “Now, everybody turn and love the person next to them.”

I was enveloped in the embraces of people with long hair, people with short hair, people in hippie garb, people in “straight” dress, young people, old people. Unashamedly I returned their embraces and echoed the affectionate “I love you” that each poured out on me.

Linda Meissner told the converts they would be counselled by Richard McNair. She described him as a young man who had spent “four years on drugs and scheming against fancy ladies”. He had been saved in gaol. Presently as we sat on the floor in the basement, “Rich” was telling us in warm but gentle tones of the need for daily Bible study “to get strong in the Lord”; for constant prayer; and for fellowship with other Christians.

SURVIVAL KIT

He handed to each of us a “basic survival kit” containing these emphases.

Elsewhere, hippie-style people (and others too) sat on the floor in groups of three of four, open Bibles in their midst.

As I made ready to leave, I found myself lingering in the foyer of the theatre. I was reluctant to leave my exciting new friends, the Jesus People. And it seemed the reluctance was mutual. There were more embraces, declarations of love, a promise to exchange letters and to pray for each other.

It was after midnight. I prepared, with a twinge of sadness, to walk the seven blocks to my downtown Seattle hotel. The Jesus People would not hear of it. Soon I was sitting with seven of them in a big car, and we rapped” about Jesus as we drove back to the Hotel Olympic.

More embaces. More lingering farewells. I stepped slowly from the car to the sidewalk, turned and waved. Seven sets of arms waved back vigorously. The car pulled slowly away from the kerb. Soon it was lost in the stream of traffic.

My Jesus People had gone.

But they left an unerasable memory.

___________________________________________________

PS: Comment by Ron Burnett (included in this article in The Jesus Revolution booklet printed in 1972 in Brisbane).

My encounter with the Jesus People in Seattle was exhilarating. Never have I experienced such a tremendous outpouring of warmth and power and love. I truly believe that to me was given the privilege of seeing, hearing, and feeling a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God.

I do believe, too, that whether we be convinced or sceptical of the substance of the Jesus Revolution (I, for one, am convinced), God is saying something to us all through this movement. The message is that God is not limited. Jesus is being exalted as Saviour and Lord, the Son of the living God, in a culture which we as “conventional Christians” probably could never have penetrated. Jesus is being presented in all His love, joy, beauty, majesty and power as the one Way – the one answer to the need of individuals and nations for peace and purpose.

In the Jesus Revolution, revival has happened and is happening in a way that many of us did not expect, among people to whom we least expected it to happen. The Holy Spirit is not limited.

_____________________________________

Editorial comment: Note the lasting impact that this movement had in church and community life – from formal to informal dress; from organs and hymn books to bands and screens; from monologues to dynamic encounters.

Links to the Jesus Revolution movie trailer, 2023

Jesus Revolution baptism scene 2023 movie

Jesus People film 1972

See also 1970 report – Asbury Revival

See A Surprising Work of God in Asbury Chapel, 2023

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

Blogs Index 1: Revivals (briefer than Revivals Index)
Blogs Index 2: Mission (international stories)
Blogs Index 3: Miracles (supernatural events)
Blogs Index 4: Devotional (including Testimonies)
Blogs index 5: Church (Christianity in action)
Blogs Index 6: Chapters (Blogs from Books)
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Thailand: Revival continues with 1588 people baptised

by Geoff 5 October 2022 3 Comments

Thailand: Revival continues with 1588 people baptised

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Thailand: Revival continues
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival
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“The revival in Thailand continues. This is what it looks like when 1,588 people wait to be baptised,” reports Marten Visser, director of missions organisation GlobalRize.

Visser, a former missionary to Thailand, has been sharing regular updates about a spiritual revival in the Asian country in recent years.
Another missionary, Dwight Martin, also baptised many converted Thai. “We now have about 6,000 churches in Thailand,” he said in an interview. “We don’t force anyone to give up their idols or stop going to the temples. We disciple them and then one day the Holy Spirit convicts them that they no longer need those idols and they no longer need to go to the temple.”

Martin explains: “It is a movement of God without outside influence, without interference from the West. There was simply a man who was touched by God’s Spirit with a vision for Thailand. The Lord put me in touch with him and he wanted to plant Thai churches. His movement was just beginning and when I told him about all the villages in Thailand that had not yet been reached with the gospel, it clicked right away. From then on, many new churches were started.”

‘We don’t bring religion, but Jesus’

“When we go to villages we don’t bring religion but Jesus. We simply say: ‘Do you have a problem in your life? Then Jesus can help you.’ We ask them to bring two or three problems to Jesus and believe in Him. They already believe in all kinds of gods, so that makes it easier. For example, there was a well-to-do woman who wanted a new television set. She prayed for it but was freed from her alcohol addiction instead. She told everyone that she was now no longer buying booze and could buy a TV from the remaining money!”

“We bring them Jesus and within 48 hours we begin to disciple them. We revisit them and teach them how to pray. Simple prayers before meals and children’s prayers. Then a week later we come back and tell them who Jesus is, that He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Another week later we tell about the problem of the Fall. But very slowly, step by step. Within six months they are able to tell others about the gospel in this way. It gives them a good foundation. This takes place within house churches, a safe place to raise newborn Christians.”

“One of our church planters, believe it or not, still leads prayers in a Buddhist temple. He himself is not a Buddhist but a church planter! The church planters go to new villages every day to tell people of God’s love. When you do that every day many come to faith. We now have 500 people doing this. The goal is to plant 800 new churches this year.”

Source: Marten Visser, Dwight Martin
A mass baptism in Thailand with missionary Dwight Martin and his team of church planters. As many as 1,435 people were baptised. Click to watch.

Joel News Edition # 1275, October 05, 2022

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)

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Renewal Journal –  Revival Books

by Geoff 4 March 2022 1 Comment

Renewal Journal –  Revival Books, free PDFs

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Revival Fires – updated to 2020 – Blog
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* I know of no other book like this one that provides rapid-fire, easy-to-read, factual literary snapshots of virtually every well-known revival since Pentecost. As I read this book, I was thrilled to see how God has been so mightily at work in so many different times and places.I felt like I had grasped the overall picture of revival for the first time” ~ C Peter Wagner

 

Revival Fires – Blog
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A Flashpoints Koorong1

Flashpoints of Revival – updated to 2020 – Blog
Flashpoints of Revival – PDF
* I know of no other book like this one that provides rapid-fire, easy-to-read, factual literary snapshots of virtually every well-known revival since Pentecost. As I read this book, I was thrilled to see how God has been so mightily at work in so many different times and places.I felt like I had grasped the overall picture of revival for the first time”  ~ C Peter Wagner


Revivals Awaken Generations – Blog
Flashpoints of Revival in Korean

 

a-gods-surprises-all
Blog: God’s Surprises – Blog
God’s Surprises – PDF
Current biographical revival stories
Condensed from Journey into Mission: * I have read many similar stories, but this one exceeds them all. … Geoff has done well to not only be in so many places and seeing God at work but also writing a book about it all.  ~ Barbara Vickridge
* I’m reading your book God’s Surprises and I can feel the power of God and a tremendous desire for a Revival in Italy, where I live.   ~ Francesco Trentinella.

 

Community and Ecological Transformation
South Pacific Revivals – Blog
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Community & Ecological Transformation
* Dr Geoff Waugh shares the message of revival clearly through the simplicity of the Word and his own personal experiences, being part of God’s big revival story in the Pacific. His book is a must read for all who follow Pacific Revivals and world movements of the Holy Spirit.  ~  Romulo Nayacalevu, Fiji

* South Pacific Revivals gives some very illuminating information about numerous little-known revivals in the region… A surprising number of movements after 1950 are provided – including islands and places I had never before heard of! A number of remarkable personal testimonies are included, and photos are dotted throughout the book. Some useful appendices are included, such as ‘Characteristics of Revivals from Acts 2’ and ‘Examples of Repentance and Revival’.  ~  Blue Yonder

 

*


Great Revival Stories – Blog
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Revival stories from Renewal Journals
* Full of true accounts of what happens to whole towns and cities when God’s people humble themselves, pray, and the Holy Spirit rushed through with his transforming power. Loved every minute of these stories. ~ Jo Swan
* Great compilation of Revival Happenings: Great book. A compilation of reports from revivals from around the world. Really helpful in preparing for a sermon series on Revival! ~ Kristina S.

 


Best Revival Stories – Blog
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Revival: I will pour out my Spirit – Blog
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Revival stories from Pentecost Island

 

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Stories of Revival Pioneers

A SG Revival History
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Study Guide on Revival History

 

20 Renewal Journals – with links

1 Revival,   2 Church Growth,
3 Community,   4 Healing,  
5 Signs & Wonders,   6  Worship, 
7  Blessing,   8  Awakening,  
9  Mission,   10  Evangelism, 
11  Discipleship,   12  Harvest,  
13  Ministry,   14  Anointing,
15  Wineskins,   16  Vision,  
17  Unity,   18  Servant Leadership,  
19  Church,   20 Life

*

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)

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church growth, church in China, evangelism, prayer, revival, revivals , , ,

China: how a mother started a house church movement

by Geoff 20 January 2021 1 Comment

China: How a mother started a house church movement

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China: how a mother started a house church movement:
https://renewaljournal.com/2021/01/20/china-how-a-mother-started-a-house-church-movement/
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

The Chinese Communist Party has long tried to eliminate or control the Church, but without success. Take Sister Hu’s amazing story, a mother who started a house church movement after Jesus healed her son.

When Sister Hu’s son fell seriously ill with kidney disease, she visited numerous temples to seek help from the gods, but he got worse. Then a Christian at the hospital told her that if she believed in Jesus her son could be healed. Her son fully recovered and Sister Hu committed to always serve God and share the gospel with as many people as she could.

Soon, a small group of believers emerged, and the fellowship quickly outgrew the building where it met. “Over time, the Holy Spirit revealed that we should focus on two things: evangelizing the lost and training leaders,” Sister Hu said. “We formed teams with five people in each, and we targeted 18 towns with the gospel. As we approached each town we prayed, and then we would look for the poorest household to share the good news of Jesus with.”

‘Many people believed and more churches were formed’

Each team was supported by an intercession and fasting chain, which operated around the clock, with believers rotating in two-hour shifts. “We fasted for seven days before a campaign, and to this day we still gather every morning at 4:30 a.m. for prayer, even in winter when it’s minus 30 degrees outside.”
The results were remarkable. “In the first 15 towns many people believed our message, and we formed new churches in each place. The final three towns were further away, so we had to cycle over long distances to reach them. Miraculously, in one town the officials let us use the municipal loudspeaker, to ensure that everyone could hear the message. Many people believed and more churches were formed.”

‘We have seen God perform many remarkable things’

“Our meetings were always crowded. Some people who came were demon possessed, but when we prayed they were completely delivered. Others were healed from deafness and other ailments. At first, we had many sisters but only one brother on our teams. We asked God to add 100 new brothers, and after the first evangelistic campaigns, we found that was exactly the number of men who had been converted. Later, we added mercy ministries to help the sick, elderly, and orphans.”

Over the years Sister Hu’s church has grown to 40,000 believers, and they have 1,000 evangelists and pastors. “We have seen God perform many remarkable things, which have helped spread his salvation message more widely,” she said. Some towns have been so thoroughly saturated with the gospel that now over 80 percent of the people are Christians.

“Jesus has been so good to us,” Sister Hu said. “He has been our best friend and He sticks closer than a brother. In recent years we have faced fresh challenges, as the government’s strict new religious policies have taken effect. We are under pressure to compromise, but we are determined to fully obey Jesus, regardless of the cost.”

Source: Asia Harvest

Joel News International: # 1199, January 19, 2021

Posts on China – from Mission Blogs:
Asia’s Maturing Church (David Wang)
The Spirit told us what to do (Carl Lawrence)
Revival in China (Dennis Balcombe)
House Churches in China (Barbara Nield)
China – New Wave of Revival
Chinese turning to Christianity
Revival breaks out in China’s government approved churches
China: how a mother started a house church movement
China – Life-changing Miracle
China’s next generation: New China, New Church, New World
China: The cross on our shoulders and in our hearts
George Chen – In the Garden: 18 years in prison

See also:

House Church: the fastest growing expression of church

Grassroots movements with no church buildings explode

Dinner Churches

House Churches, by Ian Freestone

House Churches in China (Barbara Nield)

China: how a mother started a house church movement

Laos: a church for the So

 

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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