“Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?”
Psalm 85:6

Last week I got the privilege to get in on the last public service they hosted at Asbury University. It was such a powerful experience…yet it was also unassuming. As you may have heard, there wasn’t any flash or fanfare, it wasn’t driven by contrived hype—it was an auditorium full of people who wanted Jesus. God was pouring out His Spirit and I was grateful to be in the room. In this article, I want to share some thoughts on the Asbury Revival of 2023.

If you aren’t aware of the Asbury Revival, here’s a quick summary:

On February 8th, 2023, at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, a regularly scheduled morning chapel service didn’t end. In fact, it kept going in various ways until Thursday evening, February 23. What was going on that whole time? Worship, prayer, repentance, confession of sin—seeking the Lord.
God poured out His Spirit in a special way upon 18 lingering students after the initial chapel service on Feb. 8th. And the whole world came to see it…and partake of it.

Here’s the link to the official page from Asbury University - https://www.asbury.edu/outpouring

The atmosphere was filled with pure worship unto God. It’s hard to explain. The waves of worship would come, one after another, and you could feel the purity, humility, and reverence for the Lord.

It was like what the Psalmist wrote: “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:9)

Yes, other kingdom things were happening:

Prayer
Repentance and confession of sin
Scripture reading
Sermons
Testimonies
Healings
Deliverances
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Preaching the gospel
People coming to Christ!

Every time a student would read scripture, the leader would say, “This is the Word of God” and then the people would respond—“And we believe it!”

All of that is great and powerful, but there was something about the worship and atmosphere there that was so pure.

I can’t adequately explain it in words, but it was like a well of life opened up in a desert of despair and everyone came to drink.

It was like the King opened up the doors of his throne room and welcomed all citizens of the kingdom—both high and low—to draw near.

I don’t want to be the guy who says, “You had to be there!” And thank God you can experience the many videos that are floating around on the internet—but being in that room was special. And it really impacted my life.

The next few services I led worship for after coming home had a significant grace on them to just keep adoring Jesus. It’s like what Bill Johnson has said: “The church has camped around a sermon, but Israel camped around the Presence.” Oh, that we would be a people who would give Christ preeminence in all areas of our lives!

In the Sunday morning service I led, the pastor felt like he didn’t even need to preach! God was doing something special and I believe I caught what God was pouring out in Asbury.

I wanted to share a few thoughts on what we can take away from what God did at Asbury:

1. If God is pouring something out, I want in on it!

I come from a pretty charismatic and prophetic background. I’ve been in some pretty wild services—and to be clear, I love it.

But this was different.

Everyone has their definition of what revival looks like, but God will do what He wants to do, however He wants to do it.

There have been critics saying all kinds of things about the revival, but my heart is—If God is pouring something out, I don’t care what it looks like, I want in on it!

Are you hungry enough to say “however You want to come, God, I want it”?

I’m not hungry for my pre-conceived ideas of how revival should come—I’m hungry for God.

Psalm 115:3 says, “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”

2. Humility, hunger, and holiness are still attractive to God

James 4:6
“But He gives more grace.
Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.””

Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.”

Psalm 107:8-9
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

Hebrews 12:14
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

3. The people are communicating something to us

The revival was marked with simplicity and humility. And many people were celebrating that fact.

Do you think Gen Z was saying something without saying it?
Are people saying they're done with fake and flashy?
Are people saying they just want a real encounter with God?

All I’m saying is, when you listen to the things people are celebrating, it’s a window into their hearts. Jesus said out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Could it be that the things the people are celebrating about the revival are the things they’ve been longing for?

I heard someone say about the revival that it was the drink they didn’t know they needed.

For ministry leaders out there, I encourage you to ask why people are celebrating the things they are celebrating about the revival. Not to be critical about their experiences, but to hear where they're coming from and be better equipped to serve them well.

Isn’t that what ministry is? Serving?

What have you been serving?

4. We still need leaders!

Some of the critics have commented that there are no famous pastors or Christian celebrities leading and they say it with a sense of glad approval.

I get it.
I assume they’re saying that people aren’t coming for a big celebrity, but for God—and that is great.

But at the same time, well-known leaders in the body of Christ got well-known because they were gifted and anointed by God!

The staff and students at Asbury led humbly and powerfully.

Whether well-known or not, we need leaders.

Revival is stewarded by leaders who are yielded to God.

5. Revival reveals God’s heart

I believe revival comes to shock the church back to normal.

What is normal? The Gospels and the Book of Acts.

One pastor commented on Facebook saying that the description of what was happening in Asbury “sounds like a Sunday service.”

Fair enough.

But the problem is, it’s not normal everywhere.

Religion, doubt, fear…you name it…gets in the way, and many times the church is left with what Paul calls a “form of godliness” that denies its power (2 Tim. 3:5). Dead religion. No life change, no encounter, no power.

God sends revival to wake up the church to its original purpose! It’s like the defibrillators that shock people’s hearts back to life.

And in that, God reveals His heart for His people to truly live like Christ.

6. Events are a catalyst for a lifestyle

While I love the different outbreaks of worship that are happening at other universities, like Texas A&M and Lee University—I don’t think the answer is for everyone to host extended worship times.

(Btw, I think extended worship time is part of the normal in point 5)

These types of events are to be the spark that ignites a lifestyle of living like Christ in extraordinary ways.

One of the greatest examples is what God has done in Heidi Baker’s life. After she got touched by God in the Toronto Outpouring, her life radically changed, and over 10,000 churches have been planted, countless salvations and miracles have happened, and thousands of lives have been touched.

The encounter shifted the trajectory of her life.

We need revival to shock our own lives back to life. We soak up as much as we can and become transformed in His Presence. Then we live from that place.

Wilmore, Kentucky has a population of 6,000.
Over 20,000 people came from all over the world in one weekend.
Their city was getting overrun!

Wouldn’t it be like God to send an outpouring of His Spirit in a place that can’t contain it?
So that it would have to be carried out into the whole world?

We need revival.
And God uses revival to transform our lifestyles to be more like Him.

God is marking a generation!

7. God meets us where we are

Adam and Eve in the garden
Moses and the burning bush
The woman caught in adultery
The men afflicted with leprosy
Matthew in his tax collecting booth
Peter in his fishing boat
Paul on the road to Damascus
Cornelius’ family in his household

One of the best descriptions I heard of the Asbury revival was from a student named Madison Pierce. This is what he said:

“In each move of the Spirit, God clearly manifests in a specific way for that generation. I find it interesting that God would mark this outpouring with:
A tangible sense of peace for a generation with unprecedented anxiety.
A restorative sense of belonging for a generation amidst an epidemic of loneliness
An authentic hope for a generation marked by depression.
A leadership emphasizing protective humility in relationship with power for a generation deeply hurt by the abuse of religious power.
A focus on participatory adoration for an age of digital distraction.
It feels as if God is personally meeting young adults in ways meaningful to them.”

The thirsty ones left dry at the world’s offer for satisfaction…
The parched souls due to the sapping fear and anxiety…
The dehydrated spirits of students lacking the belonging they longed for…
The exhausted hearts and minds searching for the One they always truly wanted—
Found the “Well of the Living One Who Sees Me” (Gen. 16:13-14)

The well of life opened up in a desert of despair and everyone came to drink.

(And for certain, there were those who’ve already tasted of the Living Water and came to drink again because they just can’t get enough.)

At the end of the day, what made it beautiful is that people really wanted God and that Jesus was central.

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
Colossians 1:18

Question: What do you think God is saying through Asbury? Comment below!

Thoughts on Asbury Revival