by John & Marti Fischer

Historically, when you look at revivals, prayer precedes revival, and God knows we have been praying for revival since September 2021 and dreaming about it for more than 50 years.

Prayer and repentance are the two major elements of any revival.

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19-20).

This is certainly an accurate description of what we have seen and heard coming out of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Every indication points to prayer and confession resulting in “times of refreshing.” And after so many years of factions, fights and fall outs in the body of Christ, God knows we need this. It is so refreshing to hear of a unified gathering of believers around Jesus and His gospel. There is a noticeable lack of criticism and doubt in this revival. There is some of that coming from the outside, but not from anyone who is there. The power of the Spirit is undeniable. There’s a sweet spirit in the place and people say they feel it the minute they walk in the room. People can’t contain their joy. This is God’s work of grace in our lives.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Revival challenges us not only to receive the grace and mercy of God, but to give it out as well. The cultural issues that have become so important to Christians in this country during the culture wars have fallen away, and it’s all about Jesus again. As it should be. And it’s spreading. It’s as if people are coming to Asbury with a bucket to collect a few coals from the fire of the Spirit and take them back to light a fire in their own fellowship.

The Asbury Revival is throwing fuel on our fire, too. It is giving us a clearer sense, not only of God’s mission for the world, but also of our place in it. One of the keys to reaching the Millennial generation is a revival of relationships between the young and old. Cultivating intergenerational relationships is one of the most important ways in which we are developing a flourishing faith in both young and old. This means changing the metaphor from simply passing the baton to the next generation to a more functional, biblical picture of the body — that is, the entire community of faith, across the entire lifespan, working together to fulfill God’s purposes.

Next steps:

There is no need to travel to Asbury. God wants this to happen everywhere. You can’t plan it or organize it. You just join it when God says, “Now!”

Alison Perfater, the student body president at Asbury, said they had adopted Habakuk 1:5 as their explanation for what was happening, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” Which is the same verse we adopted for our session with the Jesus Music leaders from the Jesus Movement, along with Habakuk 2:1, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says…” Wait. Wait to see what the Lord says.

Join with us, the Catch community; the early Jesus Movement musicians; and those who either witnessed or were influenced by the Jesus Movement … and pray for a revival of relationships between the Millennials and the heart of God to revive the over 65 generation — the ones who are looking “back in the day” with sadness that it is over, but numb to the fact that we are here, and with the keys to creating a new song of freedom and hope to a waiting generation, the Millennials. We haven’t even begun.