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'Our Culture's Going to Be Changed': Massive Revival at Asbury Captivates World, No Signs of Slowing Down

Billy Hallowell
02-14-2023

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The nation is captivated by the stunning revival breaking out at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, as students, faculty, and people from outside the Christian campus flock to the school’s chapel to participate in a multi-day revival.

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From singing to sermons and overt praise for Jesus, the worship service, which started Feb. 8, hasn’t stopped. Day and night, students and professors are passionately worshipping Christ.

“Right now, I think we’ve reached over 120 hours of nonstop worship, praise, confession, testimony, Scripture, reading — you name it,” Alexandra Presta, a senior at Asbury University, told CBN’s Faithwire on Monday.

It’s a scene that has left Presta, who also serves as editor of the student-run website The Asbury Collegian, in awe. She has been writing about what she experienced after attending what she thought was a typical chapel service last Wednesday.

But that service was like none other, resulting in a situation she called absolutely “incredible.”

Watch Presta tell this extraordinary story of revival:

“I was in chapel on Wednesday, and it was an ordinary chapel service … we have them three times a week,” Presta said. “But then…people just kept worshiping afterwards. It was a small group of students.”

She recalled being initially surprised by those hanging back in the chapel and decided she, too, would stay, citing a prompting from the Lord.

“I did feel like the Holy Spirit … nudged me to go back,” Presta said. “And then I did, and then I ended up staying like the rest of the evening and then came back every day afterwards.”

Presta isn’t alone, as the Kentucky revival shows no signs of slowing down. She believes the nonstop prayer service — which she said wasn’t planned — is all the work of the Holy Spirit.

“The Holy Spirit chose to just fall down and touch our hearts,” she said. “This is purely God moving and keeping people here and bringing more [who are] continuing to cross state lines and even across the country now; it’s absolutely insane.”

She shared how the Christian revival at Asbury is transforming the campus community as a whole and individual hearts and minds, including her own.

“For me, to see us worshiping … no matter what grade we’re in, no matter if we’re an athlete or not, or whatever major we are,” Presta said. “The fact that we are all coming together and serving God first and foremost, but then also allowing ourselves to take it in and just be there for each other has been really impactful for me.”

She said the campus will continue the revival so long as the Holy Spirit urges them to do so. Presta also said she believes the Kentucky revival will make a massive impact for the Lord.

“We know that our culture’s going to be changed by this,” Presta said. “As long as the Holy Spirit tells us to keep going … then we’re gonna keep going.”

The Asbury senior said she has heard from people from as far away as Brazil and Italy, calling the sweeping attention the revival has received “mind-blowing.”

This isn’t the first time the campus has experienced a revival. A separate event in February 1970 saw more than 144 hours of praise and worship and made a massive splash in the headlines.

“On Feb. 3, 1970, Dean Custer B. Reynolds, scheduled to speak in chapel, felt led to invite persons to give personal testimony instead,” a description reads. “Many on campus had been praying for spiritual renewal and were now in an expectant mood. Soon there was a large group waiting in line to speak.”

Some of the same people are attending this revival.

“There’s actually like a lot of people who were in attendance in the 1970s [who] have been here,” Presta said.

Be sure to pray for the students and faculty experiencing this revival — and for the people worldwide who are positively impacted.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

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About The Author

Billy Hallowell writes for CBN's Faithwire.com. He has been working in journalism and media for more than a decade. His writings have appeared in CBN News, Faithwire, Deseret News, TheBlaze, Human Events, Mediaite, PureFlix, and Fox News, among other outlets. He is the author of several books, including Playing with Fire: A Modern Investigation Into Demons, Exorcism, and Ghosts Hallowell has a B.A. in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York and an M.S. in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.
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