WILMORE, Ky. (KT) – As the Asbury University revival moves into its 10th day on Friday, school officials have announced a more structured schedule beginning Monday. Services will move to an off-campus locations starting with the Feb. 24 evening services.
Thousands of visitors, including nearly two dozen universities and colleges, have come to the tiny Christian campus, many driving hundreds of miles to experience the revival that is spreading throughout the country through social media. Students have kept it going nonstop since the morning chapel service on Feb. 8.
Even during downpours of rain on Thursday, they stood in line and waited to get a seat on Hughes Auditorium.
In a letter to parents, Asbury University President Kevin Brown said campus leadership has put together a schedule with “an attempt to recognize and steward this beautiful, historic moment of spiritual renewal while quickly moving toward a more sustainable campus experience for our students that fosters predictability, well-being, and continuity.”
He wrote the university is also working with groups to increase security, prayer and ministry support, event management and overall logistical planning. Samaritan’s Purse, for example, is providing Asbury with 10 additional officers to serve on campus for staggered eight-hour shifts over the next week.
Services through Sunday will continue with afternoon and evening services. This includes prioritization for high school age and young adults 25 and under (10 rows in front and 5 rows on each side set aside for students).
Beginning Monday, Feb. 20, evening services at Hughes Auditorium will be reserved for high school age and young adults 25 and under.
The doors will be closed in the morning with the afternoon service open to the public.
The 7:30 p.m. service will have seating reserved for the main floor for high school age, young adults 25 and under and their leaders. Guests are allowed in the balcony spaces (if young adults have not already occupied those seats).
All other guests will be welcomed in other designated simulcast venues.
The National Collegiate Day of Prayer service will be Thursday, Feb. 23. Only high schoolers and young adults 25 and under will be allowed in Hughes Auditorium for the national simulcast (8 to 10 p.m. EST). Other guests will be able to watch the simulcast in other designated locations.
Remote guests can participate in the simulcast by visiting collegiatedayofprayer.org/live.
Beginning Friday, Feb. 24, evening services will be hosted at other locations to be announced and no longer at Asbury University.
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One Kentucky Christian school plans to have students in Hughes Auditorium Friday for chapel services. Jim Hill, principal of Cornerstone Christian Academy in Shelbyville, said 22-23 students are planning to attend the revival. Hill said the Admissions office was called and agreed to save seats for the students. Hill said an Asbury representative told him that Hughes Auditorium would be closed to those over 25 years of age on Friday.
“We heard about the revival and thought it would be good for our students to experience that,” Hill said, adding that “several of our students have not been on a college campus.” Students will also take a campus tour during their visit.
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James Wedgewort, pastor of a Pisgah Baptist Church is Casar, N.C., contacted the Kentucky Baptist Convention about the revival, saying he and others pastors in that area want to visit the revival.
“No person who loves the Lord and looks for His movement wants to be cynical,” he said. He said that, while last week may have been a time for caution, “that time has come and gone.” He expressed a desire to see what God is doing and that believers should be “sensitive to his movement.”
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Brown, Asbury’s president, wrote this on the school’s website …
“At the completion of a regularly scheduled chapel service on Feb. 8, 2023, at Asbury University, students lingered to pray, worship and share. They have not stopped and, moreover, have been joined far and wide by hungry men and women across the world who desire to seek the Lord in this space.
“Since the first day, there have been countless expressions and demonstrations of radical humility, compassion, confession, consecration and surrender unto the Lord. We are witnessing the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
“We continue to seek to discern the right balance between orderliness for our university students, faculty, and staff and our campus visitors — and creating space for individuals to have a life-transforming, Christ-centered encounter.
“We are also tremendously thankful for the men and women who have worked so hard and diligently to create space for this special move of God. Hosting such a significant moment comes with a cost — and the goodwill and humility of our community has been inspiring.
“Finally, we cannot fully express the profound gratitude we have for stewarding this outpouring in the life of our school and beyond. Ultimately, we pray that our efforts in these days point to our Savior.”
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Asbury has provided contact emails for those looking for prayer, ways to help or have media requests. The following email addresses can be utilized:
• For prayer requests — [email protected]
• For questions on how to donate, how to help, any logistical questions — [email protected]
• Asbury University Chapel services are live-streamed each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10-10:50 a.m. (EST). To watch, go to: asbury.edu/livechapel
• For media requests, contact [email protected]
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Advice given for those planning to attend includes:
• Seating is limited in Hughes Auditorium, and there is a wait time to be seated. Be prepared to stand outside, potentially for a significant amount of time. Visitors are encouraged to consider attending one of the simulcasted gatherings across the street in Estes Chapel, McKenna Chapel, and at GCF/Wilmore UMC.
• Asbury asks persons not to livestream or broadcast anything from indoors, out of respect for others and what God is doing.
• The only guest bags allowed in Hughes Auditorium will be diaper bags, medical bags or clutch wallet. All bags will be searched.
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The revival has attracted attention from national media.
• NBC News reporter Jake Taylor wrote:
A Christian service at a college chapel in Kentucky has ballooned into a nonstop prayer and worship session that some are calling a "revival" — and people are traveling thousands of miles to take part in it after seeing viral videos on TikTok.
“It has absolutely been social media that is the mechanism that people found out about this,” said Mark Whitworth, Asbury University’s vice president of communications.
The setup is simple. No projector screens or high-tech integrations, just wooden sanctuary chairs filled with people, and an open altar call with an invitation to prayer that still hasn’t ended.
That equation has been a powerful recipe on social media.
On TikTok and Instagram, videos hashtagged “Asbury Revival” are racking up millions of views. At the time this article was published, the hashtag #asburyrevival had 24.4 million views on TikTok.
• Tom McCall, writing on Christianity Today, wrote this:
Most Wednesday mornings at Asbury University are like any other. A few minutes before 10, students begin to gather in Hughes Auditorium for chapel. Students are required to attend a certain number of chapels each semester, so they tend to show up as a matter of routine.
But this past Wednesday was different. After the benediction, the gospel choir began to sing a final chorus—and then something began to happen that defies easy description. Students did not leave. They were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of transcendence, and they did not want to go. They stayed and continued to worship. They are still there.
Some are calling this a revival, and I know that in recent years that term has become associated with political activism and Christian nationalism. But let me be clear: no one at Asbury has that agenda.
• CBN News carried a story by Steve Warren and Benjamin Gill. It included this:
The impact has already been so powerful that this ongoing Spirit-led event has drawn the attention of major media outlets.
But it's also drawing a wider worldwide audience, particularly of young people, to witness what is happening through firsthand accounts, photographs, and videos with many of these posts going viral.
Type in "Asbury Revival" on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube to see multiple posts and videos of the revival.
These videos have sent the revival around the world, stirring up spiritual hunger in the hearts and minds of viewers everywhere. The response of many users has gone beyond the typical "Like" or comment on the videos. It has caused some to make a personal trek to Asbury to see for themselves, according to multiple reports.
• WKYT-TV in Lexington reports people from all across the state and the country have traveled to the Asbury campus to take part in the worship service. People from as far away as Oregon showed up to sing, raise their hands in praise, or kneel to pray.
"No big lights or big media or anything like that. It's proof the Lord is working. Right now. Amazing to see. We just wanted to be a part of that desperately," said Aniston McClellan who traveled from Nashville.