Revival: College chapel service continues a week after it began

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — A chapel service that began last week stretched into a second week at Asbury University in Kentucky.

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People from all over the country are traveling to the campus to spread the word and share their faith during a service that has turned into a revival, WLEX reported.

The service started on Feb. 8 and has gone on 24 hours a day without an end in sight, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

“We actually got here at six in the morning. Once we walked in, we could tell that God was here and we could feel this continuous presence,” A.J. Taylor, a student, told WLEX.

The news station said that so many people showed up that there was no room in the school’s auditorium and that people were gathering on the steps outside to worship.

The revival is also inspiring others to lead a spiritual movement.

Nevaeh Warren attended Asbury’s revival and decided to organize a similar service at the University of the Cumberlands.

More than 300 people attended.

“It’s so amazing because it’s so needed. We are a broken generation and just to see hearts on fire for God has, just again, just left me in awe. God is doing great things here; He’s gonna continue to do great things,” Warren told WYMT.

Some said that people are looking for a connection after years of turmoil and spiritual isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. People want to connect once again.

“From that, there’s a longing for genuine, real relationships and we believe, and we teach that Jesus is the only one that can restore relationships, not only with God, but with others,” Jacob Ratliff, the University of the Cumberlands’ Director of Campus Ministries,

This isn’t the first time the school had a revival, according to the Asbury University website. In February 1905, a blizzard hit the campus and a prayer meeting in the men’s dorm spilled out into the community.

A person praying in the chapel in February 1908 started a revival that lasted two weeks.

In February 1970, the dean was to speak in the school’s chapel and he invited people to give personal testimony. A line formed and the chapel became filled with people looking for spiritual renewal. Classes were canceled for a week and the revival lasted 144 hours, the school said on its website.

The service comes from the history of the religion, The Washington Post reported.

The Methodist tradition grew to be the largest Christian group in the country during the 1800s because of revivals. One of the most famous happened about an hour outside of Asbury in 1801, where thousands of faithful gathered, the Post reported.

The school is named for Francis Asbury, a preacher who helped grow the Methodist tradition through revivals.

Like the ones in the past, people who study religions said that the revival at Asbury was spontaneous, with no central leader planning a days-long, large worship event.

Michael McKenzie, an associate professor of religion and philosophy at Keuka College, has studied historic revivals and says that Asbury’s seems to “fit all the historical signposts of previous revivals.”

“I think a lot of people sense that America and American Christianity have lost its way,” McKenzie said according to the Post. “And they seem to me that they are looking to get back to Jesus in a profound experiential way.”