By Sarah Sherman
A Christian worship service at the Asbury University chapel in Kentucky has evolved into a continual prayer and worship meeting or otherwise known as a revival. People from all over the world gathered at the Asbury University chapel after watching viral videos on TikTok. The revival has even reached Western New England University students who are eager to learn about it, and some were encouraged in their faith because of it.
The 2023 Asbury Revival was a revival that started at Asbury University, a small college in Wilmore, Kentucky. A revival is typically an increase in interest in the church from people of all backgrounds. In this case, it looked like many people gathered in a chapel, singing and praying together, very low-key. It started on February 8, 2023, after Asbury University undergraduate students randomly decided to stay later after their regular chapel meeting in the Hughes Auditorium and continued to pray and worship together. The meeting evolved into a 24-hour around-the-clock two-week continual worship and prayer session that attracted people from all over the United States (like Hawaii and Massachusetts) and the world (like South Korea, Netherlands, Australia, and Brazil). The revival has left a huge impact on the nation by inspiring many people of all ages to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Asbury University President Dr. Kevin Brown says, “On February 8, 2023, Asbury University’s regularly scheduled chapel service never ended. What we have experienced since that Wednesday morning has been a current of immeasurable goodness flooding our community and quickly moving into other regions of the world.”
Dr. Kevin Brown also says, “We [the school] continue to hear inspiring stories of hungry hearts setting aside daily routines and seeking Christ at schools, churches, and communities in the US and abroad.”
First, it was attended by more students from the university. Then students from other universities started coming, for a total of more than 260 colleges and universities represented because of social media live streams and posts that went viral. As of February 27, the revival has generated over 115 million views on TikTok, and the hashtag #AsburyRevival has gotten 116.1 million views on TikTok.
Then people of all ages from all over the world started coming. The meeting continued in the Hughes Auditorium until February 24, 2023, when the university became unable to host the number of people who had traveled to attend the event. The revival has since moved off-campus and has spread to multiple universities like Lee University, Cedarville University, the University of Ohio, and Sanford University. There was a total of between 50,000-70,000 people who participated in the revival.
There have even been reports of miracles at the revival. Helen White, age eleven, said she was healed of celiac disease and Eosinophilic Esophagitis at the prayer meeting. Another girl had attended the event with a sprained ankle and was healed after a man there prayed for her. David Bennett said he was healed from a long-term health issue at the event and found out when he went to the doctor for his medication. The doctor performed an exam and told Bennett he could not explain how, but his disease was no longer there.
Here is what Western New England University students and staff are saying about the Asbury Revival. Some have heard about the revival, and it has encouraged their faith. Others have not heard about it but are interested in learning about it.
Benjamin Colledge, the Western New England University InterVarsity Student Leader, says, “I heard about it [The Asbury Revival] in the news within the last month or so. I did not know much about it at first, and then in what felt like no time it was on nationally headlines everywhere. It was certainly an encouraging thing to see happen.”
Benjamin Colledge also says, “It has always interested me how these revivals start, who and how things happened to get to the level of where they are at. Also, knowing how things like that happen is always encouraging and exciting because one can see how God opens doors that used to be shut and gave people passion and courage to reach out to others.”
Kevin Sharpe II, a psychology major and senior at Western New England University says, “I have not heard about the Asbury revival, but I would be interested in learning more about it; mainly because I have no idea what it is but it sounds interesting.”
Rebekah Sherman, an English major and junior at Western New England University, said that she had heard a little bit about the revival, and she had known that it had occurred in Kentucky. She said that she had found out about the revival from her mother, who had heard about it from two ladies working at the North River Beverage store. She had said that she would be interested in learning more about it because she knew very little about the revival. Rebekah Sherman says, “Yes, it was very encouraging to hear students taking initiative to spread the Gospel and showing their faith and living it out. It is inspiring to see students proactive in their faith.”
Today, the Asbury Revival continues to inspire people to be bold, like the first students who started the revival and positively impacted society by seizing leadership opportunities that they are passionate about.
