Russia is suspending the last nuclear arms treaty with America. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are preparing to meet. North Korea is again testing its ballistic missiles. Ukraine has been at war with Russia for a year now.
Meanwhile, “WWIII” was trending on Twitter earlier this week.
The millennial generation, of which I am a part, has a tendency to respond to intense national and international news with memes and GIFs. (Is it the best way to respond? No, but it is entertaining.) Social media platforms were full of millennials’ coping-mechanism memes this week as fears over nuclear weapons and geopolitical tensions grow.
But doomsday predictions are not the only thing grabbing the attention of younger generations right now. A move of God on America’s college campuses is captivating Generation Z.
As often seems to be the case, light gets brighter when darkness grows, and a recent spiritual revival on the campus of Asbury University, a private, nondenominational Christian school in Wilmore, Kentucky, is a testament to this reality.
On Feb. 8, a group of about 15 Asbury students lingered in the campus chapel after a weekday morning service. As they prayed and worshiped, more students came back to the chapel and began to join them. The spontaneous gathering soon garnered the attention of the entire campus, and the chapel began to fill, launching two weeks of continuous worship and prayer services.
“It’s so evident that God is doing something so unique and so special,” Samantha, an Asbury University alumna, told Jennie Allen, host of the “Made For This” podcast.
Perhaps the simplest way to describe a revival is a move of God that brings about an increase in prayer, worship, and repentance.
Thousands have traveled to Wilmore, population 6,000, in the past two weeks to experience God’s presence. Due to a number of factors, including limited space on campus, Thursday marks the final day of planned revival services, but Asbury President Kevin Brown says the university is not stopping the revival.
“I have been asked if Asbury is ‘stopping’ this outpouring of God’s Spirit and the stirring of human hearts,” Brown said in a statement. “I have responded by pointing out that we cannot stop something we did not start. This was never planned.”
“Over the last few weeks,” Brown added, “we have been honored to steward and host services and the guests who have traveled far and wide to attend them. The trajectory of renewal meetings is always outward—and that is beginning to occur.”
The move of God’s presence has not been confined to the campus of Asbury, but has spread to Lee University in Tennessee, Samford University in Alabama, and Cedarville University in Ohio.
“There’s no show here,” Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick said in a video shared on Twitter while standing outside the Lee University chapel in Cleveland, Tennessee. “There is no spectacle other than seeing hearts transformed,” he said.
The words of Christ in John 16:33 seem particularly appropriate for the moment in history we are living through. Jesus said to his disciples, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we discuss the significance of the Asbury revival amid the growing international tensions. Also on today’s show, Congress is considering an amendment that would erase the distinction between men and women. The implications would be devastating. We break down what you need to know. And as always, we’ll be crowning our “Problematic Woman of the Week.”
Listen to the podcast below:
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