Name: A Kentucky Christian College's Worship Service Has Been Going Nonstop for More Than a Week
Uploaded: 2023-02-17T09:12:43.000Z
Description: A chapel meeting at a Kentucky Christian college has evolved into a 24/7 worship service that has lasted over a week and has attracted thousands of people from other states to join in.

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A chapel meeting at a Kentucky Christian college has evolved into a 24/7 worship service that has lasted over a week and has attracted thousands of people from other states to join in.

Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, began a chapel service in its Hughes Auditorium on Feb. 8. The meeting was meant to end that same morning with a closing prayer and a song by the choir, but after the formal service, students refused to leave.

In a Feb. 13 <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/asbury-revival-1970-2023-methodist-christian-holy-spirit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> for Christianity Today, Asbury theology professor and witness Thomas H. McCall recounted that the students continued to pray and sing.

"When I heard of what was happening, I immediately decided to go to the chapel to see for myself," McCall wrote. "When I arrived, I saw hundreds of students singing quietly. They were praising and praying earnestly for themselves and their neighbors and our world—expressing repentance and contrition for sin and interceding for healing, wholeness, peace, and justice."

That impromptu moment has turned into an ongoing service, and students at the school have continued to participate. By the time McCall published his article, students at the college had been actively praying and worshiping for five days. As of Thursday, the service has lasted more than a week.

The moment has now gone viral, with posts on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media sites sharing photos and videos of students <a href="https://twitter.com/jacobcsmith9/status/1624910100392452096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">singing</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/LeeGrady/status/1625564645397303338" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praying</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/calebparke/status/1625888931211247616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sharing</a> their testimonies. Many social media posts have featured #asburyrevival.

The multi-day worship service has brought in people from other parts of the country. McCall said that by Thursday evening on Feb. 9, the chapel was standing room only and attendees had come in from the University of Kentucky, Purdue University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Transylvania University, Midway University, Georgetown College, and Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, among others.

<a href="https://twitter.com/malachiobrien/status/1626285551195238406" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Photos</a> shared on social media have <a href="https://twitter.com/revelacaodofogo/status/1625696955237122048" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shown</a> crowds waiting in line to get into the chapel. NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/asbury-university-revival-college-kentucky-going-viral-tiktok-rcna70686" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the attendance on Tuesday night had reached 3,000, with crowds filling four overflow facilities. Ongoing worship events have since been reported at other colleges, including <a href="https://twitter.com/gregjgordon/status/1625294864803049474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lee University</a> in Tennessee and <a href="https://twitter.com/KEVIN_FREE1971/status/1626278519809384450" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cedarville University</a> in Ohio.
<h2>A Revival</h2>
McCall acknowledged that many people have labeled the ongoing worship event at Asbury College a "revival."

In his article for Christianity Today, the theology professor emphasized that the event taking place on the campus is not to be conflated with a political movement.

"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," McCall wrote.

A "revival," in this context, can refer to a sense of spiritual reawakening and renewed interest in faith after a state of dormancy. Past revivals have taken the form of continuous worship events like the one seen at Asbury College. In fact, Asbury College was famous for a revival that began on Feb. 3, 1970, and lasted three weeks. The college also saw another revival event in 2006 that lasted four days.

Nick Hall, an attendee who traveled to Asbury College on a one-way ticket from Minneapolis, told NBC that the event was relatively low-key for an event being described as a "revival." Hall said the event had not been led by charismatic speakers and "is as un-sensationalized as it could be." Instead, Hall said it has been the students that have made the event what it is.
<p class="">“They’re the ones that started it, they’re the ones that sustained it, and they’re the ones that have been on the platform the whole time,” Hall said.</p>
In his own article, McCall said he is wary of revival movements, but said what's taking place at Asbury College feels authentic.
<p class="text">"I’ve seen efforts to manufacture 'revivals' and 'movements of the Spirit' that were sometimes not only hollow but also harmful. I do not want anything to do with that. And truth be told, this is nothing like that," McCall wrote. "There is no pressure or hype. There is no manipulation. There is no high-pitched emotional fervor. To the contrary, it has so far been mostly calm and serene. The mix of hope and joy and peace is indescribably strong and indeed almost palpable."</p>
University President Kevin Brown told NBC that the school made an intentional decision not to publicize what has been going on at the Hughes Auditorium. Besides the customary three hours of live streaming the college shares from its chapel, most of the content shared from the event has come from its participants.

NTD reached out to Asbury College for comment but did not receive a response before press time.