What is Revival?
On April 8, 1966, on Good Friday, just two days before Easter Sunday, Time Magazine published one of the most controversial covers in history. It asked the bold and direct question, “Is God Dead?” People of faith across America were outraged that Time Magazine would have the audacity to ask such a question and release it over Easter weekend.
Without providing a definitive answer, the author questioned the relevance of God and implied that many churches and seminaries were slowly abandoning the traditional belief in a real, divine, omnipotent God in favor of a more symbolic God. One of the prominent liberal theologians attempting to write God out of the field of theology that the article focused on included Rochester’s own William Hamilton, a professor at Colgate Rochester Divinity School. As a result, Time Magazine received thousands of angry letters and ministers across America preached with righteous indignation against the rising humanistic ideology.
God Answers
You could say that God answered this question Himself, just a short time later, with the last Great Spiritual Awakening known as the Jesus Movement. Starting in the late 1960’s, the Awakening lasted into the early 1970’s. Time’s, June 21, 1971 cover, referred to the movement as the Jesus Revolution. Time Magazine was forced to declare, God was in fact, not “dead!”
The Awakening started in the most unlikely segment of American culture which, for the most part, were considered the misfits, characterized by long hair, free love, music, psychedelic drugs, Eastern mysticism, and civil disobedience. It was the hippie movement. Most churches in America were not welcoming to hippies. But, God, in His great love, reached the unreachable outcasts. This Awakening had a transformative, relevant, and lasting impact on society and the church as a whole, influencing music through an informal worship style and having an overall appeal to young people throughout our nation.
The Great Rochester Revival
Ever since I first came to the Lord in 1984, I have always been fascinated with revival. I have spent countless hours studying the outpourings and visitations of God’s presence throughout history and praying the God would “renew them in our day” (Habakkuk 3:2).
The roots of revival run deep in the City of Rochester. The Charles Finney Revival was part of the Second Great Awakening. Presbyterians called it, “the Year of the right hand of the Most High.” When the Charles Finney Revival broke out in Rochester, in 1830, about 20% of the city’s population was converted to Christ. It is estimated that more than 50,000 people came to the Lord in six months since the revival spread to more than 362 locations. Presbyterians called it, “the Year of the right hand of the Most High.” The Rochester revival was considered by many, one of the greatest revivals in history. The revival shut down bars, crime dropped significantly, new churches were birthed and the salvations were lasting.
Revival vs Awakening
Greg Laurie, in “Awakenings, Revivals, and the Church,” says, “America needs a spiritual awakening, but the church needs a revival. ‘Revival’ and ‘Awakening’ are often used interchangeably, but there’s a distinction. An Awakening is when God sovereignly pours out his Spirit, and it impacts a culture. That is what happened during the Jesus Revolution. A revival, on the other hand, is what the church must experience. It’s when the church comes back to life, that it becomes what it was always meant to be. It’s a returning to passion.” Psalm 85:6 says, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” That’s our heart for the inception of Revive Church. A church birthed in new life, to bring new life.
Healing What’s Broken
Many are struggling to get through life. Anxiety, fear, and depression are at an all-time high. Plain and simple, Jesus came to heal what’s broken (Luke 4:18). At Revive Church, we know the healing that can take place in a person’s life when they receive Jesus Christ and their lives become completely transformed through His love and power. For those who need more support, for the past five years, my wife and I have led a thriving healing ministry at His Tabernacle Family Church in Horseheads, NY, called Healing Journey. Through this ministry, we have seen many receive healing of lifelong wounds and complete restoration.
Why do we need revival? We need revival to revitalize faith in Rochester and restore people’s love relationship with God and His presence in their lives. “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalms 16:11. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow for your revival; you can have it TODAY!
