On Feb. 8, 2023, students and staff of Asbury University, Kentucky, gathered for their usual worship service at the chapel. This particular time, it turned out to be unusual because it did not end for the next 16 days. Asbury University, Kentucky is a private Christian University located in Wilmore, Kentucky. 

Some of the worship service attendees left for class while others felt a need to linger more. According to Zeka Atha, a student at the university, “After class, I heard people still singing which was unusual, so I went back up into the chapel and the peace I felt in the room was unexplainable. So a couple of buddies and I went into different classrooms to announce that a revival is happening.” 

Soon enough, word had spread around the school and more students gathered.  The worship event went viral across social media platforms which caused a ripple effect of more people from far and wide, trooping into the university, including gospel music Ministers like Kari Jobe. The Atlantic reported that the hashtag #asburyrevival had generated about 100 million views on Tiktok and counting. 

Many of those present at the event testified about experiencing an atmosphere of love, peace, and unity. Some declared they were free from addictions and anxiety. Within a span of two weeks, a small town of about 6,000 hosted over 50,000 people from all across the country. As the crowd grew, the school ran out of capacity to host that many people and make accommodations for parking. Security and safety concerns arose, not only for the school, but the town as well.  This led to the end of a 16 day non-stop worship at the University on Feb. 23, 2023. 

While some have questioned whether what took place could be classified as an actual revival, one thing remains true, history has been made, and this will be spoken of in the Christian community for a long time, especially by those whose lives that were changed due to this experience.

Sources:

• www.asbury.edu/outpouring: Statement from Asbury President Dr. Kevin Brown
• Youtube: Sojourner Films (Asbury Outpouring Documentary Film)
• The Atlantic: When a Christian Revival Goes Viral by Thomas Lyons
• www.readlion.com: We cannot stop something we did not start: By Grant Braaten