Experiencing Asbury 2023; the CIU Family and the Global Family of God

Why would Christ-followers from around the United States and around the world travel to the small town of Wilmore, Kentucky to participate in what has been labeled by some as a revival? Isn’t God at work everywhere? As you hear reports, both positive and negative, of what has occurred, it is important to keep in mind what Michael McClymond noted in an article for Christianity Today on Feb. 24, 2023, “What Revivals Can Teach Us.”  He wrote, “The best-known evangelical interpreter of revivals, Jonathan Edwards, taught that no one can judge a revival secondhand. ... The image of the thing is not the thing itself.”

A CIU team of faculty, staff and students who experienced the event first-hand, described unity among the body of Christ that many had never experienced. Some CIU students traveled on their own to be a part of the unique gathering. A CIU team left for Asbury early Thursday morning, Feb. 17, and the revival began for them with spontaneous worship songs and praise, shared testimonies and Scripture reading. Some of the students were blessed to lead worship for 45 minutes and then an additional 25 minutes in Hughes Chapel as thousands gathered to be a part of what God is doing at Asbury. We heard reports of healings and some of our CIU students experienced healing. The move of God was not confined to the university campus, as the CIU team prayed with others in hotels and restaurants experiencing the global family of God and interacting with those who are not Christ-followers.

The CIU team was expanded as I traveled to Asbury with other faculty and students on Feb. 18. We arrived in Kentucky late Friday evening and our time on campus was only a few hours, but there was life-changing impact on our lives. One of the participants described the experience this way:

“I felt the weighted presence of God’s glory … Many stood to receive Christ at invitation. Others stood to fully surrender their lives and be refreshed … All the singing, testimonials and messages were focused on Jesus. No flesh received the glory. Only His name was glorified … This is real. And it is spreading to other college and university campuses.”

What happened at Asbury is a reminder that God is still at work in ways beyond our control and comprehension; the body of Christ can worship, praise and work together as God intended. May the unity felt at Asbury permeate the hearts of all Christ-followers so that others can see God in us and become a part of the family.