Christian revival spreads to Baylor University
Students at Baylor University have been gathering nightly since February 19 to pray for spiritual revival in America.
President Linda A. Livingstone is 'overjoyed to see students boldly stepping out to encourage this generation of men and women to know the transformative power of the gospel.'
Baylor University students are praying for mass spiritual renewal after receiving inspiration from the student-led revival at Asbury University in Kentucky.
Students at Asbury have led a 24-7 worship event in the school’s chapel since February 8 that has attracted worshipers from across the country and the world and has sparked a generation-wide call for religious renewal in America across multiple college and university campuses.
In Waco Texas, Harris Creek Baptist Church (HCBC) held a small religious service on campus from 9 PM to 3 AM, and students have continued to organize informal worship events nightly, according to the student newspaper, The Baylor Lariat.
Photos from February 20 of the event on held in the main square on Baylor’s campus have circulated on social media under the hashtag “#RevivalGeneration.”
Students gathering to pray for revival at Baylor University! 🙏🙏🙏 #RevivalGeneration #asburyrevival #Revival pic.twitter.com/AZ2vn6zSbs
— Paul Worcester (@PaulWorcester) February 20, 2023
Jonathan Pokluda, pastor of the HCBC, said that attending the Baylor revival vigil has “strengthened” his heart.
“Being here in Waco, in a university town and with a lot of Gen-Z, I hope God captures their hearts and turns their hearts to him,” says Pokluda.
Will Bowden, Director of Waco Baptist Student Ministry, told The Baylor Lariat, that he hopes the faculty and administration at Baylor start participating in this student-led movement.
“We have an amazing, God-fearing president at Baylor,” Bowden acknowledges. “Her and her husband love Jesus, and they’re behind a lot of this as well, so who knows what could happen if faculty get behind it.”
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Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone told Campus Reform in an exclusive comment that she is “overjoyed to see students boldly stepping out to encourage this generation of men and women to know the transformative power of the gospel.”
Baylor prides itself on being “the world’s largest Baptist university” and has a history of revivals.
In 1945, Baylor students hosted a 90-day revival that resembles the contemporary Asbury event.
As Livingstone described it to Campus Reform, “That effort proved to be the origin of a revival movement that spread throughout Texas, the South, and around the world, launching a dynamic generation of professionals, pastors, and missionaries.”
Since March 2019, student groups have kept that spirit alive by hosting a 72-hour worship event open to the community called “FM72,” which students hope will be bigger than ever because the revival started at Asbury.
With students continuing to informally organize until this year’s FM72 on March 19, Livingstone notes that Baylor “facilities remain open and available for students seeking a place for prayer, worship and encouragement as we join together in praying for revival across our country.”
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