OUTPOURING AT ASBURY

Jake and I had an unexpected opportunity to go to Asbury University this past Saturday. Months ago, we booked a trip to Kentucky to celebrate our upcoming 10yr wedding anniversary. In the week leading up to this trip, I started hearing about an outpouring of God's love happening on this campus, some calling it revival. I started to see videos of what was happening there and hearing testimonies of the ways the Holy Spirit was moving. I knew we had to go. So Jake and I rearranged some of our plans and drove down from our hotel on Saturday. ​

The President of Asbury University writes on the school's website about what has taken place:

"On February 8, 2023, Asbury University’s regularly scheduled chapel service never ended. What we have experienced since that Wednesday morning has been a current of immeasurable goodness flooding our community and quickly moving into other regions of the world. Words fail any effort to communicate the abundance of experiences and stories that will leave us forever changed."

Words really can't describe all that was taking place there, but some that come to mind are Spirit-filled, spoken word of Scripture, STUDENT-LED, humility from the staff and student leaders, simple, not flashy, confession, worship, repentance, healing, not chaotic, testimonies, prayer, and a sending out. ​
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I was so encouraged by the overwhelming presence of high school and college age students drawing near to God! So many of them, that they filled most of Hughes Auditorium by themselves (seating capacity of 1,500)! I was thankful that the university was prioritizing this age group to be inside worshipping by having them go in first. So the 25+ crowd like myself worshipped with them from the outside in the courtyard. 

A Psalm that was shared at the beginning of one of these worship times from this past week--I think this captures the heart of what we've seen taking place:

Psalm 63: 1-5

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

The gatherings in the Chapel are now closed to the general public, but you can view a livestream here:
www.asbury.edu/outpouring

An extra special personal blessing was that while we were worshipping out in the courtyard, a group of men came to stand in front of us from Adult & Teen Challenge in Missouri. Many of you know of my love for getting to partner with this ministry here in MN. It was a sweet moment for my soul to worship alongside each other. This is a picture of them praying together. 

God is stirring in this younger generation. Let's keep praying that this would go forth from Asbury and out into the world! 
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