A genuine spiritual outpouring that began in 2023 continues at the start of the new year as tens of thousands of young people display an unwavering devotion to Jesus, packing out churches, auditoriums, and stadiums across the country to worship His Name.
Evangelist Matt Brown, founder of Think Eternity, recently shared on X that thousands of young people are “ringing in 2024” by passionately seeking God.
“Well over 100,000 young people gathered to seek God over New Year and to ring in 2024 with revival,” he wrote Monday.
Brown noted that 10,000 people attended Cross Con in Kentucky earlier this month, 13,500 attended Strength to Stand in Tennessee during December and January gatherings, and 12,000 attended Hearts on Fire conference in November.
“Of course, there is no way to even begin to calculate the millions of people that gathered at local churches to seek God across the nation and worldwide,” Brown added.
In addition, as CBN News reported, more than 55,000 young adults gathered in Atlanta, Georgia last week to worship Jesus, delve into God’s Word, and learn how to be light in their generation at the Passion 2024 conference.
“It’s just all about Jesus,” said Passion founder and pastor, Louis Giglio.
That statement rang especially true during one Passion worship service when tens of thousands kept singing “Worthy is the Lamb” for minutes on end, long after the band had stopped playing.
“I try not to get swept up in the loud music and bright lights, because then it’s just an emotional experience and it interferes with genuine worship, but as the music stopped and we all sang, something special happened,” YouTuber Noah Buchanan recalled of the experience. “Some people laughed, some cried. Could’ve stayed there for hours.”
Dr. Malachi O’Brien called it “a once-in-a-generation marking.”
Pastor Zach Meerkreebs, whose sermon at Asbury University marked the start of a 16-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit described by many as revival, is the first to acknowledge that what is taking place is a true work of God’s Spirit.
“On February 8, God’s generosity poured out on a small little college,” Meerkreebs said. “It wasn’t good preaching. That’s for sure. I texted my wife after I preached that ‘I laid a stinker’ and I would be home soon for a nap. I did not get home for a nap. For 16 days, it was God’s pouring out of His Spirit. It was unbelievable.”
“His peace, His patience, His kindness, His gentleness, His humility was just in our midst and ego was offensive,” he shared. “I can’t get to the altar fast enough to get rid of our sin…Students encountered God.”
Meerkreebs added that what is taking place now is “worth contending for.”
“We have heard stories of stadiums in Pakistan, Israel, and all over the world people are just seeking His face and lingering in His presence because it is worth it,” he said.
Meerkreebs and Paul Worcester, National Collegiate Director at the North American Mission Board, will be hosting a forum on January 23rd to explore ways to continue this movement among Gen Zers.
Shane Pruitt, national Next Gen director with the North American Mission Board (NAMB), recently released a Bible study through Lifeway Christian Resources called Revival Generation.
The book takes students through an eight-word study on subjects such as repentance, holiness, surrender, and obedience, and explores what it means for students to experience personal revival in their walk with God, the Baptist Press reports.
Pruitt told CBN News in July that he believes the lockdowns and restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a spiritual shift among Gen Z.
“The pandemic didn’t create new problems for Gen Z but I think it poured gas on some problems that were already there. You have a whole generation who has come to the end of themselves at a much earlier age,” Pruitt explained. “They are looking for hope and they are looking for answers.”
“We get to slide in with the gospel and say ‘The hope you are looking for, the truth you’re looking for actually has a name, and His name is Jesus’,” he added.
Meanwhile, other Christian leaders and ministries are calling one million young people to return to their first love during the “Roaring Twenties” fast and prayer movement.
The theme of this year’s fast is “Revival of First Love,” based on Revelation 2:4-5 and kicked off on January 8 and will end on January 28.
“First love for Jesus seems to be the commonality among what the Spirit is emphasizing right NOW in His Church. The crisis in Israel, the political unrest in America, & the sense of darkness attempting to destroy the Church is awakening many to loving Jesus being the ONLY answer for the hour we find ourselves in,” shared O’Brien, one of the event’s organizers.
“The call for one million young people to fast and pray is historic but must not be about any one church, leader, organization or denomination but rather a collective of believers young and old who sense that God is about to do something historic in the roaring twenties. I want to see those stories shared and see a new generation marked by the same hunger and passion of great spiritual leaders of the past,” he added.
