COVER STORY 28 APRIL 2023 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Signs of revival are appearing across our land. It began with an outpouring at Asbury University inWilmore, Kentucky, on February 8, 2023, when a regularly scheduled chapel service spontaneously transformed into 15 days of nonstop worship, confession, repentance and prayer, drawing tens of thousands of people from across the world to witness a move of the Holy Spirit. The sparks flew from there to more than 20 college campuses as the world witnessed Generation Z’s fervor for an authentic encounter with God. During this awakening, Jesus also showed up in the Super Bowl on February 12th. As millions ofAmericans tuned into the most watched sporting event of the year, they were “re-introduced to the Jesus of the Bible” in two “He Gets Us” advertisements as part of a national campaign. And in a break from the political statements demonstrated by NFL players in recent years, both quarterbacks, Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts, took a knee and pointed to the heavens, honoring God as a public display of their personal faith. Themulti-week gathering ended atAsbury on February 23rdwith the National Collegiate Day of Prayer hosted on their campus and broadcast to more than 4,600 campus ministries, churches and individuals. The very next day, “Jesus Revolution” was released in theaters. A true story from the early 1970s, “Jesus Revolution” tells howCalvary Chapel Founder Chuck Smithwelcomed a group of teenage hippies to his church and it gave birth to one ofAmerica’s greatest spiritual awakenings, the Jesus Movement. In its openingweekend “Jesus Revolution,” starringKelseyGrammer and "The Chosen's" Jonathan Roumie, was ranked among the top three movies at the box office. To date it has grossed over $49 million, far surpassing initial projections of $6 - 7 million and astounding the entertainment industry. Catching the overflow Danny Slavich, pastor of Cross UnitedChurch in Pompano Beach, travelled toAsbury, where his wife is an alumnus, to experience the revival firsthand. He described what he witnessed as “a raw kind of honesty of people just wanting to worship and experience the presence of God and a hunger to pour out yourself in praise and worship to the Lord.” Slavich, said “He definitely poured out a fresh sense of His love andmore than anything therewas this overwhelming kind of peace and joy combined …a sense of deep calm. When I think about Gen. Z, a lot of people have talked about how it’s the most anxious generation with depression and suicide, and God poured out that peace and joy upon a generation that's been so plagued by this…Many of these kids had to graduate from high school via Zoom. I see the kindness of God to a group of people in that moment and to get the privilege of being there to catch some of the overflow...” Slavich said, “Something is stirring” and he is “cautiously optimistic that there may be a fresh movement of the Spirit in the Church… I think it’s sort of elevated the expectations of what God might want to do in any given moment when we’re gathered as Christians.” When Paula andGonzalo Zubieta, who currently attend Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, heard about the outpouring inAsbury from their former pastor in Chile, they decided to take their entire family to experience it for themselves. Catching a plane to Kentucky, they waited eight hours in a line that wove around the campus green for the opportunity to enter Hughes Memorial Auditorium. Big screens mounted outside streamed a glimpse of the revival within, and those who waited got acquainted with one another and prayed together while children played on the green. “It was a great experience,” said Paula Zubieta. “These people were from different backgrounds, and they were all looking for something real. They wanted to find the truth… There were students who walked through the entire line asking, who needs prayer? Who needs a hug? People came with pizza and hot coffee, coats and blankets. There were people who shared testimonies that they were depressed or had suicidal thoughts and came to the revival and were changed.” Once inside, Paula said people were crying, singing and applauding, and many students were receiving from God after confessing their sins. “One of the things I received was a desire to start sharing with my neighborhood what I experienced in Asbury and to pray with purpose for the youth during the time when we meet,” said Paula. The Zubietas finally entered the chapel at 10 p.m. and stayed there until 1 a.m. Impressed by the passion of the worshipers at Asbury, Tim Zubieta, an 8th grade student at Calvary Christian Academy (CCA), said he felt “a sense of community and connection to the larger family of God.” His brother Joel Zubieta, a 6th grader at CCA, said Asbury was unlike anything he had experienced. Their father Gonzalo Zubieta said witnessing the Asbury revival, “strengthened my conviction” and was “a little piece of heaven.” He became emotional as they encountered the long line of cars entering the campus, because he realized, “Wow! There is such a hunger to search for God… We're so passive about the power we have access to. Revival is really believing we serve a powerful God that is desperately in love with us and wants to touch the lives and hearts of people.” While some are hesitant to call the awakening at Asbury a true revival, Gonzalo said he has no doubt. “When you plant a seed, at first you see nothing. It takes a while before you know how many apples one seed will produce, but the word of God will not return void.” While the family was at Asbury, Campus President Dr. Kevin Brown announced the services in Hughes Auditorium would end the followingThursday. Somewondered ifAsburywas “stopping this outpouring of God’s Spirit and the stirring of human hearts.” Brown responded by pointing out that “we cannot stop something we did not start,” and saying, “The trajectory of renewal meetings is always outward — and that is beginning to occur.” Tim said he learned, “This whole revival is the people that bring it along. They take it to their families and to their schools, and it’s something I want the Spirit to do here at my school.” Spontaneous Revival Shelly Pond Editor The Zubieta family at the entrance to Hughes Memorial Auditorium at Asbury University. L-R: Gonzalo Zubieta, Paula Zubieta, Natanael Zubieta, Joel Zubieta and Tim Zubieta. Pastor Danny Slavich Worship fills Hughes Memorial Auditorium day and night for 15 days. Photo courtesy: Asbury University
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2MjU=