If a resurgence occurs in the woods and no Westerners are present to perceive it, does it produce a noise?
Given the incredible move about Kentucky in Wilmore, it seems timely to hear all of us about such a twist on the old philosophical thought experiment.
Does revival have to occur on a brightly illuminated platform, broadcasted live on social media, with individuals traveling from various parts of the globe to participate, and receive recognition through the creation of numerous articles in order to be considered as such?
In the context of the majority of Christians in the West, they tend to be left out of the map, as news cameras mostly remove them from the Anglosphere and beyond, since they unfold for different reasons. Moves of God happen to occur mostly in places of desperation, upheaval, persecution, and poverty, within the majority context of the Christian world.
What would a revival look like in a rainforest where there is little to no electricity, deep in the valley of a remote desert and mountain region, or in the chaotic churn of a slum with little infrastructure, where endless streams of migrants are fleeing flooding and drought, and the latest group to join is the militia?
It is almost alien-like how consistent the symptoms of reality breakthroughs in spirituality may seem. We are talking about vastly different milieus – economic, social, and cultural – from our own.
When we talk about revival, we are referring to the encounter with Christ that draws unbelievers into the midst of His transformative power. In this experience, we offer any assistance and welcome our enemies, showing them love as we reconcile their old lives and break the ties of sin. Through our personal testimonies and powerful preaching, we bring God’s Word alive and find Him every week, day, or even several times a week. We come together in fellowship, praying and worshiping through the night, staying up for hours and rising early in the morning to pray together. This happens in communities across or within a community, as the body of Christ.
“Revival is the Church embodying its true essence,” observes Barry Chant in his comprehensive study on the subject. It could be argued that a more common expectation should revolve around what we promote as this elusive and remarkable state of ‘revival’. Instead of focusing on profundity or extraordinary occurrences, it is more about believers engaging in the actions we hope would take place during revival. Furthermore, the presence of revival phenomena should define it as revival, rather than solely emphasizing profundity or anything out of the ordinary. If the body of Christ adheres to the aforementioned conditions, it indicates that there should be a sense of normalcy in experiencing revival. However, any location where God’s power is manifest cannot be considered gloomy or mundane, and the desire to encounter revival is commendable for all who follow Jesus.
Perhaps, these truths are the reasons why we, in the global north, have lost our hope for reason. We often laugh at the woes that Jesus’ words cause us and we are well-fed and rich.
In places where believers have no recourse to anything but God, it seems that revival is happening with the greatest frequency. These are the places where believers share all they have and turn to nowhere else, where they confess and forgive, worship and pray, and gather under the pressure of being harried, powerless, and poor. It is precisely in these places that they hope to be healed by the power of God.
Examples where profound breakthroughs are happening allow me to share some. They include sustained church growth amidst public proclamation and spiritual breakthroughs, amidst persecution. The relentless presence of prayer and the costly forgiveness compel us to go forth, including at least these.
1. Iran – Consistent expansion despite significant peril.
Faster than in any other country, the church in Iran is growing well over a decade that it has been widely publicised.
Today in Iran, we witness the unrest caused by the spiritual hunger of Iranians, which is comparable to the growth of the Church. The body of Christ has experienced intense persecution, especially among the younger generation. The Islamic Revolution and Iran’s ruthless regime have imposed a harsh brand of Islam, leading to great disillusionment.
None of them are nominal, but it is highly plausible to estimate that there are over a million adherents in Iran. The clandestine character of the Church renders verification unattainable. You can be assured!
2. Thailand – Finally making progress?
Thailand has seen a relatively new movement in the FJCCA Jesus Christ Association, with many churches being planted in rural areas through effective village-by-village evangelism. However, the growth experienced by this movement has been explosive and different from other fellowships or denominations. Despite this, there has been little fruit with the mission and prayer that has been sown into Thailand. In the last few years, the FJCCA Jesus Christ Association has experienced effective discipleship and explosive growth. However, it has also appeared that Thailand is resistant to the Gospel, although traditionally, missionaries have been welcomed.
What is currently taking place is a missiological breakthrough or a church planting movement, which researcher Martin Dwight refers to as a revival. Christianity is having a significant impact and reshaping the perception in this predominantly Buddhist nation, with the latest count revealing 1,435 new believers, including a mass of public baptisms.
3. Myanmar – Tragedy, horror, and metamorphosis.
For generations, ethnic minority groups in Myanmar, such as the Rohingya, have been subjected to violent and ethnically targeted suppression by the regime, while the majority Burmese Buddhist population, comprising 95%, has long enjoyed a strong Church presence. This is in stark contrast to ethnic minorities like the Chin, Kachin, and Karen.
In addition to the acts of violence, poverty and famine are widespread. Everyone is vulnerable to the merciless assaults, but not everyone. Certain Christians are involved in resistance groups that are opposing the government. Places of worship and educational institutions are being specifically attacked by cannons and military aircraft ever since the military takeover in 2021. The cruelty of the government has intensified.
Despite the destruction and terror, many Christians are experiencing a revival, with thousands of nominal Christians being renewed in their faith. Even amidst terrible suffering, the followers of Jesus are learning how to live out Christ’s love by forgiving their persecutors, while spreading and growing the Church. Even Burmese Buddhists are becoming followers of Jesus.
4. Algeria – From isolated region to expanding influence.
The Kabyle are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to mountainous northeastern Algeria, residing there long before Arabs imposed Islam on the region.
In recent years, the Kabyle Church in North Africa has experienced a rare and extremely intense revival, with the growth and outpouring beginning during the intense Islamist violence of the Algerian Civil War in the 1990s. Thousands of believers, ranging from tens to thousands, have enlarged the occurrence.
They are reaching other nations, increasingly sending missionaries to ethnically related peoples. However, their numbers are growing, and they are reaching out to other Arab and Berber groups. They not only make disciples but also face arrests, hostility, church closures, surveillance, and prejudicial treatment.
5. India – The smallest of them.
The marginalized sections and the aforementioned communities originate from those who adhere to the teachings of Jesus, particularly for Dalits and Tribal peoples. The inequalities within India’s caste system are extensively recorded.
India is experiencing a dynamic growth in the younger generation, with a significant number of girls, especially children, who are often considered surplus and demonstrate the lowly status of ‘orphans’ due to India’s problem of sex-selective abortion, which affects millions.
The shared leader of 170,000 children involved in just one part of the kids’ network is the same spiritual leader who is overseeing the transformation and spiritual breakthroughs happening in many parts of India. This transformation and breakthrough are tied to the intensifying persecution driven by Hindutva and are combined with concerns about security due to the sheer size of India’s population. However, it is important to note that this spiritual transformation and breakthrough are only happening in half of India’s states, within just one operating network.
6. Africa – Consistent supplication, magnified.
The Holy Ghost Service, a well-known event in the Christian Church, takes place outside the Redeemed Church of God in Lagos, Nigeria, on the first Friday of every month, starting at 7pm and lasting throughout the night. The attendance has been known to exceed one million people, with thousands of singers and musicians alone.
If there is no more space, they pray in the fields and sleep on the ground. People are begging for the coming to stop and it overflows, but it operates year-round. It can accommodate 2,000-3,000 people. Food is not allowed on the premises. Mountain Prayer Gate Heaven’s is a retreat center for fasting and prayer, and it is located near the dusty place called “Elementaita” in Kenya.
The doctors and witches began to worship Christ, coming to the mountain-foot of 9,900 as many as 100,000 times a day.
Black congregations in the United Kingdom come together for prayer with a passionate intensity and in large numbers that should make the rest of us feel humbled, especially considering how close they are to us. Joint prayer has always been a strong aspect of Black churches, whether it’s the Friday night prayer gatherings, the New Year ‘Crossover Services’, or the city-wide/national prayer occasions. According to Swiss theologian Walter Hollenweger, “Christians in Britain prayed for many years for a spiritual revival, and when it finally arrived, they failed to recognize it because it was predominantly within the Black community.”
God on the move
No doubt, some criteria rigidly fitting into their revival would disqualify some. In his upcoming book, “You and the Changing World – Power of Prayer,” Stuart Robinson writes that our definition of revival expectations means agreeing concisely on what we mean by revival attempts. It may seem that we have a lot of hope for success, much like feeling comfortable as David in Saul’s attempts. However, insistent on Western concepts and definitions, others would assert that any other move of God or revivals is yet another example of colonialism in a global church.
How do these examples of strong sense and hunger for God’s presence do much? It is clear that the Holy Spirit is at work, extending God’s kingdom into deprived communities, bringing new vitality to the global Church. However, Western churches, which are comfortable and individualistic, need to confront the common threads of community, persecution, poverty, fasting, and prayer.
We express our desire for a resurgence. What cost are we prepared to bear?