Lord, Do With Us What You Did At Asbury!

Asbury University in Kentucky held an ordinary chapel service on 8th February. When they were closing with the final song, the students were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of God’s presence. More students came and worshipped, repented, prayed with one another, and received emotional and physical healing, and it continued 24/7 for weeks. Tens of thousands came to be a part of what God is doing, and it’s now being carried to other universities and churches, and to other nations (watch short documentary).

• We're encouraged by the way young people are engaging with such humility, deliberately turning away from manipulation, hype and celebrity church culture. Debbie Wright, National Director of Vineyard UK and Ireland recently went to Asbury and was especially struck by the response of young people in her article for Premier Christianity. She also posted on Facebook a call for us to pray for them.

• It's amazing how Asbury stewarded what the Holy Spirit has done (see Christianity Today article), including how they approached worship.

• I (Patrick) am most encouraged that the talk preceding the outpouring of the Spirit was about love in action from Romans 12. The talk has gotten very little attention (the speaker initially thought he ‘totally whiffed’ and told his wife the teaching was his ‘latest stinker’) but it encapsulates so much of what we’ve been asking God to birth in us these past few years - that we would love others as a response to the love Jesus has for us.

How is God calling us to respond? How can we make room for the Holy Spirit to do with us as he did at Asbury? How is he leading us to become a church that loves our community through the love we’ve received from him? Come Lord Jesus and come HolySpirit!