I believe in revival meetings.  I am an evangelist and I preach revival meetings 20-30 times every year. My grandfather was saved in a revival meeting. My dad was and so was my brother.  I have seen churches dramatically changed because of them and I have been changed because of them as well.  Recently I have been a part of some very successful revival meetings. Attendance was great. Prayers were answered. Souls were saved — some dramatically so. Homes were changed. Each service was marked by definite responses to the truths of God’s Word.  I am still receiving notes and texts about how these meetings continue to affect the church.

Why were they such great meetings? I believe it is because of these reasons (not in descending order of importance but all taken together):

1. Preparation

These particular meetings involved much preparation. Dates were secured and advertised. Ball games were canceled and plans were made to alter Christian School schedules to best accommodate the revival services. Advertisements were abundant. Prayer meetings were scheduled and revival prayer lists were circulated.  Commitments were made. Emails were sent out daily. The church was prepared for a great meeting.

2. The Pastor’s Support

For instance, in Hendersonville TN it was obvious that Pastor Mutsch believes in revival and fully supported that meeting in every way possible. He gave much time to the meeting and to promoting and praying for it. He went out of his way to invite people to attend.  He scheduled an extra Sunday and brought me in a few months prior to the meeting in order to point people’s attention toward the coming revival.  He had some clear goals and lead the church to pray for those goals every day in the weeks leading up to the services.  His support was essential in this great meeting.  A pastor’s support always is!

3. Prayer

Prayer really does make a difference.  At the meeting in Hendersonville, Pastor Mutsch lead his people to pray by sharing simple prayer lists with the church family.  We had prayer every day and each evening prior to the services the deacons and staff met with me and my Evangelism Intern to pray for us and for the services and for the needs of which each of us were aware. We praised God for what He was already doing and prayed for Him to do more. And He heard our prayers and answered them!

4. The People’s Support

One of the very notable parts of any “successful” meeting is that every person is “on board.”  In the meeting referenced above, the Christian School staff, the deacons, and every member was ready and eager to be a part.  Chapels were scheduled and given incredible priority and these became a major part of the success of the week. Some students were saved and others made definite decisions of surrender and dedication. Every teacher was an avid participant in the chapel services and in the evening revival services.  Every deacon was on board and was praying and working toward seeing souls saved and the church revived. 

5. Preaching.

Preaching the Bible is always a vital part of any revival meeting. God uses the “foolishness of preaching” to save sinners and He uses preaching as the method of teaching His people His Word.  Each of the successful meetings of the past few weeks placed a great priority on the preaching.  The congregational singing supported the preaching. The specials did too. The time allotted for the message and the receptive and responsive hearts of the people did as well.

Many are giving up on “revival” meetings. The past few weeks proved to me that they still work and can still make a huge difference in a church and in a community.  

Thanks for reading.

Your sincere friend,

Dave Young