Could We Be On The Verge Of Another Jesus Movement?

Here are a few numbers that I would like you to consider:

• 8700 - The approximate number of different people attending Vineyard Columbus' Easter services (an all-time record for a weekend at this church).

• 87 - The number of people planning to be baptized April 17-18, 2004 (another all-time record). We added a baptism to our calendar and now do six baptisms per year and yet, we are still experiencing record numbers of baptisms.

• 30% - The percentage of adult attenders, according to our most recent survey, who said that they committed or recommitted their lives to Christ at Vineyard Columbus.

• 60+ - The number of adults who committed their lives to Christ at our Easter services and who signed cards of commitment. Many more made Christian commitments, but did not turn in response cards, and dozens of others made Christian commitments in our children's ministry, through our medical clinic, and through Fruit of the Vine (our ministry to the poor) this past week.

What do these numbers mean? God is clearly on the move! We are seeing an unprecedented (for us) number of conversions. By God's grace, we are also seeing an unprecedented number of people joining the church. But it is not just here at Vineyard Columbus that record numbers of people are being brought to Christ. Rick Warren, the best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor of one of America's largest churches (with an attendance of over 15,000) said in a recent newsletter that his church added 2500 people following The Passion movie. Dear friends of mine from around the Columbus area, and also around the country, have reported to me that they are also seeing a significant upsurge in attendance and conversions.

What accounts for the upsurge in evangelism that we and others are seeing? Certainly, The Passion movie has made a huge contribution to the spread of the gospel. It is predicted that over 45% of American adults will see this movie. It is an unimaginable blessing to realize that nearly half of all American adults will be exposed to a two-hour presentation of the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. Reports from Europe, and even from the Muslim world, show very significant interest among Europeans and Muslims in seeing The Passion movie.

Another significant factor in the current rise of interest in evangelism likely is the global uncertainty resulting from terrorism around the world. It is a truism that whenever people are in crisis, whether personal crisis such as addiction or divorce, or societal crisis resulting from economic collapse or war, people look beyond this world for answers.

The question I keep asking myself is this: Could we be on the verge of another "Jesus Movement"? From the late 1960's to the early 1970's several million young Americans responded to the gospel and were swept into the Christian church. Those young Americans were responding to the global uncertainty created by the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the wreckage produced by the drug culture and the sexual revolution.

Throughout American history, God has graciously brought revival to the church after periods of spiritual decline and significant apostasy. From the Great Awakening in the second quarter of the 18th century, under Whitefield and Edwards, to the revival campaigns of Finney and others, to the Pentecostal revival in the first decade of the 20th century, to the Jesus People movement, God has, at various times in American history, turned the hearts of his people to himself and brought about a new surge of spiritual life.

Rick Warren, writing in his best-selling The Purpose Driven Church, once commented: "Human beings can't build a wave. Only God can build a wave. But human beings can ride the wave that God produces." We human beings cannot bring about revival on our own. Only God can bring "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19). But we can accommodate those times of refreshing and "ride the wave that God is building."

Will you pray with me for revival throughout Central Ohio? Will you ask God to bring us a "season of refreshing?" Will you personally yield to the Holy Spirit and allow him to use you during this exciting period of church history? Will you repent of known sin in your life so that you are not grieving, or quenching the Holy Spirit? Will you join with me in bearing witness to Christ in your neighborhood, among your coworkers, fellow students, and family members? Will you keep inviting people to join you in attending church? And will you commit yourself to more diligent study of God's Word and the practice of Christian community in small groups?

When individuals, whether one, a few, or many, have been led in the past to pray fervently for revival, have turned from sin, have yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit, have studied their bibles, and devoted themselves to Christian community, God has graciously reversed periods of spiritual decline and brought about revival. Let's together ride the wave that God is building. Perhaps we are on the verge of another Jesus Movement!