God has been moving in the hearts of people in the East Tennessee city of Rogersville over the past few weeks, sparking a revival that’s spread across many churches.
The East Rogersville Baptist Church is just one of 1,000 churches participating in the Awaken Tennessee initiative surging across the Volunteer State. It started as a 30-day prayer and fasting event on Jan. 26. It is estimated it will touch more than 100,000 people. In the midst of this season of prayer, a powerful response has taken place with lives being touched by God’s power, leading to salvations, rededications, and baptisms.
Pastor John Butler gave CBN News an update on the revival happening in his city. Several pastors are reporting their services are exploding with revival as a result of the Holy Spirit showing up and taking over. Butler shared with CBN News several personal stories written by people attending the conference. They all said they could feel God’s presence in their lives.
One person said: “Revival has changed my life. I was not a good man. I was just walking through life and I got off the road. I was not living right. I felt comfortable with what I was doing. God has revived me. I am a new man. I will commit to this church and do what God will have me to do.”
Another person told how the Lord had filled them with the desire to share the Gospel daily. “Well, Glory! How do I even begin to write on this card what God has done? The Holy Spirit has revealed sins and un-forgiveness to me that I had cast from my memory. Those are now in the sea of God’s forgetfulness. God has filled this church with a renewed desire to see the lost saved. Our youth are stepping up in the unimaginable ways. Most of all, the Lord has filled me with a desire to share daily with the unsaved and unchurched.”
One spoke about the preaching they heard this week. “These days have been great! There is nothing like the freeness of praying and expressing one’s personal story is the best preaching ever! Thanks for giving us this opportunity to see through God’s power this week, that not one preacher alive can cause to happen the things we’ve seen this week. I really don’t know what’s next but whatever it is, I want it.”
One person recalled how God had touched them. “For me, this revival started long before I made it through those two glass doors. A week ago, I was mad at God, I felt wronged, like I had trusted Him and He had led me astray but God had a plan. Through the work God has done here and the people He has touched, He has touched me. He showed me HIS PLAN and reminded me that HIS PLAN is ALWAYS strong. So tonight, I want to give my love and submission back to God, trust HIS plan and let go of this calloused heart. So before I even got here, to this revival, through two souls, God has ALREADY revived me.”
And another simply wrote on their card, “God is good all the time.”