We’re a Renewal Movement

By Austin Gohn

In the fall of 2010 on the campus of Lincoln Christian University, my friend Cody began to feel an urgency about prayer. The “prayer rooms” hidden away in the dark corners of our chapel had become little more than a favorite spot for campus couples. Uncertain of what else to do, Cody declared “squatter’s rights” in an unused room at the geographic heart of our campus, despite the amorphous stain on the carpet and a cartoonish illustration of Christ’s ascension.

And we started to pray.

Just over a year later, a near constant flow of students buzzed through the room. It had been repainted. A chalkboard wall had been added so students could share requests. We hosted collective prayer nights every other Wednesday. Inspired by the Moravians in Herrnhut, we organized 35 hours of prayer for unbelieving friends and family; their names were written on hundreds of note cards we hung around the room.

As students were baptized—and the Lord added to our number monthly those being saved—note cards were removed. Many students were instilled with a renewed sense of personal holiness. And, in that room where there once was a painting of the ascension, we experienced something more akin to Pentecost.

LONGING FOR RENEWAL

That experience left a permanent mark on my life and ministry . . . and I’m not alone. God, it seems, has been working a longing for renewal into the hearts of many pastors—both within our movement and beyond it.

Mark Sayers, a pastor in Australia, recently articulated this longing in Reappearing Church. He defined renewal as “the refreshment, release, and advancement that individuals, groups, churches, and cultures experience when they are realigned with God’s presence.” That’s precisely what we were longing for on our campus in the early 2010s, even if we didn’t know the correct word for it, and I see that same longing in many pastors I know.

Pastors who have come of age in a time when it feels like church has been reduced to scientific formulas for growth are beginning to wonder if there’s more. They’re reading the New Testament and looking at their churches, and thinking, Where is all the stuff I’m reading about?

Sayers writes,

We see this dynamic throughout the history of the church, where small groups of individuals find the church of their age fallen into decline and stagnation, infected by the spirit of the era, heresy, or religiosity. This remnant seeks to recapture the original dynamism and purity of the apostles’ faith. Eventually, this fire catches as God acts with power, reshaping individuals, churches, movements, and whole geographic regions.

I found I wasn’t alone in what I was feeling, and now I’m discovering we’re not the first generation of pastors to feel this way.

REVIVING CANE RIDGE

Every student at my college was required to take a class called History of the Restoration Movement. Most of us took it begrudgingly, opting to do the weeklong, intensive version of the course so we could get it out of the way. It was one of the last classes I took, and I showed up with a liter of coffee every morning.

Despite my attitude, God used that class to stir my longing for renewal. It was there that I first heard about the events that unfolded in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in the late summer of 1801. That’s when a small group of pastors began preaching in and around the Cane Ridge Meeting House, not anticipating what would happen next.

Within a few days, more than 10,000 people had gathered. Anywhere from 300 to 3,000 people experienced a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Between 500 and 1,000 people were converted. We call it the Cane Ridge Revival, and it was one of the catalysts that set our movement in motion. (For more on this history, see “We Started as an Inviting Movement” on page ##.)

Here’s what I believe: These pastors never would have wanted renewal to end in Cane Ridge. The Restoration Movement, at its core, is a renewal movement. We want to do more than read about the Cane Ridge Revival, we want to see Cane Ridge revived in our own time. We’re a movement that requires every generation of pastors to pray, “Do it again, God.”

CREATING THE CONDITIONS

We cannot create renewal. We can’t put it on a calendar of upcoming events at our church. God alone can bring renewal, but it’s up to us to create the right conditions. At the very least, it means preaching the gospel, praying with boldness, and pursuing holiness.

Preach the gospel. Get back to the basics. Build it into every sermon. Persevere in sharing the simple truths of the gospel over and over again, even if you’re starting to feel like a broken record, “because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Pray with boldness. Start by looking for people who feel an urgency to pray. Commit to a regular rhythm of prayer with others that includes asking God for renewal. When God poured out his Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles were praying—and I’m certain that we should do the same.

Pursue holiness. Invite God to ruthlessly examine your heart for hidden sin. Meet with others frequently to confess sins and encourage holiness. John Wesley and his friends at Oxford had a list of 22 questions they used for self-examination, and it wasn’t long before God used some in that group to inspire the first Great Awakening.

When I shared some of these thoughts with students a few weeks ago at Milligan University, two students, Emma and Alex, came up to me and said, “That’s exactly what we’ve been praying for,” and it filled me with so much hope. God is still renewing his church. Whether it’s in a field in Kentucky or a damp prayer room at a cornfield Bible college, pressing in for renewal is what the Restoration Movement is all about.

Austin Gohn serves as lead pastor at Bellevue Christian Church in Pittsburgh. He is the author of A Restless Age: How Saint Augustine Helps You Make Sense of Your Twenties. He has written for The Gospel Coalition, Fathom magazine, and Gospel-Centered Discipleship (gcdiscipleship.com).