By INGRID MALDONADO
New Life Revival Ministry will host a revival event at Northwestern in the student ballroom April 20 to 23 from seven to 10 in the evening.
The ministry is based out of Hydro under the pastoral leadership of Pastor Mark Lumpkin Jr.
The four-night event will have a worship team for worship and a message from the pastor.
The ministry revival is reaching Western Oklahoma to spread the Gospel and has already been to Woodward and plans to go to Clinton, Lawton, Leedy, Altus and even a town in Michigan.
“The thing that I can guarantee for everybody that maybe isn’t a believer or they’re skeptical about God or skeptical of Jesus, the thing that is going to happen every night is people are going to have a genuine encounter with God,” Lumpkin said.
According to GotQuestions, a revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy in the life of a believer.
Revivals have been going on for years, since the 1700s, and these were not only spiritual events but also social gatherings.
According to NCpedia, the revival began with singing, then a powerful message by a charismatic minister.
“Every night will be different, and we kind of have a way we progress through each night, but every night is subject to whatever the Lord wants to do that night,” Lumpkin said.
Rev. Drew Kirtley, who is the pastor at the First Christian Church in Alva and an adjunct instructor of English at Northwestern, said when he was younger, he used to go to revivals but as an adult hasn’t experienced one.
“It was always just kind of an elevated, more intense worship experience, is how I would describe it,” Kirtley said.
Kirtley said he knows other denominations have been doing revivals since the ‘60s and ‘70s.
He said he did think revivals are effective, but it depends on what a person is looking for. Some people, who are part of Christianity, search for emotion.
“In my experience, sometimes that emotion doesn’t last,” Kirtley said. “Sometimes you spend time trying to chase that feeling, instead of growing in your faith. Ive heard people say, ‘I wish I could feel the same as I did as a kid,’ and it can come across as if they’re looking for a repeat of that feeling rather than to know more or to grow.
People and ministries that are hosting revivals are usually well intended and have good intentions,” Kirtley said.
Lumpkin is excited to come to Alva and bring what happened at his home church revival where 1,000 people showed up.
The event is not open to just students but for everyone in the community, he said.
Revivals can’t happen every week, Kirtley said, and so it is important for people to challenge themselves in what they do and how they practice their faith.
“I would say to anybody trying to get something out of it [the revival], enter it in a prayerful way,” Kirtley said. “Follow up if you have a great worship experience, what’s the next thing? Take the next step, maybe look into helping with your community, or finding a church group to be involved with, or however you feel you’re led to follow up that experience.”