Asbury University is an institution that not only emphasizes the academic growth of its students, but also the spiritual growth. University Chapel Coordinator Rachel VanLandingham shared that at Asbury, “we want every student within their first weeks here on campus to have the opportunity to know who Jesus is and say ‘yes’ to Him as their personal Lord and Savior.” One of the first major opportunities to step into that invitation is Fall Revival, a multi-day gathering of worship, teaching and prayer that sets the spiritual tone for the semester.
Fall Revival serves as one of the three chapel emphasis weeks that take place each year. “These three emphasis weeks follow the Wesley movement of praying that all of our students are ‘saved, sanctified and sent,’” stated VanLandingham.
In the past, Fall Revival has taken place over the course of four or five days. Starting this year, Fall Revival and Set Apart Week will both move to three days of services, Monday to Wednesday night, with Wednesday serving as a testimony night for students to share how God has met them throughout the week. The hope is that this new schedule will provide students with the ability to participate in events while balancing academics with their busy schedules.
This year’s speaker is Reverend Santes Beatty. Rev. Beatty has spoken many times at Asbury, including the Fall Revival in 2023. He currently serves as the Director of Next Gen for The Wesleyan Church at a national level and as the Lead and Teaching Pastor of Christ Wesleyan Church in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Over the course of three days, Beatty will focus on the Gospel of John. “John’s Gospel is one that pays particular attention to Jesus as the Light of the World,” stated Beatty. “John’s Gospel really has two goals,” Beatty continued, “to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and to display that once we believe in Him we can have eternal or everlasting life.”
“There were basically two groups of people in the Gospel of John, those who saw Jesus, but missed his purpose and his message, and those who saw Jesus and recognized who he was,” continued Beatty. “We will lay out things simply to give students a choice of which camp they find themselves in, while challenging them to see why Jesus requires a response.” He explained that just like the people in John’s Gospel, students today can hear about Jesus yet still overlook who He really is, or they can respond to Him personally. Beatty added, “He was either a liar, a lunatic or he is Lord, the Light of the world. Our hope is that students [will see] Him as both Lord and the Light of the World.”
Fall Revival will take place Sept. 8-10 in Hughes Auditorium. Beatty will speak in Chapel at 10 a.m. on Sept. 8 and 10, with evening services at 7 p.m. Sept. 8-10.
Photo courtesy of Asbury Strat Comm.
