What are we trying to revive in a revival? There are a lot of answers offered for this question. Some see it as a revival of evangelism. People are not being led to Christ on the scale that we would like to see, or have seen in the past.
Others see it as the revival of the church and church attendance. Young people have been leaving the church in droves for many years now. We need to see this trend reversed.
Yet others are looking for a new ‘great awakening ‘ that will lead to more holy living and a pervasive spiritual renewal. This should be a lasting change, not simply a short term shake-up.
There are also those who see the goal of revival as a renewed emphasis on missions. We cannot afford to let our missions endeavors languish or fade. They are more important now than ever before.
But, although all of these things are very important, these are results of revival, not revival itself. So then what is revival? More specifically, what are we seeking to revive?
What we seek to revive in a revival is the hearts of believers. REviving the heart of Christians is our goal. If we do that, all of these other goals will also be accomplished. Really? How does that work?
Our greatest resource is not our evangelistic programs, our efforts to engage with the youth, our mission boards, or even an emphasis on holy living. These are all great resources. But our greatest and most central resource is: “Christ in You”
What exactly is that? What does that look like, and smell like? It means God inhabiting the praise of His people. It means our prayers, and us coming together with the same mind, the mind of Christ.
For an evangelist such as myself, it means strengthening the relationship between a Christian and Christ. Targeting issues in a person’s life that can come between them and a healthy relationship with Jesus should be the evangelist’s aim. REvival occurs when God’s people renew their commitment to Christ.
The evangelist partners with the pastor to provide the water on the seed that he has already planted, and then God gives the increase. This is the path to revival, and to seeing these other goals accomplished.