A dictionary definition of the words revive and revival would include a “return to life or strength” or “to renew, to take up again.” In the modern history of the church, we often use the term to speak of a supernatural, God-empowered spiritual awakening in people—a coming to follow Jesus of those who previously did not follow, and a growing in one’s faith and character of those who do follow.
In this sense, to revive would be to return to the pinnacle of spiritual health and devotion to Jesus.
Now, on the one hand, we cannot program a move of God. God is God and therefore he does as he pleases when he pleases. Setting aside a few days, a week, or a series of weeks and calling them a “revival” does not guarantee masses of people coming to Jesus or experiencing spiritual growth. On the other hand, we can take steps to prepare ourselves for great moves of God while also strengthening our everyday faith in Jesus.
Paul wrote about this in Ephesians, first praying that the Christians of that church would together be spiritually strengthened and come to a fuller understanding of Christ and his love (3:14-21); and second encouraging them to live “filled with the Spirit” through corporate singing, thankful prayer, and humble service (5:18-21).
This is what Revive! 2016 is about. On five Sunday evenings spread across the course of the six weeks in March and April, we will be joining together to sing in worship to our God and Savior, and to hear from guest speakers who will encourage us to grow in our faith.
Revive! is for the faithful follower of Jesus who desires to be challenged to grow even further; it is for the new, young, and growing follower of Jesus who wants to learn more about what it means to be faithful to Jesus in all things; and it is for those who are not yet followers of Jesus, but desire to learn more about who Jesus is and why he is worth following.
For more information, you can take a look at our Revive! 2016 page or contact the church office.
The schedule for Revive! is as follows (all services begin at 6pm on Sunday evenings):
Date – Speaker – Topic
March 6 – JP Williams – God’s Word
March 13 – Malachi O’Brien – Prayer
March 20 – Tony Jones – Praise/Worship
March 27 – Easter, no evening activities at FBC Adrian
April 3 – Rick Thompson – Missions/Evangelism
April 10 – Steve Donnelly – Fellowship
First Baptist Church 