Asbury revival in Kentucky will end after two weeks of non-stop services, worship
For nearly two weeks, people from all over the country have flocked to Asbury University in Wilmore to take part in a historic revival on their campus.
A regular service that started Feb. 8 turned into a revival, and it brought tens of thousands of people to the small town. But it will end next week. The final public evening service was scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, a schedule to conclude the services was released by Asbury President Kevin Brown in a statement on Facebook.
“As we enter the third week of this renewal movement, our desire is to be faithful to our mission as a student-centric Christian University,” Brown wrote in the statement. “Further, we believe that the continued flourishing of such a movement invites us to commission our Asbury community, visiting students, and other campus guests from across the world to neighbor-serving, God-honoring work.
“After much prayer and discussion with campus leadership, we have established a schedule for the upcoming week that is available on the university website.”
According to the schedule, a Tuesday service was expected to be held for only high schoolers and young adults, ages 16 to 25., and subsequent services throughout this week were expected to have the same restrictions. The university encouraged the general public to hold services at other venues.
The statement comes days after police and the public expressed concerns about the massive influx of people coming into town, and cited public safety concerns.
According to Lexington Herald-Leader’s news reporting partners, WKYT, residents and businesses were becoming overwhelmed with the parking and amount of traffic and in town.
“It is overwhelming, there are cars parked in people’s house space,” said Bobby Singh, who owns Clucker’s Corner, a Shell gas station.
In a statement released on Saturday, the police asked the public to have confidence in the department.
“Thank you for your continued support and patience during the AU event,” they wrote. “We ask that you use EXTREME caution while traveling in the city paying close attention to the pedestrian traffic. Parking is limited, however, please do not park in designated no-parking, fire lane, or handicap zones or in residential driveways or yards.”
At some points the university’s chapel has been so crowded that the seminary’s chapel was used as an overflow site. The two schools are separate institutions.
Previous revivals had occurred at Asbury in 1905, 1950 and 1958. On Feb. 3, 1970, a revival erupted at what was then Asbury College. That one, too, began at a morning chapel service and lasted 185 hours non-stop, continuing for weeks.
This story was originally published February 19, 2023 at 1:27 PM.
