I preached at a revival this past week in one of our great KBC churches. This church traditionally holds an annual revival—though it had not done so in recent years—inviting a guest preacher, worship leader and providing a meal for each service. They were such gracious hosts, and we had a wonderful week together.
Each church must decide what it will include in its annual church calendar. While many Kentucky Baptist churches do not include a yearly revival, some do. They view it as a way to come together as a congregation for fellowship and ministry.
We had a good revival, and I want to share five observations I made during my week with this congregation:
1. Preaching, praying and singing are always good things to do. It is hard for Baptists to argue against the value of hearing sermons, worshiping God in song and praying and fellowshipping together. Add in fried chicken and banana pudding and who would not want to be part of that? What I noticed about this already-strong church is that it seemed even more encouraged as the week went on and the services came to an end. As believers, we probably need more time together — not less.
2. Sometimes God surprises us. God saved two men in our first service of revival. I was able to give one of the men an Apologetics Study Bible that was recently given to me by Dr. French Harmon of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. That same man came back to revival services during the week and is building relationships with church members. He is off to a great start in his walk with Christ. I was even able to follow up with him by phone to encourage him as he begins his journey with the Lord.
3. Relationships matter in gospel work. The two men who were saved at the revival services were there because of relationships they have with existing church members. Many people today do not even know what a revival service is, but they do know when someone loves them and invites them to a special gathering being held at their church. We are told that more than 90 percent of those who visit church services do so because someone they know invited them.
4. Everyone needs encouragement. One of the things I love about preaching revivals is the number of pastors who attend from area churches. There were six different pastors or ministry leaders who attended the services this past week. One pastor who came to the services four nights in a row shared that he needed revival in his own life and that these services were good for him. That is no surprise to me as every church leader I know needs regular and ongoing encouragement.
5. We still have work to do. The county where I preached this past week has a population of more than 44,000 people with only 12.2 percent of them attending church. While a few of those people will come to a local church revival when invited, most will never be invited to one. We must have other strategies for reaching them. Every church must give prayer, thought, resources and collaborative planning to connect with lost people and invite them to new life in Christ.
May God continue to give us vision, passion and resources as we go together into the harvest fields — and may He find Kentucky Baptists eager to reach the lost for Christ.
Dr. Todd Gray 