A Kentucky university chapel has been the site of an impromptu prayer event that has continued unceasingly for an entire week. The event has drawn thousands, with some driving six hours or more to participate in the faithful display. Now Christians from as far as Singapore are traveling to the chapel to take part in the prayers, which have been live streamed on TikTok for the last week.
NBC News reports that the gathering began as a routine church service at Asbury University on February 8. At the conclusion of the service, several dozen students stayed behind in order to continue their prayers. After they shared the scene on the social media app TikTok, more students began to trickle into the chapel. This group generated more social media buzz, which drew even more, and soon the chapel was brimming with worshipers.
By February 16, posts on TikTok and Instagram had fueled the weeklong, 24-hour-a-day service with hashtags of “Asbury Revival,” generating some 24.4 million views on TikTok alone.
In the posts, great crowds of people can be seen singing along with music, reciting prayers in unison, and listening to speakers address the crowd.
According to a Yahoo report, students and staff from 22 schools in the surrounding area have come to participate in the prayers, with some of them bringing the spirit back to their own schools to initiate similar continuous prayer services. Asbury University has already received visiting groups from Massachusetts and Hawaii, but they report that they are expecting more groups to arrive from Canada and even as far as Singapore.
Asbury University President Dr. Kevin Brown noted that the university has done nothing to draw in Christians for this unique and unplanned event. He said:
“It has absolutely been social media that is the mechanism that people found out about this.”
Reports note that the event has been sustained by the same students who began it one week ago. What may be the most sensational aspect of the story is the small scope that continues to draw people in. This is no large arena event with well-known figures or musicians to draw the crowds. The music is played by amateurs with acoustic guitars and pianos, and the crowds are coming out for Jesus alone.
Read more at NBC news and see images of the event at the Instagram page of Nick Hall.
And today we celebrate...