Reviving Colleges One Campus at a Time
By Martin Kim
As I was flying over the Pacific Ocean the one thought on my mind was, “I can’t wait till these next ten days are over and I’m headed back home again.” I was en route to one of our Adventist universities as guest speaker for their ten days of prayer event in January, but to be honest, I didn’t really want to do this week of prayer. I could completely relate to Jonah and how he must have felt, when he didn’t want to go to Nineveh. I was going only because I felt I had to, and I didn’t want to face a similar fate as Jonah. Why was I having these feelings? The reason is simple. I had been to this exact same university several years earlier with a small team to run a prayer room. We experienced very little success during that visit, and I had personally considered the trip a failure. It was not on my list of favorite schools that I wanted to revisit.
However, to my surprise, within a few days of my return visit, I found myself praising God and thanking Him for bringing me to back to this place. Many students and faculty members came to the revival meetings night after night. People were telling me, “It’s never been like this at this school with so many people filling the sanctuary night after night.” I could certainly believe what they were saying because of first hand experience with prayer ministry at this university in the past. It was evident that God was doing something very special on the campus. During the ten days, testimony after testimony was given about how prayers were being answered. There were beautiful stories of how broken relationships were mended and how emotional and spiritual healing had taken place. When the meetings finally ended, and I was leaving for my return trip home, my heart was so full of joy and thanksgiving that I could hardly contain myself. Now instead of grumbling, I was praising God in thanksgiving for allowing me to be able to experience what He wanted to do for His people.
Over the next few weeks an elementary teacher stayed in touch with me. This individual had come out to the ten days of prayer faithfully. One day she asked me via e-mail if I could go to a college in her home country to do revival meetings just as I had at the university. She was hoping for something similar to happen there. She had worked for many years for the elementary school on the college campus back at home. Because of this, she had a great burden to see revival take place on this campus. However, because of a very busy schedule that fall, I just didn’t think I could do it. I told her that if God opened up the doors that I would go, but in my heart I had no intention to go. I was just too busy.
Well, once again, God had different plans for me than I expected, and He opened up the doors. This time my wife joined me for the trip. The plan was that she was going to speak to the high school students, and I was going to speak to the college students. As we flew to the country, this time it was my wife who was thinking, “I can’t wait till it’s over and we’re headed back home.”
When we got to the college we were in for a rude awakening. As we talked with a number of individuals we learned that the school was struggling financially and spiritually. Several individuals told us that their school had many needs; their greatest need was for God. We had no choice but to begin the meetings in faith trusting God to “change, wonderfully change, the most hopeless discouraging outlook” (8th Testimonies, p. 12).
To our amazement, within a few days, we began to see the Spirit of God move in a powerful way on the college campus. The elementary teacher who arranged for these meetings had a team of prayer warriors who were daily praying for the school and for the meetings; God was answering their prayers. We saw young and old experiencing revival and falling in love with prayer. The testimonies that we began hearing from students and faculty members were so inspiring. The revival experience that I witnessed at this college was very similar, if not more powerful, to the first experience I’d had back in January. It was such a beautiful and amazing experience that my wife and I both began praying, “Lord, this needs to happen on other Adventist college campuses.” Not long after "IF MY PEOPLE PRAY" Ministries was born.
The pen of Inspiration tells us. “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer” (1st Selected Messages, p. 121).
Click here to learn more about IF MY PEOPLE PRAY MINISTRIES!
If My People Pray Ministries was started because we recognize that revival is “the greatest and most urgent of all our needs” especially in these last days. And we believe that God wants to out-pour His Spirit and send revival even much more than we want it ourselves. We thank God that revival is not rocket science. We have seen again and again that if we will fulfill the conditions of “confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer” God will send revival.
If you would like to work together with If My People Pray Ministries to bring revival to your college or university campus, please contact us by clicking here.
