Revival Is Now: When the Next Generation Joins the Song

By Rev. Belinda Sledge

Revival, which often happens between August and September and sometimes later in the year, is a time when we come expecting to hear a Word, something that will renew our faith, stir our spirits, change our perspective, and remind us that God is still at work among us. But sometimes, the most powerful message is delivered in a way we never expected.

Perhaps one of the most powerful messages during revival at Melfield United Church of Christ in Haw River, North Carolina, where Rev. Dannie Williams (Ed.D.) serves as pastor, did not come from the pulpit. It came from a little boy named Messiah.

There he sat in the congregation, right behind the musicians, drumming and singing as the choir sang and the congregation worshiped fully engaged in worship. He was not waiting until he became an adult to participate or for someone to tell him that one day the church would belong to his generation. He was participating now.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons revivals can teach the church. We often speak about our children and youth as the future of the church, but moments like this remind us that they are also the church of today.

Maybe revival is not only about restoring what the church once had. Maybe revival is also about recognizing what God is raising up right in front of us. That lesson seemed to weave its way through the messages proclaimed during Melfield’s three-night revival.

On the first night, Rev. Jamal Brown, pastor of Holly Springs UCC, preached “Stay at the Table.” If we want our young people to stay at the table, we must make sure there is a place for them at the table now.

On the second night, Rev. Michael Thompson of Archers Grove UCC preached “It’s All About Perception,” reminding us that our perspective can become our prison or our passport. Perhaps revival challenges our perspective about young people. Instead of seeing a child simply drumming along, we might see a gift being awakened, faith being formed, and belonging taking root.

Then Rev. Douglas Wooten (D.Min.), pastor of Oak Level UCC, closed the revival with “Caught Between the Now and the Not Yet.” While we sometimes struggle in the now, God’s promises give us hope as we move toward the future.

We can spend so much time preparing for the church of the not yet that we overlook what God is already doing in the now. Messiah’s singing was in the now. His drumming was in the now. His joy was in the now.

That is revival!

Stay at the table. Change your perspective. Trust God between the now and the not yet—and pay attention to the Messiahs sitting in our congregations.

The next generation isn’t just coming. They are already here.

Remember to look at the revival schedule in the enews and at soc-ucc.org and go support each other. Next week Union Chapel UCC where Rev. Calvin Brooks is the pastor, will be having revival. I hope to see you and your youth there!