'Prayer Is Always the Foundation for Revival': Tennessee City Pastors Say Revival is Exploding among Various Churches, Shows 'God is Moving'

Steve Warren : Feb 18, 2020
CBN News

"From the first worship song, people began to flood the altar for prayer and continued to do so for restoration and to receive Christ. We haven't manipulated our people. They came expectant and God simply showed up." -Pastor John Butler

(Tennessee) — [CBN News] Revival is taking place in Tennessee as churches from various denominations have partnered together in prayer and fasting. (Image source: Omni Hotels-Grove Park Inn-Great Smoky Mountains)

East Rogersville Baptist Church located in Rogersville has been the launching pad for this move of God.

It's a part of Awaken Tennessee, the 30-day initiative for prayer and fasting, kicked off Jan. 26 and will run through Feb. 23.

Pastors are reporting their services are exploding with revival services as a result of the Holy Spirit showing up and taking over.

"I feel the cause is two-fold," noted Sheldon Livesay, the coordinator for Awaken Tennessee told the Rogersville Review. "Hawkins County churches have come together to join in the prayer and fasting movement across Tennessee, and Pastor John Butler here in Rogersville has created a county-wide launch at his church which now has exploded into its fourth week of services."

"3,100 Awaken Tennessee Prayer Packets have been distributed across East Tennessee to 220 churches who are joining in the 30 days of prayer and fasting. Another 800+ churches are joining from Middle and West Tennessee. That's a total of over 1,000 churches in Tennessee fasting and praying in unity," Livesay continued.

"Many churches are only giving one packet per family where both the husband and wife have committed to pray, which means well over 100,000 Tennesseans could be involved in prayer during February. Prayer is always the foundation for revival," he added.

"This rally is not about our church or any particular denomination, but it is our effort to join the concentrated prayer effort across the state for true revival in our churches that precipitates an awakening in our communities, state, and nation," Butler said when the initiative began. "There are exponential results as you bring multiplied groups together to pray."

The Awaken Tennessee is a city-wide movement of prayer and fasting focused on unifying the church to strategically pray for and bless the city, one person at a time.

Dove Award-winning singer/songwriters Terry and Barbi Franklin came to Rogersville to lead worship services for the revival. As a result, the former members of the Gaither Vocal Band were also invited to lead worship for the follow-up services.

Click here and scroll to watch the Franklin's lead worship in a Rogersville, TN church.

The church pastor described for the newspaper how this past Sunday how "The Holy Spirit came and took control."

"From the first worship song, people began to flood the altar for prayer and continued to do so for restoration and to receive Christ. We haven't manipulated our people. They came expectant and God simply showed up," Butler said.

The Franklins say they will help as long as they are needed. It's something that they've been praying about for many years.

"We've been longing to see America's churches become houses of prayer again and revived in their first love for Jesus," the pair said.

John Avant, president of Life Action Ministries, told the paper he hasn't seen an outpouring of the Holy Spirit like this since 1995 when a revival broke out simultaneously in five churches in Brownsville, Florida.

"I've traveled the United States since the Brownsville Revival and not since then have I seen and felt what I do in Rogersville, Tennessee," Avant noted.

About a half dozen other pastors who are participating in the initiative report the Holy Spirit is setting revival in their churches as well. People attending the services told them they can "feel the Holy Spirit as soon as you enter the building.

CBN News has reached out to Pastor Butler and Awaken Tennessee for an update on the revival meetings. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here