(NewsNation) — Asbury University officials are working to get things back to normal on campus after the two-week long ‘revival’ service ended, but people are still coming to participate.
Wilmore, a small town in the center of Kentucky, saw crowds of at least 12,000 at the height of the 13-day marathon worship, about double the town’s population, according to Asbury University spokesperson Abby Laub.
Wilmore does not have a single hotel and its few restaurants were beginning to run out of food, Laub told NewsNation.
Though classes have resumed on campus and the inspiration has begun spreading beyond Asbury, people continue to come to Wilmore from near and far.
“We want them to feel welcomed, loved and to be prayed for and to be able to worship together. So we are working around the clock as we speak to locate a place that’s right here in the central Kentucky area where people can come,” said Laub.
Religious revivals in the U.S. date back centuries. Back in February of 1970, another Asbury revival stretched for a historic six days.
“Revivals are, in some ways, the most unique dimension of American religion that you could have,” said historian Colin Hansen, noting they can now be followed in real time due to technology and social media.
The “Asbury Revival,” as it now being called, began after morning service on Feb. 8. Thousands traveled to the small university after students said they felt a “revival” of spiritual energy.
“That’s why they’re called revivals. Otherwise, they would just be regular meetings. So it remains to be seen which sort of direction the spirit will blow here at Asbury and elsewhere around the world,” said Hansen.
Asbury has only one more public worship planned for tonight, just for people under 25.
“God never meant for us to hold this forever. The sign of a revival is that it spreads to the rest of the nation and we’re already seeing that,” said Laub.
Officials at Asbury are stressing that finding faith and reconnecting does not require travel.