'He's Pouring Out His Spirit': Revival and Mass Baptisms Not Slowing Down in Gen Z
The move of the Holy Spirit sweeping college campuses doesn't appear to be slowing down. Auburn University is one of the latest schools where revival sparked during a worship event, and eyewitnesses tell CBN News the spiritual transformation of these students is very real.
When Christian leaders decided to organize a worship night called Unite Auburn they had no idea how many people would actually come. The amazing turnout resulted in around 6,000 students filling Auburn's Neville Arena and some 200 being baptized.
"It was such a move of God," Jennie Allen, Christian author, speaker, and founder of the IF:Gathering told CBN News. "There is something very special happening right now. I believe in their hearts I think they are, they are hungry for God and, and they want God in a very real way, this is not manufactured."
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Allen explained as the event came to a close, one student texted a local pastor at the event asking if he would baptize her that night. When the pastor showed the text to Allen, she decided to see if others in the crowd wanted to do the same thing.
"I go up on the stage, it was that fast, and I said, 'Hey, there's somebody that wants to get baptized tonight. Would anybody else want to trust Christ and be baptized tonight?' And dozens of hands were raised all over the arena, and it was wild," recalled Allen.
The group moved to a lake about a mile from the stadium and started streaming into the water to receive Christ. Some went in with friends, including a group of fraternity brothers who all got baptized together.
"We didn't just baptize them, we got to hear their stories and they got to tell us why they wanted to do this tonight, and so many of them were just tired of the darkness that they were living in," described Allen. "They wanted Jesus and they wanted a different way to live and it was so sincere, it was so sincere, you can see it in their eyes."
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CBN News recently spoke with Christian author Madison Prewett Troutt whose family was involved in organizing the event.
"It was just so amazing, so many coming, you know, to us saying 'hey, I just want to be clean I just wanna be pure,' and so many rededicating their life, dedicating their life and just saying, 'hey, I don't wanna follow the world's way anymore, like I wanna go all in with Jesus,'" said Troutt.
Troutt told CBN News she believes God is doing something remarkable in Gen Z.
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"He's pouring out His Spirit like it talks about, you know, in Scripture," she explained. "And we're seeing, I mean - I believe we're living in, you know, in the End Times, and you're seeing His Spirit be poured out and you know people coming to see God for the first time in a new light that's beyond religion, beyond tradition, and say man I want this God who radically saves and transforms and it's just, it's so cool to see."
The event's impact even led a prominent atheist group, the Freedom from Religion Foundation to demand Auburn "put a stop to religion in its athletic programs." The letter called the presence of Auburn's football, baseball, and basketball coaches "unconstitutional and inappropriate."
I am proud to stand in support of religious liberty at Snead State Community College and Auburn University.
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) September 22, 2023
As governor, I can assure you Alabama will never be intimidated by out-of-state interest groups dedicated to destroying our nation’s religious heritage. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/VrHDUlZ0GB
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey fired back in a statement saying, "We will not be intimidated by out-of-state interest groups dedicated to destroying our nation's religious heritage."
"This generation, yes, they may be on paper seemingly not attending church and seemingly not walking with God, but that is prime for revival," explained Allen.
"I think it's affecting the world," continued Allen. "Most of them, you know, have lived a pretty non-God existence prior to these moments, and so when you see this happen I think it just it moves all of us."
Allen described the unique reaction when she first reached out to Gen Z in 2018 at Texas A&M.
"There's just probably 2,000 people there and they began to stand up and yell out their sin in front of their roommates, in front of their friends. They were yelling out things like suicidal thoughts and sex addiction and alcohol abuse and all of these things that they were just screaming out in front of their friends," recalled Allen. "And I thought something is different, they wanted God more than they wanted approval from their friends. They wanted God more than they wanted to be accepted and respected."
Allen says while these moves of God all look different, one thing they have in common is this next generation's real and genuine desire for Jesus.
"I think it's because of the darkness, anxiety the depression that they've battled and so you know they're looking at Jesus and they're saying, 'I want forgiveness, I need forgiveness, I want what He's offering and I really don't care what other people think,' and it's powerful," Allen explained.
She adds for those hoping to see this in their church and college campus, the formula is simple and remains the same – pray.
"I'm not surprised that after that night happened I had a group of girls reach out that had been praying by the lake of all places that we baptized and they've been praying on Fridays and leading worship and asking God to move, so I believe it starts with prayer," said Allen.
Both Troutt and Allen credited local churches as key to the success at Auburn. Their support, presence, and leadership allowed them to be there for students eager to receive Jesus and help disciple new converts as they begin their walks with the Lord.
This year, CBN News has reported on multiple mass baptism events all over the country that don't appear to be slowing down:
'The Biggest Water Baptism' in US History? 4,166 Baptized at Historic Beach from Jesus Movement
Life.Church Reports 'Revival' as 2,000 People Get Baptized
TN MegaChurch Experiences 'Genuine Move of God' as 136 Get Spontaneously Baptized
'REVIVAL IS HERE!' From Beaches to Prisons, Hundreds of Salvations, Baptisms Reported Across US
'Revival to Prisons': God Behind Bars Reports 130 New Baptisms, Works to Reach 2M Incarcerated
American Awakening: Hundreds Baptized in Gatlinburg, Revival Breaks Out at Point Loma University
72-Hour Revival at Baylor Leads to 20+ Baptisms: 'A Compelling Invitation to Know Jesus'
That has led Pastor Greg Laurie – who helped baptize more than 4,500 people in one day in California this summer – to declare we're in the midst of a baptism movement.
"It sounds like it because you know, we baptized 4,500 people," Laurie told CBN News. "Look, everyone talks about how great it was in the Jesus Movement and we were there and it was great but we never had anything even remotely close to this kind of thing happening on the scale it's happening, so it is like a baptism movement."
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