Boyce Mouton
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Letter 514English

Letters From Grandpa #514

Boyce Mouton · 2 pages · 1,049 words

  • LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
  • 514

Dearest grandchild,

Todays’s letter will condense an article by Talia Wise that appeared in the Dec. 14th, 2023 issue of God Reports. The article begins: “This year we witnessed a powerful move of the Holy Spirit across college campuses, beaches, prisons, and churches – so much so that 2023 could be dubbed a “Year of Revival.” It could even point to the beginning of what many have called a spiritual awakening in America.” Faith leaders have testified that “revival is happening.” It showed up in locations across the U.S. spanning different age groups, denominations, and backgrounds.” For example:

  • On Wednesday Feb. 8 a small group of faithful followers of Jesus stayed a little longer in the chapel at Asbury University. Then a little longer, and a little longer, and a little longer. Then thousands of students from 21 other colleges showed up to share in their worship.
  • Lee University is a private Christian College in Cleveland, Tennessee. This is about 250 miles from Asbury. A video was taken in their chapel after 10 hours of worship showing students crying out to God for mercy and repenting of their sins. Similar stories were reported in schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
  • President Thomas White of Cedarville, University reported large numbers of students spontaneously gathering to read the Scriptures, pray, repent, and share testimonies. Some students even travelled to other universities to share what God was doing in their lives.
  • Also in February, Michael Fehlauer, the lead pastor of the New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, posted videos to social media that showed baptisms being performed in a public fountain at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi.
  • An impromptu baptism at Auburn University in Alabama started with one student wanting to be baptized but grew to roughly 200. That this many people “spontaneously” surrendered to Christ is remarkable. Further, more than 5,000 showed up for this memorable “Night of Worship.”
  • The Black Voices Movement, is a ministry of Circuit Riders on a mission to reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus Christ. Yasmin Pierce, the director of the Movement, told CBN News that they conducted tours to 20-30 campuses this year with many salvations.
  • Kentucky pastor, Scott Phipps, told CBN News that for 77 nights God moved “in a mighty way” as people there were delivered, healed, and set free from addictions.
  • In Hammond, Louisiana, a four-day church worship service turned into an eight-month-long revival at an old Baptist church.
  • Greg Laurie, Sr. Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, held a massive baptism event where 32,500 people gathered and 6,794 made decisions for Christ.
  • God Behind Bars, a national prison ministry, has baptized 599 prison inmates and seen 126,000 salvations in 2023.
  • Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of another movement known as Life.Church. He reported 2.000 baptisms and said: “We’re not praying for revival, we are in the midst of one.”
  • Etc.

2024

While Talia Wise wrote her article in December 2023, there is evidence that the revival is continuing. Tonya Prewett is the founder and director of the visionary outreach known as “Unite Us”. This is a movement of college students united to lift the name of Jesus. Their mission is to see students experience salvation, find freedom, and make connections that can help them build and sustain their faith. Here are some of the revivals that the “Unite Us” movement has experienced in 2024:

  • Auburn - 5,000 attended - 200 baptized.
  • FSU - 4,500 attended – 300 baptized.
  • Alabama - 6,000 attended – 250 baptized.
  • Georgia - 7,000 attended – 150 baptized.

Laura Ingraham of FOX news did a story on unusual baptisms at the University of Georgia. Thousands showed up to hear the word preached and many were baptized in the back of pickup trucks. One such convert was Nate Kearns who told Ingraham: “No matter how broken you think you are, Jesus Christ’s love is more powerful than that, and He wants to enter into a personal relationship with you. If you call upon the name of the Lord you will not be forsaken.” Tonya Prewett observed that some came contemplating suicide but left consumed with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Perhaps you have heard of the “Jesus Movement” that began in the 1960’s. It flourished for several decades. So many thousands of college students gave themselves to Christ that leaders of the movement were accused of “brain washing” and “mind control.” Because most of those in the movement were young and single they enjoyed a mobility that married people do not have. For example, one group known as the “Children of God,” had outposts in nearly 200 different countries.

When Rome ruled the world eleven emperors in a row tried to destroy the church with persecution. The emperors were: Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian. Eusebius, the historian, said about Diocletian: “It was the nineteenth year of Diocletian's reign [AD 303] and the month Dystrus, called March by the Romans, and the festival of the Saviour's Passion was approaching, when an imperial decree was published everywhere, ordering the churches to be razed to the ground and the Scriptures destroyed by fire, and giving notice that those in places of honour would lose their places, and domestic staff, if they continued to profess Christianity, would be deprived of their liberty. Such was the first edict against us. Soon afterwards other decrees arrived in rapid succession, ordering that the presidents of the churches in every place should all be first committed to prison and then coerced by every possible means into offering sacrifice." This wicked emperor foolishly thought he had destroyed Christianity!

Diocletian was wrong! Jesus promised that the gates of hell could not prevail against the church. The church actually grows in times of persecution! In fact, the very next emperor was Constantine who professed Jesus Christ as Lord and ordered the production of Bibles to be distributed throughout the whole world! DON’T EVER BE ASHAMED OF JESUS! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THE GATES OF HELL WILL NEVER PREVAIL AGAINST HIS CHURCH!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce