More than 300 Christians in the Collegedale, Tennessee, community gathered on the Southern Adventist University campus for six consecutive evenings in May to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Held at Iles P.E. Center, the “It’s Gonna Rain” revival was a collaboration between university departments, including the School of Religion, the Office of Ministry and Missions, and Alumni Relations. Local Seventh-day Adventist churches and ministries also got involved, such as SuCasa Spanish-American Seventh-day Adventist Church, Light Bearers Ministry, and Jesus for Asia.

“We came together collectively to ask the Lord for what He’s promised in His Word,” says Kris Eckenroth, Alumni Council president at Southern and director of Retro Ministries.

The idea for the event came about several months prior in a Retro Ministries prayer meeting, when Eckenroth felt an urgent calling by God to unite the broader community in prayer. He knew how hard combining different schedules would be, but he took a step of faith –– and God opened the way. “It was just unbelievable that…each person I called immediately said, ‘We’re in!’” Eckenroth said. “So, the event came about because of the Lord’s guidance and complete collaboration without hesitation.”

Following the scriptural command from Zechariah 10:1, “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone” (NKJV), the emphasis of the week of prayer was petitioning God as a body of believers for the profuse power that comes from being filled with His Spirit.

“The Bible tells us that we need the latter rain in order to take the gospel to the ends of the earth before Jesus returns,” Eckenroth explains. “We know He’s coming back soon, so there’s no time to waste.” 

After singing songs and hearing a short inspirational message from a different speaker each evening, attendees banded into small groups for prayer sessions. 

One of the prayer facilitators, Joseph Khabbaz, vice president for Spiritual Life and chaplain at Southern, notes that seekers of all ages gathered together for the event. “We all had the opportunity to meet new people, both young and old, and what naturally unfolded was many of the initial small groups being reconnected each night. I was truly blessed by the sincerity of the prayers and the collective yearning for God’s presence to be more fully known and experienced in our lives.”

“Our lives get so busy with our different commitments,” says Greg King, PhD, dean in the School of Religion, another prayer facilitator. “Having this season of supplication gave us intentionality about praying for the Holy Spirit. It also brought us closer together in fellowship with one another.”

Jon Wood, president of Jesus for Asia, led the session another evening. “We are all on the same team working together for one purpose: to bring people to Christ,” he emphasizes.  Wood hopes this revival leads participants to ask for the Holy Spirit to clear the way in their hearts to “be guided to where Christ really is, and where He wants us to be.”

Beth Snyder, associate professor in Southern’s School of Nursing, enjoyed the entire program and was especially appreciative of the time spent in prayer. “I got to know complete strangers on a deeper level, and we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as we praised God together. Confessing our mistakes and weaknesses helped us see how we all struggle with similar issues and long to trust God fully with taking care of our genuine concerns.”

Plans are in place to bring the community back together for another prayer event later this year. “We keep telling people this was just the beginning,” Eckenroth adds. “Our desire is to see the momentum from the revival keep going and growing, by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

 –– Isabele Barreto Freitas is sophomore nursing major at Southern Adventist University