The longest church service at Asbury since 1970 has been happening non-stop since Wednesday

WILMORE, Ky. (WKYT) - For over one hundred hours, people have filled the rows of Hughes Auditorium at Asbury University to worship.

It is being referred to now by the community as a revival, but began on Wednesday spontaneously when students felt the urge to stay after the mandatory chapel service.

“We are unique because three times a week, we stop everything that we’re doing and gather for a chapel service together,” said President of Asbury Kevin Brown. “This is just a service that hasn’t ended.”

Since Wednesday, the phenomenon has spread all throughout social media, with churches and other campuses bringing busloads of people to the chapel.

Lloyd Ninaber had never heard of Asbury before, but after seeing the social media posts, he drove seven hours from North Carolina to see the revival in Wilmore for himself.

“With what’s going on in the world and all of the darkness, this was like light and light coming through,” said Ninaber. “So I wanted to see what was going on, and see God moving.”

A revival like this is not uncommon for Asbury. Back in 1970, a similar service lasted for two weeks. Since then, there hasn’t been an act of worship of this length.

Students and community members continue to find peace in dwelling and worshiping in the chapel, and say they don’t see signs of stopping anytime soon.

“We are just sitting with him,” said Asbury Student Body President Alison Perfater. “It’s just deeply gentle and deeply loving; it’s just a glimpse of what I think heaven will look like.”

Perfater, along with many students and faculty, encourage people to come to Asbury and see the revival for themselves.

“If it’s for 20 minutes, if it’s for a couple hours, if it’s for the week,” said Perfater. “You can’t lose anything, but you can gain everything.”

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