Calvin Revival was a movement started when a group of four guys felt the Holy Spirit lead them to organize a worship event by the sand volleyball courts between Rooks-VanDellen (RVD) and Schultze-Eldersveld (SE) on Oct. 12 of this year. About 50 students showed up and when it started raining, the group went to the SE basement to continue praising God. We could feel the leading of the Holy Spirit there and did not want this to be a once-in-a-while “spiritual high.” So, a Facebook group was created which was intended to be a place where people can inform their brothers and sisters in Christ about other spiritual opportunities available either on campus or off campus, ask for prayer and encourage each other.

One of these opportunities is serving ice cream to our homeless brothers and sisters at Degage Ministries in downtown Grand Rapids on Tuesday nights from 7 to 8. Others include prayer groups that meet on campus, groups who go to local churches during the week for worship and house worship held by upperclassmen in the area. We also fellowship through our meetings on Sunday evenings when the leaders of Calvin Revival meet to share testimonies of God’s work in their lives and through them, uplift each other, rest and enjoy each other’s company as the body of Christ and then go to Evensong at Cornerstone University. By “leaders” we mean people who are committed to doing God’s work in their daily lives and want a community of like-minded individuals.

Calvin Revival is a movement that came out of the Holy Spirit’s leading and empowerment. It includes people from different walks of life within Calvin and outside of the Calvin community. Members of our group are involved in other prayer or spiritual accountability groups within Calvin College. The ultimate aim of the group is to glorify God, not the Revival movement. To clarify, the Gospel is what drives this group. The motto of the group is “pleroo ekballo” which in Greek means “to fill up” and “to lead one forth somewhere with an irresistible force” respectively. When Jesus charged the Apostles with the Great Commission, he “ekballoed” them to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In other words, Calvin Revival meetings are for our brothers and sisters in Christ to be poured into spiritually on Sunday evenings, so that they go to their spheres of influence to pour out the message of the Gospel and what it means to be a disciple of Christ and undergo the process of sanctification through the Holy Spirit’s work.

Of course, Calvin is a Christian college, so why is there even a group like this? Everyone is already a Christian, right? Oftentimes we do not distinguish the difference between salvation and sanctification. Salvation comes through confessing our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. II Thessalonians 2:13 explains sanctification, saying, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” The message of the Gospel has to transform our lives to be more like Christ. We pray that this group will catalyze that transformation at this college, in this city, in this state and in our world. Secondly, we pray that this group will help sustain the Holy Spirit’s work here.

Please, join us! Find “Calvin Revival” on Facebook and if you know of a place where God is working, let everyone know. Hopefully by doing so you can find more places to plug in and make your work His work.