February 9 1998

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Nearly 2 million visitors have thronged to evening services at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, since revival erupted on Father's Day in 1995.

"It's just as fresh to me today as it was two and a half years ago," says evangelist Steve Hill, who has been guest preaching at the church since then. During that span, 122,000 have signed "decision cards" indicating conversion or rededication.

A year ago, the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry opened with 120 full-time students, split evenly between revival converts and those who experienced renewal, according to Michael L. Brown, the school's dean. Brown says that by the fall 1997 semester, the school, which offers a two-year theology degree emphasizing missions and evangelism, had 511 students from 46 states.

Revival leaders also have taken their message on the road, leading two-night rallies in Dallas, Saint Louis, Toledo, Memphis, Birmingham, and Anaheim. "Our goal is to bring this revival to key cities in the U.S.," says Hill, "and these meetings are a divine opportunity for people who have been revived to bring their unsaved family members to church without going inside a church."

In the 2.4 million-member Assemblies of God (AG), revival has broken out in dozens of congregations around the country. "The impact has been powerful," says Thomas Trask, the denomination's general superintendent. "Many, many of our pastors have gone [to Brownsville] searching, looking, and believing, and they have witnessed the power of God. It has done something for their own hearts and lives."

The treks are not limited to AG churches. In fact, the Brownsville revival's duration, the number of people it is attracting, and the ripple effect it is having in churches in the United ...