Danielle Campsall, CAO of The Message Trust, shares her thoughts on the revival we’re seeing across the nation right now.
There’s been lots of talk about a ‘quiet revival’. A quiet move of God, behind the scenes.
Having helped to plant a church in one of Europe’s largest council estates as a response to hundreds of people turning to Christ, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and to be honest from where I’m standing, it isn’t quiet at all. It’s loud.
It’s loud when I scan the room on a Sunday morning and spot the local drug dealer with his arms raised in worship. It’s loud when the pub landlord, a well-known face in the community, is now the loudest voice in the room singing praises with everything he’s got. It’s loud when an addict is 20 months sober, and her teenage sons are describing Jesus as the father they never had. These aren’t quiet conversions. They’re visible, undeniable transformations.
It’s loud when I watch whole families walk into church together because one encounter with Jesus in a Community Grocery changed everything. It’s loud when a man turns his life around, and suddenly his friends are responding to the gospel too. It’s a domino effect that shouts of grace and redemption.
It’s loud when I stand by the water baptising three generations of one family – a son, his mum and the 93-year-old nana who in her later years has encountered Jesus and is experiencing a new life in him.
And it’s not just where I live that we’re seeing this happen. As The Message heads out on mission and into schools, communities and prisons, we’re seeing people’s hunger for Jesus growing and countless ‘God-only’ stories. These things aren’t quiet, it’s the sound of heaven on earth.
Revival might begin quietly – in raised statistics, in people questioning life, whispered prayers, and quiet tears of hearts turning back to God. But it doesn’t stay quiet for long – it multiplies, it sweeps through households, it gives hope to the broken, it rewrites stories, it calls people to purpose.
So, I agree that in some places it’s a quiet revival. But not from where I’m standing. Here, it’s loud, mind-blowing, unmistakable and it’s Jesus – bringing healing, restoration and calling people into his kingdom.
God’s on the move, and it’s incredible that we get to be part of it!
Check out Proximity’s spoken word about the revival we’re seeing in the UK called ‘Rattling’ here.
