Jesus is Now!
October 25, 2021
Contact: Rhonda Jessup, Director of Public Relations
Written by: Macy Parkhurst, Student Intern
The recent JESUS IS NOW Revival offered a spiritual awakening throughout the UMO campus renewing many students’ relationships with Christ and allowing them to realize that they are not alone on their journeys.
The October 17th and 18th services began with a time of worship through music. One song, in particular, repeated the lyrics “something has to break.” The significance of these lyrics corresponded to the message delivered by Sunday night’s guest speaker, Jason Alvarado. The purpose of his message was to let students know that they have a purpose for their lives. He used engaging illusions to talk about perspectives. He noted that sometimes in life the perspective in which we choose to view something must be altered into the way that God sees it.
“No matter past circumstances, God has a plan for our lives,” Alvarado shared. “We must realize that God sees us as worthy, loved, valued, and of importance. The journey that He takes us down is molding us into the person that He wants for us to become.”
Alvarado ended the Sunday night service with an alter call. Around 30 students accepted the call and encountered Christ’s love.
Monday night’s service was led by UMO’s own Matt Sharp. The service began with Pastor Lester Rector praying for physical, spiritual, and mental healing over the UMO campus. Students gathered around the alter and prayed for one another. The atmosphere was filled with Christ from the moment worship began. The auditorium filled with voices singing out to God and praising Him for all that He has done.
Sharp’s message was about accepting the personal relationship that God has for us. He centered his message on reaching out to Christ and viewing Him as a loving God who wants that personal relationship with us. Sharp continued to state that whatever troubles that encounter us, God has a reason and a purpose for that struggle. He said, “No matter how broken we may feel, that brokenness can be used for God’s glory and can be healed by trusting in Him.”
To end his sermon, Sharp invited students to take time to encounter Christ. He prayed that lives would change and healing would occur. The Spirit could be felt and the prayers of many were lifted to Jesus.
Sydney MacDonald gave a short statement about her experience. She said, “I would say revival was an eye-opening experience for me. I am not familiar with a contemporary setting, so being in that environment opened my doors to new ways of worship and finding God with others.” Worship is amazing and unique to the individual. It was evident that each person who attended revival wanted to experience God’s love and grace through a praise and worship setting.
Ashton Olmstead stated, “The revival was an experience where I got to encounter God on a whole new level. He was everywhere in the room, changing and healing lives around us. God showed up and He definitely showed off. He wanted to demonstrate that He works in all things.”
Campus Pastor Lester Rector said, “The prayer that I have for this campus is that students, faculty, and staff will shine the light of Jesus through our actions and our words. I want for it to be evident and for people to notice that Jesus works through the lives of everyone and has a purpose for everyone in this world. Jesus is now!”
