The Roaring Twenties

We all have biases, and one of mine is young people. I’ve served YWAM for fifty years and teach college age kids at Faith International University. I love youth of all ages.

I have prayed for a revival among young people more than any age group. Why? Because youth carry the torch of awakening and evangelism in most generations. 

A new “roaring twenties” is underway that doesn’t focus on flappers and speakeasies. It’s all about Jesus, the Lion of Judah, whose roar is being heard by the young.

The Roaring Twenties

The 1920s was a decade of social upheaval. Both my dad and mom grew up during it. After the Civil War, amazing inventions, and Prohibition, younger people joined the new wave of a consumer economy and mass entertainment–radio, television and dance.  Sexual mores, gender roles, hair styles, and dress all changed greatly during the 1920s–both good and bad.

Some of those cultural changes are happening one hundred years later in the 2020s. Of greater importance is a move of God’s Spirit among youth that brings hope for world-wide revival and the completion of the Great Commission.

I want you to be encouraged this week and join your prayers with the roar of the Lord Jesus Christ who is calling this generation to worship and witness.

Here’s the story from Gary Randall from the Faith and Freedom Network. 

A genuine spiritual outpouring that began in 2023 continues at the start of the new year as tens of thousands of young people display an unwavering devotion to Jesus, packing out churches, auditoriums, and stadiums across the country to worship His Name.

This growing movement is not led by so-called “celebrity” preachers or worship leaders but by many known and unknown, young and old pastors and youth ministers.

The common cord is, it’s real. It’s of the Lord.    

Evangelist Matt Brown, founder of Think Eternity, recently shared on X ( link 1 )that thousands of young people are “ringing in 2024” by passionately seeking God.

He noted that “Well over 100,000 young people gathered to seek God over New Year and to ring in 2024 with revival.”

• 55,000 at Passion in Atlanta
• 10,000 at Cross Con in Kentucky
• 7,000 at Cru national gathering
• 5,000 at Salt Conference in Iowa
• 13,500 at Strength to Stand in Tennessee (multiple)
• 12,000 at Hearts on Fire in Tennessee (Nov)
• 7,000 at Xtreme in Missouri

“Of course,” he says, “there is no way to even begin to calculate the millions of people that gathered at local churches to seek God across the nation and worldwide. Also, countless churches are now calling their congregants to fast and pray at the beginning of the new year. “

CBN reports that in addition, more than 55,000 young adults gathered in Atlanta, Georgia last week to worship Jesus, delve into God’s Word, and learn how to be light in their generation at the Passion 2024 conference. “It’s just all about Jesus,” said Passion founder and pastor, Louis Giglio. 

That statement rang especially true during one Passion worship service when tens of thousands kept singing “Worthy is the Lamb” for minutes on end, long after the band had stopped playing.

Pastor Louis Giglio, leader of the Passion 2024, said, “I try not to get swept up in the loud music and bright lights, because then it’s just an emotional experience and it interferes with genuine worship, but as the music stopped and we all sang, something special happened,” YouTuber Noah Buchanan recalled of the experience. “Some people laughed, some cried. Could’ve stayed there for hours.”

Dr. Malachi O’Brien called it “a once-in-a-generation marking.”

Pastor Zach Meerkreebs’s sermon at Asbury University on February 8, 2023, marked a 16-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He is the first to acknowledge that what is taking place is a true work of God’s Spirit. 

He says, the outpouring at Asbury “wasn’t good preaching. That’s for sure. I texted my wife after I preached that ‘I laid a stinker’ and I would be home soon for a nap. I did not get home for a nap. For 16 days, it was God pouring out His Spirit. It was unbelievable.”

“His peace, His patience, His kindness, His gentleness, His humility was just in our midst and ego was offensive,” he shared. “I can’t get to the altar fast enough to get rid of our sin…Students encountered God.”

Meerkreebs added that what is taking place now is worth contending for. “We have heard stories of stadiums in Pakistan, Israel, and all over the world people are just seeking His face and lingering in His presence because it is worth it,” he said. 

Meerkreebs and Paul Worcester, National Collegiate Director at the North American Mission Board, will be hosting a forum on January 23rd to explore ways to continue this movement among Gen Zers. 

Shane Pruitt, national Next Gen director with the North American Mission Board (NAMB), recently released a Bible study through Lifeway Christian Resources called Revival Generation.

Pruitt says that he believes the lockdowns and restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a spiritual shift among Gen Z. 

“The pandemic didn’t create new problems for Gen Z but I think it poured gas on some problems that were already there. You have a whole generation who has come to the end of themselves at a much earlier age,” Pruitt explained. “They are looking for hope and they are looking for answers.”

Other Christian leaders and ministries are calling one million young people to return to their first love during the “Roaring Twenties” fast and prayer movement. The theme of this year’s fast is “Revival of First Love,” based on Revelation 2:4-5. It kicked off on January 8 and will end on January 28.

Dr. Malachi O’Brien, one of the event’s organizers, shared on X,  “First love for Jesus seems to be the commonality among what the Spirit is emphasizing right now in His Church. The crisis in Israel, the political unrest in America, & the sense of darkness attempting to destroy the Church is awakening many to loving Jesus being the ONLY answer for the hour we find ourselves in.” He is one of the organizers. 

“The call for one million young people to fast and pray is historic but must not be about any one church, leader, organization or denomination but rather a collective of believers young and old who sense that God is about to do something historic in the roaring twenties. I want to see those stories shared and see a new generation marked by the same hunger and passion of great spiritual leaders of the past,” he added. 

Gary Randall finishes his youth revival report with these words:

Charles Spurgeon said, “Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival, men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. ” 

Randall doesn’t mention “The Send” which also mobilized scores of thousands of young people this past year in stadiums in Reading, Pennsylvania, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Boston, Massachusetts. Their final event in this series is scheduled for February in Nashville. 

At The Send events. thousands of kids take off their shoes symbolizing their willingness to GO to their campuses, communities, and the nations of the world to share the Good News.

Today’s Roaring Twenties just may be the roar of Jesus heard round the world.