Here is a great picture from the Justice Revival of Matt Redman leading worship.

Three evenings of worship, teaching, and prayer to stir the heart of the church again to be a voice (and hands) for the least, the last, and the lost. Overall, I thought the Justice Revival went well. Almost 150 people gave their lives to Christ during the three nights. People were clearly excited about the justice message, and on Saturday thousands of Christians gathered for hundreds of service projects in and around Columbus to start living out the justice revival. The long-awaited, highly anticipated Justice Revival has come and gone. What now?

The success (or failure) of the Justice Revival will be judged by the ultimate "fruit" that it bears in due time. The challenge of something as big as the issue of social justice is that it takes many, many years for broken systems to be fixed and healed, for peoples and communities to be restored, for great changes to penetrate beyond just the surface. So, while the thousands of people who showed up on Saturday was a great sign of success, it is just a "seed." And if we can apply the parable of the sower to the issue of justice (which I believe does apply), then merely spreading the seed all over Columbus (or even the world, for that matter) is not the whole solution. It is merely a part of it. There is the issue of receptivity - where is the "heart" of the city and how will she receive the seed? Fruit-bearing is not a one-dimensional enterprise. It takes the seed, the soil, sun, rain, and of course, the diligent hands of the workers. So how does the dry and parched soil become "good"? Or to put it another way, how does the Justice Revival actually become a "revival"? I believe this is where prayer comes in.

"Revival" is a God-thing. We can't make it up. We can't fake it. We can't force it. We can't will it. But every revival from history tells us that we can (and should) pray for it! God is a God who hears the prayer of his people.

George Whitefield, a key figure of the first Great Awakening, said, "Whole days and weeks have I spent prostrate on the ground in silent or vocal prayer." Jonathan Edwards, another key figure of the Awakening, said, "Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life." In other words, a Christian who doesn't pray is an oxymoron. These men were not merely great preachers, but great pray-ers. And while the landscape in which these men lived their lives may have been quite different than the one here in the 21st century, the relevance and importance of prayer hasn't changed.

True justice revival will come only as the people of God get down on our knees and pray. And in due time, the little seeds that we have planted will yield a crop, "hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." This is our prayer. Amen.

The local newspaper covered the Justice Revival. Click on the image to read the article.

Here is a video clip for the opening night of the Justice Revival at Vineyard Church of Columbus. Matt Redman led the worship time, Jim Wallis did the teaching, and Rich Nathan led the ministry time calling people to a commitment to Christ in which almost 100 people responded. It was amazing!

The Columbus Vineyard is hosting the Justice Revival in partnership with First Church of God and the Sojourners. Here is the promo video.