The vice president of student life at Asbury University, Dr. Sarah Thomas Baldwin, is releasing a book based on the Absury revival and its lasting impact on the campus and area. 

"It’s really exciting," says Baldwin in an interview. "And so it’s been many stories from people all over connecting to share their testimony."

Baldwin's soon-to-be published book, Generation Awakened: An Eyewitness Account of the Powerful Outpouring of God at Asbury, will share in-depth details on all that happened at Asbury University last February. What started as a regular chapel service on the campus on February 8, 2023, turned into what has been called an 'outpouring' where worship, singing, praying, and repenting happened for 16 days straight. 

This movement caught the attention of the entire continent as it "attracted college students from hundreds of other colleges and universities" as well as people of faith and the media. People flocked to the campus, shutting down streets and flooding the town of Wilmore, Kentucky. Th university officially ended services on February 23, the National Collegiate Day of Prayer, so students could resume their classes without mass interruption. 

"Immediately after the outpouring during the months of March and April [2023], at the end of our semester last year, our campus really was exhausted," she said. "I like to say that the flood of the outpouring came up, and when the waters receded, there was some debris on the beach. We were tired emotionally, physically, spiritually."

While things had slowed down as the University year end came to a close heading into summer, returning students in the fall brought a lot more energy. 

"Our students came back with this spirit of revival," says Baldwin said. "And what I mean by that is, lingering after chapel to worship and pray. I mean, they’ve always done that a little bit, but now it’s just a part of our regular campus life."

Baldwin shares that she continues to see the effect of the 'revival' even now, 14 months after it began, which is why she wrote a book about it. 

"We had this shared experience where we saw Jesus be present with our students and it became really the plumb line. We find ourselves in such a challenging time in the world, and in history, and a dark time in lots of ways. And I think that this is a bright light in a dark day and people are drawn towards the hope of Jesus, and drawn towards the cross."

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