The Great Revival (2028-33)

The Great Revival, also known as the Fourth Great Awakening, the Gen Z Revival, and the Jesus Period Movement, is the name given to a period of massive evangelical revival throughout the western hemisphere, especially the Southeastern United States and Mexico, generally placed between 2028 and 2033. It was marked by millions of people turning to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, and millions more of already saved Christians committing to living their lives in a more Christlike manner, through a series of prayer meetings, outdoor preaching events, and social media based evangelism. 
Theological Beliefs:
The Great Revival was centered around the idea that the grace of God, freely given to anyone who places faith in Jesus Christ, is the only way to salvation. Salvation is defined as the state of being at perfect peace with God, which after the death of the believer is manifested as eternal life in heaven. The revivalists taught the authority of Scripture and the Lordship of Christ. They opposed trends in mainstream Christian culture that taught man was the center of religion, doing good things is enough to get to heaven, and the Bible is outdated. The central message of preaching and discipleship being the death and resurrection of Jesus and justification by faith, the Revival is generally seen as a return to first-century apostolic Christianity.
The Revival taught that man was created to have perfect relationship with God, but we sinned and so are separated from him. Furthermore, our sin makes us worthy recipients of God's wrath. God did not want to punish us, but his justice demanded the penalty for sin be paid. So, God, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to earth in the form of a man. He lived a perfect life, then was crucified and killed, taking all God's wrath that we deserve upon himself. Three days later, he rose from the dead, winning victory over the power of death. Anyone who accepts him as their Lord and Savior will be declared right with God, as Jesus will have paid the penalty for their sins, and they will be able to live eternally with him. Anyone who rejects this offer of mercy, however, will spend eternity separated from God in the state commonly referred to as Hell. 
The Revival saw all the personal and social problems of the world as stemming from sin and the human need to be fulfilled. Fulfillment only comes through being in a right relationship with the creator God through faith in Jesus Christ. If one has a relationship with Christ, they will find ultimate hope, joy, and fulfillment, and will no longer need to chase the fleeting things of this world. The revival is associated with the phrase "Jesus." [Jesus, period] because of the doctrinal focus on Jesus alone with nothing extra added on. 
Background:
The movement had its roots in student led outpourings of the spirit throughout the 2020s, especially the Asbury Revival of 2023. As Generation Z graduated from school and moved into the workforce throughout the decade, they became increasingly disillusioned with the materialistic culture, pains of addiction, and prevalence of fake, dry religiosity, and became desperate in seeking a deeper meaning to life. Many evangelical Christians, young and old, had been praying and preaching, initiating grassroots movements, and sharing the Gospel through social media for years, but without extreme amounts of success in the overall culture. However, small groups of deeply passionate believers, known as the Remnant, did grow gradually and become closer to God. After the state-sponsored attempted persecution of evangelicals in Canada and the United States during the years 2025-27, it became clear to a watching world that the cultural Christianity of many so-called Christians melted away easily while the faith of the Bible-centered Remnant remained strong even as many of their numbers were jailed and executed. Young people also saw how the worldly idols of drugs, sex, money, and political ideology, which they had been promised could bring them fulfillment, actually made their lives worse. Thus the stage was primed for what happened next.
Beginnings:
Generally the official beginning of the revival is attributed to a small campfire gathering of young Remnant believers in Covington, TN on March 15, 2028, many of whom had been present at Asbury 5 years before. They were engaged in fervent prayer for God to change people's hearts in their community and bring salvation, while reading the Psalms together. They had planned to leave by 10:00 but felt the Spirit moving and continued to pray and praise through the night. As young people around the West Tennessee area heard about it, they came to join in and pray. The believers kept the fire burning continually for the next month as people came to pray and worship. During this time, hundreds of people became saved by grace through faith when they heard the Gospel at the campfire, and as people left the event and went back into their lives they shared the gospel in their communities leading to many more people being saved. Also, similar events popped up spontaneously throughout Tennessee, then spreading to other areas in Canada, the US, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. By the time the campfire went out on April 15, the torch had literally and figuratively been passed to these other communities. One of the leaders at Covington, Abram Hardeman, then decided to travel the country praying and sharing the Gospel full-time.
Spread and Continued Impact
These events continued to take place throughout the rest of 2028, in churches, at schools, in offices, and outdoors. People shared about the events over social media, and they began taking the news by storm. But it didn't stop when people left the event locations, they really came out with changed lives. People of all ages, but especially in Gen Z, started fervently reading their bibles, praying on their own, and sharing the Gospel with their friends. Secular musicians, especially in the country and rap genres, began releasing Gospel-themed songs and turning their concerts into worship and prayer nights. Athletes began using their platform to share the good news as well. Preachers especially began having more fiery and more Biblically-based sermons, across all denominations, and church attendance skyrocketed. For the next few years, everyone was in a fervor for evangelism and Christ, as millions got saved. Art, music, film, and books from this period are very heavily influenced by the Bible and Scriptural themes.
Leaders and Opponents
Abram Hardeman, hailed by many as a modern day Apostle Paul, was one of the primary faces of the movement traveling across the globe, speaking to large audiences and small gatherings alike. He was not affiliated with any specific church, denomination, or organization, but rather was solely focused on sharing the Gospel with all. Spencer Nakamura, a prominent evangelical influencer from before the beginning of the revival, was another major voice. He had entered politics as well in 2026 to oppose the Persecution, and was elected president in 2028 as an Independent, due to the large number of people of varying political affiliations who were tired of the corrupt establishment (especially after its proven anti-religious bent) and were more excited about the word of God than political ideologies. Daniel Harris, a preacher based in Memphis, was one of the major voices in the Southeast, and his book "It's Not About Me: Centering Your Life on Christ and not Yourself" released in 2029, became a best seller and influenced many people during the revival. Keenan Clark, from Texas, and Jose Aceves, from Guadalajara, were major evangelical figures in the Southwest and Mexico, respectively. Peter Heck, a pastor and teacher from Indiana, led many of the revival-oriented missions in the Midwest as well. Bolivar Rivas was a pastor from Venezuela who led challenges against the anti-revival Maduro government and spoke throughout South America. He has been compared to both Simon Bolivar and the prophet Elijah. Dallas Jenkins, filmmaker best known for his work on the most watched TV series of all time, The Chosen, was also influential as he produced much more Christian entertainment that was very impactful during this time period.
While the revival was mostly well received, there were some who opposed it. Former US President Gavin Newsome and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who had led in the Persecution, were horrified by the revival but when they were voted out of office they lost all public confidence. Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and other dictators in Latin America also strongly opposed the movement, jailing and killing revival leaders for contradicting the government. There were many inside the church as well, especially from older generations, who opposed the revival saying it was too emotional, too passionate, and not works-centered enough. Many of these opponents were those who only went to church because they thought they should and didn't really care about the Gospel, more about how people perceived them. Dubbed "Pharisees" by revivalists, many changed their tune when they had real encounters with Jesus Christ, however, a small number refused to. These were led by Stodge Bunton, a wealthy investor who began preaching against the revival, claiming that salvation only could come through works, specifically emotionless church attendance and propriety. He had somewhat of a following but never became extremely popular. Another prominent detractor was Joel Osteen, as interest in Biblical Christianity led to a decline in the popularity of his Prosperity Gospel. He saw many people giving up wealth and status to serve God, and countered by doubling down on his doctrine that God existed for human happiness and the only sign of a true believer was having health and wealth. Widely seen as the largest and most powerful opponent of the revival, Osteen preached against its leaders and claimed they were apostates by pointing to their lack of wealth. His highest prominence was from 2030-31, when he toured multiple nations promoting his new book, "Prosperity: The Way, the Truth, and the Life," and preaching solely from his own writings. However, his neglect of Scripture, coupled with the clear reality that people who were living closest to God often did not have the most money, led many to turn against Osteen. In late 2031, he publicly debated Harris over multiple theological topics and was completely humiliated. He went into self-imposed exile to revival-less Europe, never affecting the church in America again.
Winding Down
By late 2032, after four years of nonstop revival meetings and events and uncontainable spiritual fervor, things began to gradually slow down. However, this slow down did not mean that people stopped believing in the teachings of the revival, just that they had less specifically revival-focused events. In July of 2033, many revival organizations came together to host the Jesus Weekend, a three day long gathering of believers for worship and thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. It has been described as the Christian equivalent of Woodstock, as the stadium and surrounding areas were completely packed with people, mostly young people of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, hungry for the Word of God. Even though many could not be present, pretty much every person in the western hemisphere tuned in through TV or social media. 20,000 people got saved at the gathering, the final mass salvation event of the era. Thus, the end of this weekend on July 31, 2033, is generally considered the 'end' of the revival period proper. It ended with a pronouncement from Hardeman, "Always keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, for he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him!"
Impact and Results:
While the revival period proper was over, there were many profound impacts it had brought that made society in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Latin America look very different than it had five years before. And while inevitably culture once again began a gradual drift away from truth, the Bible would still remain the major force in culture for many years to come. ***It is important to note all these things happened naturally, it was not forced on anyone, people chose of their own free will to change their ways after having real encounters with Jesus Christ***
Societal results of the revival:
Dramatic increase in Biblical worldview, as in early 2028, only about 5% of the American population held a biblical worldview, but by late 2033 that number had jumped to 87%. Additionally, 89% of all Americans claimed to be affiliated with Christianity, up from around 46% in 2028.
The end of "mainline Christianity" or "cultural Christianity," pretty much everyone who claimed to be a Christian now truly was, they weren't just claiming it as a cultural identity without truly believing it
The end of the Prosperity Gospel and man-centered 'self-help' preaching
The end of hook-up culture, transgender ideology, secularism in the public square, abortion, and progressive Christianity [it's important to note all these these things went away naturally, nothing was forced upon anyone, people just chose to change their lifestyles]
Extreme decline in drug addiction, mental health crises, mass shootings, abuse, racism, hatred and violence, as well as major decrease in poverty as people began both working harder and being more generous as a whole
End of extreme political ideological polarization in the United States
Overthrow of dictatorial regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which were replaced by democracies
A deep, profound sense of joy and meaning experienced by all people who put their faith in Christ as the whole society discovered that relationship with Jesus Christ is the only thing that can truly fulfill you
Category:Christianity
Category:Revival