8 Years of Revival

In 2018, as a group of soul winners were praying for a church, Pastor Boyle was asking God to lead him in his next steps. The first service took place on a Wednesday night in a rundown strip mall, with a makeshift pulpit and few attendees. It was the start of Revival.

Over the past eight years, God has multiplied a handful of willing workers into a church family exceeding 150 members, all with a passion for winning lost souls. And though our church looks a lot different from those early days, both in terms of congregation and the building itself, our foundation remains the same - same message, same Bible, same authority, same God!

This weekend, we marked our 8th anniversary with a soul-winning marathon that saw 17 people saved and another 15 saved during our regular Sunday soul-winning the next day. As a church member recently pointed out, many churches use their anniversaries to look back on the glory days, when God was still using them to do a great work but, praise God we are able to look back just a few hours to see His work at hand.

Our eighth year had many highlights, from Pastor Moreno being ordained as the leader of the Spanish ministry to our missionaries, Ricky and Lauren, being sent out, as well as having a tremendous start to our jail ministry. But the work doesn't stop there…

Anniversary Sunday was all about keeping the race before us and pressing onwards to the goal. Pastor brought a message that reminded us that there are seasons in ministry and, while growth is not always linear, it is important to keep sowing so that we can enjoy fruit in due season; we must be stedfast, relying on God to sustain us as he has done for the past eight years.

A particularly poignant moment was when Pastor asked the original members of Revival to stand, fully highlighting just how much God has grown our ministry since the doors opened.

We got to hear their perspective on the past eight years, the consensus being that, after years of searching, it was refreshing to be in a church with correct doctrine; A church that stands firmly on the word of God and still believes in the power of soul-winning.

Brother Garrett also touched on the fact that, at the same time his old church was actively discouraging him and his wife from having children, Revival was praying for God to bless them with a family.

And it’s in the youth at Revival Baptist Church that we truly see the power of all that God has done these past eight years. It is a blessing to see a generation of young people who have known nothing but Revival - nothing but loving the Lord and serving him - when so many of us adults carry the regrets of having lived in the world.

Whether helping at church events, like the kids who enthusiastically ran their own shaved ice stand this Anniversary Sunday, or winning countless souls to Christ, they are already serving the Lord with joy. It’s as we look to them that we are motivated to preserve what we have, here at Revival, so that the work does not end with us.

A final thought from our Pastor:

Eight years ago, on May 18, 2018, Revival Baptist Church opened its doors with no way of knowing all that God would do through this work. What began in faith has become a testimony of God’s goodness and blessing. Over these eight years, we have seen countless souls saved, families restored and strengthened, children raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, missionaries encouraged, missions trips taken around the world, and the gospel carried to every county in our great state.

What a joy it has been to watch the Lord build His church! Every sermon preached, every soul-winning effort, every prayer prayed, and every sacrifice made has been part of a much greater story that God is writing.

As we celebrate eight years, our hearts are filled with gratitude for what He has done, but also anticipation for what is still to come. May the Lord continue to use this ministry to reach the lost, strengthen families, train laborers, and bring many sons unto glory.

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