Revival Breaks Out in Jena, LA:
Site of Intense Racial Tension Last Year

(Jena, La.)—Baptist Press (BP) has reported on a revival that's broken out in the small town of Jena where, on Sept. 20 of last year, more than 20,000 people from across the nation gathered to protest an outbreak of racial tensions at the local high school. The outbreak of spiritual revival started on February 17 at Midway Baptist Church in Jena; the most unlikely church, according to the report, for revival to happen since the church was in a state of transition and didn't have a pastor at the time. Much prayer preceded the meetings. At first everything went along as normal. But then something "spectacular" happened. "There was a sense that the Holy Spirit chose to visit this church," said interim pastor Bill Robertson. "We had a sense of the awe and wonder of God at work but we were too amazed to do anything about it."

As the meetings continued, the racially mixed crowds grew. One night a woman stepped forward to repent of her disobedience to the Lord; soon the altar was flooded with people doing the same. Another night, Robertson asked an African American pastor, Jimmy Young, to come preach and bring his church's choir. And the crowds continue to grow.

"It's amazing to watch the work of God during the invitation," said Craig Franklin, editor of the local newspaper, the Jena Times.

"There are people present who don't know why they are there. At invitation time, you can see the power of the Holy Spirit breaking over their lives and they are miserable ... and lost. Yet they keep coming back."

"This is a work of God in the most unlikely place," Robertson said. "Isn't it just like our God to do something extraordinary like this so that no man can share in the glory? Community leaders would have to work for decades to bring peace to this community. Our God desires to bring the peace of Jesus into individual lives and this community now."