Days-long 'revival' service at Asbury University showing no signs of ending

WILMORE, Ky. (WDRB) -- What was scheduled to have been an hour-long chapel service at a Kentucky university has been going non-stop for more than a week.

Now people are coming from all over to witness the worship experience at Asbury University.

Wednesday marked the beginning of Week Two of the nonstop revival service in the school's Hughes Auditorium.

”I was working last Wednesday when this all kind of kicked off and Chapel runs from 10 to 11," said Carter Hammond, a graduate student.

But instead of ending at 11 a.m., it just kept going and going.

"And then the next time I looked at my phone, it was four o'clock in the afternoon, and I still hadn't moved," Hammond said. "And so I've been in here and there were probably 20 to 30 students who had stayed right after chapel."

And then hours turned into days.

"I think it was Feb. 8," said Abby Laub, the communications director of Asbury University. "I was actually working from home that day and my boss texted all of her directors and she said, 'Guys, there's something interesting happening in the chapel.'"

In the chapel and down the sidewalk, the crowd just kept coming and growing.

"And then by Thursday, people from Wilmore started joining and then it just kept expanding from there, to the point where we started seeing lines to get in and we all kind of said, 'Okay, this is interesting,'" Laub said.

Outside the chapel, people waited in line, while inside, some believers said it was heaven on earth.

"It's very close," said Mike Powers, who worshipped at the event. "We call this a thin space. That's a real thin space between heaven and earth. And sometimes God visits in that way, and the space is so thin people can really experience His presence and power."

It's not the first time the college has hosted what some call a non-stop revival.

"In February of 1970, we heard about the revival and came over," Powers said.

Powers was a senior in high school in 1970 and attended a similar event on campus.

"One of the things I remember is walking into Hughes Auditorium, and just sensing a spirit of presence that I had not known," he said.

More than 50 years later Powers is one of thousands of people from across the world who have come here to worship.

This is day nine and for now and despite the rain, it does not appear to be wrapping up anytime soon.