For years Christian leaders have prayed about and discussed the need for a center for teaching and equipping men and women regarding the nature and importance of biblical revival. This has also been the lifelong burden of Richard Owen Roberts, a name respected and identified by many of these same leaders as an authority on this vital subject. Roberts was a successor to the late Dr. J. Edwin Orr as president of the Oxford Association of Research in Revival. Now, in collaboration with various members of the National Revival Network, the vision of leaders like Orr and Roberts for an Institute on Revival will be realized with an opening conference at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, IL, on October 21–22, 2013. Roberts will be a featured speaker. Leaders of the conference hope to prepare participants to “promote and steward these gracious visitations of the Lord.” Brad Bush, director of the Institute, says, “It’s truly exciting to see in the providence of God the convergence of persons, passion, and resources dedicated to establishing this Institute on Revival. In light of the burgeoning global movement of prayer, and especially prayer for revival, you sense a rising tide of expectation that the Lord is about to pour out His Spirit in extraordinary ways.”

Preparing for Revival

The International Awakening Revival Institute will utilize all forms of media for academic study in addition to personal mentoring and supervised ministry projects—in both small- and large-group settings across the country. The Institute is committed to cultivating hearts and informing the minds of men and women who share a passion to see the Church alive to the glory of Jesus Christ. Because revival is both a personal and a corporate experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Revival Institute will seek to achieve its purpose by addressing these two aspects of the Spirit’s work by offering tracks that include a three-year certificate, elective study, revival seminars, and a “Rekindle the Flame” denominational track. It will also sponsor renewal retreats, conferences, and the J.  Edwin Orr Project (the republication and redistribution of Orr’s works on revival). According to Bush, “Learning about revival is not the same as experiencing revival, but historically it has been a catalyst to pray and prepare for revival.” The Institute is an opportunity to study and network with other followers of the Lord Jesus in anticipation and preparation for the outpouring of His Spirit in revival. To register for the October 21–22 conference or learn more about the Institute programs, go to internationalawakening.org or email info@internationalawakening.org. (The conference is not a function of Wheaton College.) Both evangelical in doctrine and interdenominational in scope, the International Awakening Revival Institute is a division of International Awakening Ministries, Inc. (c) 2013 Prayer Connect magazine. Click for information on Prayer Connect.