Washington, DC
Youth Revival 2006

By Taiwo Oladapo

Youths in the Washington DC church have been experiencing revival for over a year now. If you asked the teenagers and young adults when God began to work in their midst, some will undoubtedly claim that it was at the 2005 Gospel Jubilee in Richmond, Virginia, that the fire fell. Since then, our young people have testified of receiving spiritual experiences and there has been an unmistakable zealousness towards the work of the Lord.

In preparation for the 2006 Youth Revival, a week was set aside for members to meet each night for a prayer meeting at the church building. As we prayed, a resounding declaration in the testimony of saints became the theme of the revival, “We Shall Recover It All.” The corresponding text of Scripture is 1 Samuel 30:8. On the second day of the prayer meetings, our pastor, Reverend Josephine McElveen, prepared a prayer list with the names of members, especially youths, who we wanted God to touch in a supernatural way. On Friday night, at the close of the week of prayer, Reverend Isaac Adigun, pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in London, England, who was visiting Washington DC for the first time, accompanied by his wife, preached about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. He also referenced the corpse that fell on the dead bones of the prophet Elisha and came to life and the prophesy of “dry bones” coming to life from Ezekiel 37. He declared that revival would be our portion.

On Sunday, October 22, the revival opened with a message from our pastor entitled, “Bought with a Price.” She emphasized that we belong to God and need to know who we are as children of God. Her text was 1 Corinthians 6:20. For this reason we should seek our Christian experiences. Monday was dedicated to prayer and fasting for the revival. Members, young and old alike, came to the church to pray that God would visit and pour out a copious blessing during the revival services. As we closed the prayer meeting, each member in attendance held hands and prayed together in a show of unity for the spirit of revival. We left knowing that God was with us and would be with us during the revival.

On Tuesday, the youth leader, Demetrius McElveen, opened the service with the worship chorus, “I Love You Lord.” During the testimony service, a sister told how God had blessed her with a new job a day before her former company was sold. Another sister testified of God's healing power after the ministers had prayed for her. Another just thanked God for saving her soul and for her relationship with God. The evening sermon was brought by Peter McPhun, the revival speaker. His text was Acts 1:4–12 and the title of his sermon was, “Stop Gazing and Move On.” He informed the youths that it is okay to look at our circumstance, but we should not gaze or engage in a steady stare that is indicative of our circumstances having power over us. Instead, we should move on to embrace the promises of God to overcome our circumstances. He indicated that Caleb was a good example of a person who looked at the obstacles that the Children of Israel faced, but did not gaze. Caleb held to the promises of God and said that they were well able to take the land. Another example was the woman who was sick with an issue of blood. She had “gazed” at her condition in the past, but when she heard of Jesus, she reached out and touched His garment in faith and was made whole.

On Wednesday, Jennifer Nettey, the assistant youth leader, spoke on the “The Prodigal Son and the Father's Love.” Her text was from Luke 15:11-24. She indicated that we must have the mind of the Father and we need the power of the Holy Spirit to recover all. She also added that sometimes we are distant from God because the enemy has taken our minds far away from God's presence, and it takes the Spirit of God to break the bondage.

During the Thursday night service, Ifiok Ekanem, a young man who had been saved for just over a year, testified of God's power to keep. He said that the devil had tried to convince him that his service to the Lord was a waste of time, showing him his past to entice him, but God had helped him to walk by faith. The Scripture text for the sermon was taken from Acts 2:1-13 and Peter McPhun spoke of the need for oneness with God. It is when we are one with God that we can be one or united with each other in mind and spirit. It was in this condition that the early disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the same requirement applies to us today.

The Friday night service was highly anointed as we declared war on the enemy. The text for the sermon was Acts 19:1-7 and the title of the sermon was “Receiving the Blessings of God.” Before Peter McPhun brought the sermon, God led him to ask the question: What do you need from God during this youth revival? He proceeded to identify those who were unsaved or backsliders and asked them to stand up. He told them that they needed to be saved during the revival. He then asked those who were saved but not yet sanctified to stand up. He told them they needed to be sanctified during this revival. He continued this process with those who needed to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and then those who needed a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. This was a powerful moment because everyone in attendance acknowledged their spiritual needs and was challenged to seek God. In the sermon he pointed out three important things we must have to receive God's blessings: knowledge, desire, and faith. He said that without knowledge we would not know of God's blessings to receive them, and alluded to the story in the text where Paul asks a group of disciples, who only knew of the baptism of John, if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed. He indicated that we see their desire in verse 5: “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” It was through faith they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When the altars were opened, the congregation flooded the altars and prayed until the youth leader closed out the prayer service very late that night. Following prayer, two of the young people stood up and testified passionately of breakthroughs they had received from the Lord.

On Saturday, there was a musical celebration with friends from the neighborhood and brethren from two Apostolic Faith Churches in New York filling up the sanctuary. The atmosphere was lively and the youth and children's choirs marched in singing joyfully and confidently. The youth choir sang, “I Am Not Forgotten,” led by Irene Etim, and “Feel the Revival,” lead by Ena Richter. Many in the congregation felt the spirit of revival and stood up to join in singing. The children's choir sang two songs, “Jubilee” and “Through Christ I Can Do All Things” which was led by Taylor Coleman who sang with a very strong and mature voice for a nine-year-old. The celebration continued as one family presented a dramatized song that asked a serious question: “What If God Is Not Happy With Our Praise?” At the intermission, guests were recognized, and the brethren from New York gave two selections that electrified the congregation and people joined them in singing. We were all blessed as the pianist, Erica McElveen, became the lead singer for the song, “I Shall See Him for Myself.” Dial Keju also performed a little skit to the delight of the audience before rendering the solo, “I Will Bless Thee O Lord.” The music celebration was full of excitement from the youth as they sang praises unto the Lord. Luella Stuart, from our Brooklyn, New York , church rendered the closing prayer with an altar call. Many came forward and others knelt at their seats as we called upon the Lord in prayer.

On Sunday, the revival service was capped with the sermon titled “The Baptism of the Holy Ghost.” Although Peter McPhun had lost some of his voice from preaching during the week, he again directed his focus to the youths and emphasized that to recover all and take spoils, we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He told the youth to continue to wait on the Lord until the blessing came. The service ended with many people tarrying at the altar of prayer. We believe that God met many needs during this revival.