In the last decade hundreds of thousands of youth all over the United States have begun to pray and fast for revival. Prayer and intimacy with God, expressed through 24-hour prayer, has swept over the college campuses of this nation!

 

I am the product of a small revival among 12 friends that started our church’s youth group. The pastor of the church blessed what God was doing. In fact, the spiritual direction and movement of the youth group was entrusted to three youth, all 16 to 18 years old. The pastor came alongside to encourage us, pray for us and act as a spiritual covering. However, we were the ones who ministered and led the meetings.

 

Adults and youth were coming to receive and take it back to their own churches. Everything that I learned in those first three years was preparation for what God is now doing on a much larger scale at a university with more than 51,000 people.

 

It is vital that churches learn to recognize and esteem the Holy Spirit’s move in young people and allow them to grow in gifting and leadership. Often the youth are dismissed because they don’t have credentials traditionally expected of ministers. We need to value anointing over speaking ability and character over education.

 

Amazing things happen when you allow young people to take ownership of the vision and run with it! This fatherless generation needs fathers and mothers who will believe in them and pray for them.