Awakening Europe, Nuremberg, Germany Day 1: Arise and Shine
by Jennifer A. Miskov, PhD
Walking into the empty stadium before the event and knowing that in a short time the stadium would be filled with over 25,000 people from over 25 nations around the world congregrating for the One Thing, stirred my heart with peace and anticipation. Seeing friends from Redding and around the world who decided to make the trek out to Germany to be a part of this historic event and to support our friend Ben Fitzgerald birthing his dream was a special welcoming to the event.
The evening started out with a roar from the crowd when the procession of nations came out onto the field each holding a different flag. Worship filled the stadium as the people strolled in to take their seats. Then after a few words about how now is the time to arise and shine (Isaiah 60) from Ben Fitzgerald, instead of having a packed program for the night filled with speakers and announcements, the only agenda was to love Jesus and to worship Him together. There on the stage, in front of thousands of people, Ben, Todd White, and their friends knelt down and started singing praises to their King. This reminded me of the first time I saw Heidi Baker over 15 years ago when she came to my school at the time, Vanguard University, and knelt down in front of a chapel service filled with well off white students. I was marked by her devotion to Jesus and her passion for the Lord that day. I was also marked by the simplicity, hunger, and passion of the leaders kneeling before Jesus in the stadium last night, singing songs of worship at the top of their lungs to give Him praise.
As we all started to worship our King together in a stadium that once was used to send out evil around the world, waves of praise and clapping and spontaneous outbreaks of love towards Jesus flowed from the crowd to heaven. Many times we all just shouted the name of "Jesus" as loud as we could to proclaim His name over the nation.
This time set apart for nothing other than to love Jesus and encounter God reminded me of what I imagine the early meetings at the Welsh Revival looked like. People came from around the world for one purpose only, to encounter God. Spontaneous worship and space for the Holy Spirit took priority. Over 100,000 people came to know Jesus within a matter of a few months in the nation of Wales in 1904-1905. I feel we are on the verge of the next Jesus People Movement and Awakening coming very soon, where a harvest of people encountering God will far surpass what God did in Wales in such a short time. I am honored to take part in such a historic event. May all who are reading this, near and far, receive a fresh overflow and impartation of what God is doing here. May your hearts burn for the glory of God and may the name of Jesus ever be on your lips. Blessing you from Nurnberg, Germany,
Jen