How Does a Church Experience Spiritual Awakening?

The spiritual awakening at Lunsford was a glorious three year period of a wonderful work of God. How did it happen? There was no formula or method that was followed that resulted in the awakening. In fact the only way to explain it was as a spontaneous and surprising work of God. There were, however, three significant elements that were linked to the beginning of real revival. All three involve the deep work of God in and through people.

The first was an extended time of prayer by two ladies. Mrs. Mattie Holland and Mrs. Cindy Hudgepath were both widows in their seventies. They didn't just pray; they came closer to living a life of prayer than anyone I have known or have heard of. Theirs was the life and ministry of prayer in the closet. No one really knew it. They didn't speak of it to others or even to each other. They simply cried out to God fervently and daily for a genuine revival and for the salvation of specific people. They prayed this way for years. They never grew weary or discouraged in their praying. While for so long nothing seemed to be happening, they persevered in urgent and believing prayer. These were humble ladies, but when you spoke with them it was clear that they knew God well from much time in His presence. Like Moses coming off the Mount, they had the glow of God about them.

The second revolved around two couples, Wayne and Paula McDuffee and Lynn and Maxine Pounds. The McDuffees were in their early thirties and the Pounds were in their early sixties. Both Wayne and Lynn were farmers. Wayne was wild and a neglectful husband. He came one evening to find the sheriff at the house to protect Paula as she left and divorced him. Wayne related that he thought, "Good, now I can do whatever I want to." He drove to his mother's to tell her about the break up before going out to party. But, that night at his mother's God broke into Wayne's life. It was a remarkable (a word that must be used often in describing those days of awaking) conversion. He was changed, radically changed. The next day he sought out Lynn who took him under his wing and started studying the Scriptures with Wayne. It took a year for Wayne to win Paula back, but it was a year of steady spiritual growth for him. When Paula returned, the Pounds and McDuffee's met regularly to study the Bible and pray together. It was the beginning of a deep hunger for God.

The third was the conversion of Stant Crews. Stant was an alcoholic and reprobate in every sense of the word. One evening Wayne saw Stant walking drunk down a gravel road. Wayne stopped to speak to him, and holding up a cigarette Stant asked, "Do you have a light?" Wayne responded, "No, but I have something you need a lot more." As Stant got in the truck, Wayne shared the Gospel with him. Stant's conversion was dramatic. His life was totally transformed that night. Stant started immediately to witness to others. He couldn't read so we bought him a New Testament, marked the Roman Road for him. He memorized the verses and would open the Testament to someone and say, "Here read this," and then would quote the verse to them. His conversion and testimony and witnessing impacted the entire community. Stant was one of the three greatest soul-winners I have known.

All three of these elements were converging when I came to Lunsford. A movement was under way. I quickly discovered that I had come to be their pastor as a learner more than anything else.