Olivet Nazarene University was pleased to welcome Dr. Dale Schaeffer as the guest speaker for the fall 2021 revival series, Sept. 19-22. Over four days and eight services, students’ lives were impacted by this intentional time of concentrated worship and instructional teaching.
All students were required to attend the morning services, held in Centennial Chapel. As Benner Library and the Perry Student Life and Recreation Center were closed in the evening, students were encouraged to attend the additional services that were also open to the public. This year, revival services were moved to Centennial Chapel to allow for more social distancing.
During the services, the Narrow, a student-led ministry team at Olivet, led worship. Dr. Schaeffer encouraged the Olivet community through uplifting messages by using passages from the book of John.
The theme of Dr. Schaeffer’s messages was how to grow closer to Christ. Whether someone has drifted from their faith or life has been good to them, he encouraged all to dig deeper. Dr. Schaeffer framed the scripture in a way that encouraged personal engagement in reading the Bible.
He stated, “If you’ve wandered from the faith, if you’ve drifted from the faith, if you’ve found yourself doubting the faith, if you’re disappointed in the way you’ve lived out your faith: His goodness is coming after you.”
Dr. Schaeffer illustrated John 21:6: “(Jesus) said, ‘Through your net on the right side of the boat,” and invited everyone to throw their net in one more time, trusting in all that God has planned.
After the two year break from revival, the Olivet community took advantage of the dedicated time to strengthen their spiritual lives.
Sophomore Anna Parmenter described her first fall revival experience. “Revival was a time of encouragement and refreshment for me. Worshiping, praying and learning together as a community was an experience I will never forget!”
Each semester, the campus joins for revival services. Visit olivet.edu/events for information about spring services.
Published: 9/27/2021
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