This article is a reaction to a significant spiritual revival that’s currently taking place in Paintsville, Kentucky. It’s a movement that began in Hager Hill Freewill Baptist Church and has grown far beyond the walls of their small-town church.
If church revival is a spark, then personal revival is the flame.
On November 1st of 1934, a preacher named Mordecai Ham delivered a fiery, uncompromising speech to the crowd in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was an evangelist known for his strong belief in the temperance movement. Ham was born in Allen County Kentucky in 1877 to a long lineage of Baptist preachers. And on the night of November 1st, a 16-year-old country boy would dedicate his life to Christ. He (along with hundreds of others) walked to the altar for the first time to dedicate his life to Christ. He did not stand out from the crowd. He was not crying. He did not feel a sudden rush of emotions. It was an intentional and conscious decision. That boy grew up to draw millions to Christ. He would preach in packed stadiums and on the biggest of TV networks. He would be considered along with George Whitefield and the Apostle Paul as one of the greatest evangelical preachers in all of Christian history. That little 16-year-old boy was Billy Graham…
Some may consider the 2025 Paintsville Revival to have started on October 26th at Hager Hill Freewill Baptist Church. The revival grew so much that the church tore down its own walls in an attempt to fit the crowd. The crowd became so big that even tearing down the walls did not suffice – so they moved to a football stadium. The message of the revival hasn’t been limited to the inner boundaries of Paintsville. It’s went beyond those boundaries to an entire region which hungered for spiritual revival.
The lesson is this: Revival isn’t what happens in a crowd. It’s what happens in YOU. Revival is how you respond when the church lights go off and you are left alone with your own thoughts. Salvation isn’t about you and a church; it’s about you and Christ… There will be a day when the lights turn off and the last person leaves the service. But above all, the revival doesn’t have to end. The heart of the revival can continue inside your own heart. To do so is to consider the 2025 Paintsville Revival to be a complete success.
As a fellow Christian, I’m so happy for Pastor Spriggs and the Hager Hill Freewill Baptist Church. I’m so happy for our community. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely pray that this revival will continue for as long as it can. There is nothing more beautiful than for a lost soul to find the love of Christ. And that’s exactly what this revival is doing for people: Bringing the lost to Christ.
God bless you all.