CROWVILLE – Evangelist Bill Britt originally planned to preach just four days at a Crockett Point Baptist Church revival.
However, Britt’s scheduled four-day stay at the Deer Creek Association church continued for two weeks as the congregation extended the revival not once, not twice, but three times.
By the end of the revival in mid-March, 197 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and numerous others made other decisions for God.
Britt could only attribute the extension to one reason – God.
“When we came to the end of the scheduled last day each time, crowds were so big and so many saved, we didn’t think the Lord was finished,” Britt said. “It wasn’t just me and Joe but the people who also wanted to keep going. That was a key deal. People were hungry to meet with the Lord and to keep bringing their friends.”
Joe Senn, pastor of Crockett Point Baptist, said the extended revival was not about the pastor, congregation or who was on the schedule. The center focus was God and how he moved.
“The revival was about allowing the Holy Spirit to move without restraint,” Senn said. “Again, some may believe there is a secret to a revival of this magnitude. Who wouldn’t want to see revival of this nature commence at all churches throughout the country?”
From the very first day of revival at Crockett Point Baptist, Britt noticed a spirit of expectancy among the community. Each night, the pews were packed out in the 400-seat worship center, with crowds even sitting on the platform, foyer and aisles.
Britt recalls when he was out and about in the community, he sensed excitement and a hunger for God. He said the preparation and the expectation of people at Crockett Point Baptist stood out in his mind.
“People were inviting friends and family members,” Britt said. “I sensed people believed that if they had their friends and family there, they would come to know the Lord. There was a bar down the road and even the people there called the church to ask why so many people were there. We had families saved, husbands and wives saved, parents and children saved. It was phenominal.”
Indeed, the church made preparations months in advance for the revival.
In January, the congregation fasted for 21 days. For the first week, participants were asked to spend time praying for themselves in preparation of the revival. During the second week, members were asked to pray for others and in the third week, members prayed for Crockett Point Baptist.
Then, from the entire month of February until the beginning of the revival, the church was open for nightly prayer meetings. The revival began March 8.
The church came together to pray for wisdom, discernment, revival, people who were not Christians, themselves and for God to join in the revival.
And when the time came for the revival to take place, the congregation was prepared for how God might move inside and outside Crockett Point Baptist.
“When the Holy Spirit is welcomed into a place, amazing events begin to unfold,” Senn said. “The revival was about glorifying God, reaching out to the lost and soaking up the presence of the Holy Spirit. For all present, it was an amazing experience many will not forget.”
Though the revival at Crockett Point lasted for 11 days beyond its scheduled ending date, Britt recalls three others which also were extended – New Pleasantdale Baptist in Philadelphia, MS, another at First Baptist Church in Pine Prairie and yet another at Longview Baptist in Deville. Britt, who is a veteran of more than 1,000 revivals in the US and worldwide, said that while churches may have such extended revivals, the majority where he has preached last anywhere from one day to four days.
He said for churches who may be uneasy or unsure how to hold a revival, pulling off one is not as difficult as one may think.
“I want people to get in their mind and heart that this kind of evangelism still works,” Britt said. “There are evangelists God has called and when churches pray and invite their friends, God can still shake a community with this means of evangelism. If you’ll pray and prepare and people will invite their friends, I believe people will come.”
Even though Crockett Point Baptist’s revival has since ended, Senn believes God has much more in store for his church and the community in which they minister.
“As Crockett Point Baptist Church revival has come to a close, another is opening,” Senn said. “Philippians 1:6 states And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. There is still more work to be done but with a revived spirit and a teachable heart, all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us.”
