One Hundred forty-three years ago Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” Some have embraced that philosophical comment as a statement of fact. Others would argue that even the author was making the point that the way people think can cause them to ignore the obvious. A case could be made that too much religion, too much humanistic education, and too much philosophy that doesn’t want to answer to a higher power has caused popular mindsets to get so foggy that many people can no longer see God. So, they buy the lie that He died; they believe He was just a myth. But as John Adams wrote, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” Truth is stubborn, and the truth that God exists keeps coming back no matter how many institutions, demons, philosophies or tyrants try to “cancel” Him.
Historically, generational winds have blown whole societies adrift, but eventually reality catches up and people begin recognizing that God is still alive and well. Mankind temporarily goes blind or at least tightly shuts their eyes to their Creator. It is almost as if groups of people go through something akin to teen rebellion, thinking they know better than their Father and that they are going to make the world work the way they envision it should. Then a new generation rediscovers their Creator.
Today we are seeing evidences of such an awakening in some of the very places where the rumor that God was dead found its greatest allies – college campuses. Here are some statistics shared by Abby Trivett in an article titled 11 Colleges That Experienced Revival in 2024:
After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that started in 2023 at Asbury University, colleges around the nation began to experience revival with salvations, baptisms and worship, and the movement continued on many university campuses this year.
1. Florida State University – hundreds get baptized in the Westcott Fountain on campus.
2. Liberty University – hundreds of students packed the chapel.
3. University of Alabama – thousands gathered, and hundreds gave their lives to Christ and were baptized.
4. The Ohio State University – football team led a night of worship, baptisms, prayer and testimonies.
5. Texas A&M Corpus Christi – close to 1,500 students testified of transformed hearts and minds.
6. University of Arkansas – 10,000 students from 67 colleges sought the presence of the Lord.
7. Mississippi State University – close to 6,000 students gathered.
8. University of Florida – more than 1,000 students decided to commit their lives to Jesus.
9. University of Tennessee – 8,000 students gathered to praise the Lord… amid massive anti-Israel protests.
10. The University of Mississippi – 6,600 students saw God move through the power of prayer, worship and salvation.
11. Texas A&M – 10,000 students lifted up the name of Jesus, with hundreds deciding to follow Christ.
According to Vision Christian Media, the first United US outreach of 2025, at the University of Kentucky, attracted 8,000 students. Unite US reports that since September of 2023 more than 70,000 students have attended their events. Dr. Sarah Baldwin, Vice President of Student Life at Asbury University where revival broke out in 2023 said “The students are recognizing that: This is what I was designed for; this is the purpose that was set aside for me, this is the life. This is the love that Jesus has for me.”
There’s a new breeze blowing, and young people are proving that the notion that “God is Dead,” is dead!