By Julia Thistle

As prayer coordinator at Christ Community Church in Brazil, Indiana, I found myself disheartened at my personal level of commitment to Christ. As I examined myself in the light of the New Testament Christian in the book of Acts, I wondered: where was the love, joy, boldness, and power to lead others to Christ? Where was the manifest presence of God that flooded their prayer times, comforted them in jail and accompanied them on their journeys? I didn’t just want to come closer to God—I wanted God to come closer to me. I reached a point where nothing short of a deeper participation in the life of God would satisfy me.

The Holy Spirit revealed my need for a deep personal repentance before I could move forward. As I began to walk down this path, I felt a longing for my church to experience it as well. As with many churches, CCC appeared on the surface to be a successful, growing congregation of more than 600, but there seemed to be an increasing undercurrent of passivity toward spiritual things. We needed spiritual renewal.

Scripture records that centuries ago God moved leaders to hold something called a solemn (or sacred) assembly. Second Chronicles mentions five solemn assemblies called by spiritual leaders to revive the hearts of the people.

I shared how the Lord was leading with my pastor, Tim Russell. Over the next several months, we both kept coming back to the idea of calling for a solemn assembly. Pastor Tim believes that the foundations of true revival are laid when every believer surrenders completely to Jesus. He hoped that total surrender would be the “first fruit of solemn assembly.”
 
A Significant Happening
When the idea of solemn assembly first began to take form, the Holy Spirit clearly spoke that those involved in preliminary preparations and those who attended must be willing to give of themselves sacrificially. As the prayer committee sought the Lord humbly for a spiritual renewal in our church, He drew us to an investment of extraordinary amounts of time for prayer, fasting, and personal repentance for three months prior to the event. We used various materials designed to encourage self-examination: “The Heart God Revives” bookmark by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, a list of sins of commission and omission adapted from Charles Finney’s Lectures on Revival, Richard Owen Roberts’ pamphlet, “The Solemn Assembly,” and The Calvary Road by Roy Hession.

To prepare the congregation, Pastor Tim explained the scriptural foundation for solemn assembly in sermons leading up to the event. He encouraged members to circle the dates on their calendars as the “most significant happening in the history of CCC.”

The solemn assembly began on a Wednesday at 5 a.m. The church was opened for three consecutive days of prayer where people came and went all hours of the day and night. Hundreds came each night to the corporate sessions from 7-9 p.m. The theme for Wednesday evening was individual repentance; Thursday evening, corporate repentance; and Friday evening was devoted to praise and worship. Although we planned to close the doors at 9 p.m. on Friday, dozens stayed through the night until Saturday morning, worshiping and spending time in God’s presence.

A New Set of Values
Testimonies have emerged of how God met with each one who attended. One teenager shared that he came away with a “new set of values”—right and wrong were clearly defined for him. One man shared that as he listened for God’s voice, he was surprised to hear that he needed to be a better husband (he had been praying for God to change his wife). Together they renewed their commitment to God and to each other.

Another man shared that he was able to raise his hands in worship for the first time in his life. As he worshiped with this simple outward expression, something “broke” inside and he began to weep. He thinks we should have a solemn assembly every year!

In the months that followed, I found that my personal compassion and love for others has increased. I am bolder in sharing Christ and have a stronger desire for God’s Word. My faith increased along with my dependence on God. Although the results for people were varied, one common thread emerged: prayer lives have intensified.

Led by the Spirit
The solemn assembly provided our church body with an opportunity to escape our overwhelming flurry of activities, examine ourselves and focus totally on God. The Holy Spirit favored us with a time of deep meditation, warm fellowship, and genuine worship.

While I think all churches would benefit from taking time to seek God, it will only bear lasting spiritual fruit if it is initiated by the Holy Spirit. It must be protected from becoming a “form” of godliness without the power of God. The excitement must be for God, not for holding a solemn assembly. I can’t stress strongly enough the importance of bathing the assembly in prayer. If there is not a committed prayer effort before the assembly to prepare the hearts of the people for repentance, it is unlikely that the church will benefit.

Pastor Tim called a solemn assembly because he believed the Holy Spirit was leading us to use this biblically-based instrument to revive hearts. We are determined to continue to hang on to God until He favors us with a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
 
--Julia Thistle is a high school English teacher and the prayer coordinator at Christ Community Church in Brazil, Indiana.