At a time of declining numbers, post-pandemic challenges and political polarization, a Nebraska conference touts hope for revival.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
YORK, Neb. — At 8:30 a.m. on a weekday, exuberant voices praising God filled the historic prayer chapel at York University.
About 130 Christians from 13 states and Canada sang hymns such as “There’s Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus,” “It Is Well With My Soul” and “Our God, He Is Alive.”
The little white building with a tall steeple was born as a Lutheran church in the late 1800s. More than a century later, it sat vacant and decaying about seven miles north of the York campus.
The university, which is associated with Churches of Christ, moved the old structure in 1999 and restored it as a beacon of spiritual life.
This week, the chapel provided a fitting backdrop for the Equip Conference, a two-day event focused on the theme “Hope for Churches.”
“York is in a unique position to be a real resource for churches in this area of the country,” said Garrett Best, Equip’s organizer and chair of the 425-student university’s Department of Bible and Ministry. “There’s a real hunger.”
Ministers and church leaders traveled to this Nebraska farming town to pray, fellowship and brainstorm ideas for revival at a time of declining numbers, post-pandemic challenges and political polarization.
“There are people here that drove from Montana, from North Dakota, from Minnesota, from Wisconsin — they drove hours and hours,” Best said.
This story appears in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Photo by Eli Embray
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 