Revival Winds at Awake ’25

Some pastors had prayed for years; their people had prayed for months; and the start of Awake ’25 had finally come.

The morning meeting was turned over to the Holy Spirit. One prayed, and then another as a quiet weeping filled the background. It was then that a preacher from the audience cried out with tears and deep brokenness, admitting to flesh-dependence and a great need for God to revive him. Wave after wave of confession followed with both men and women joining in with appropriate transparency. The sound of weeping could be heard throughout the room as some made things right with others in attendance and all sought cleansing from God. This continued for about an hour and forty-five minutes, and toward the end, a pastor rightfully thanked God that He had poured out His Spirit in their midst. Truly, His reviving presence had been manifested, and in this amazing time, God was answering the prayers of those who had been seeking Him. Yet, this was only day 2. Still more was to come.

Where did the streams of blessing originate?

All blessing originates from the Blesser. Jesus alone saves people and revives people. But the Lord works by His Spirit through yielded believers who respond in faith to His leading. In this way God uses instruments. But let it be emphasized that though some sow and others water, it is God who gives the increase.

Years prior, God had stirred a yearning for revival in the heart of Pastor Bob Barker of Victory Baptist Church in Fairmont, West Virginia. A regular prayer meeting was started at the church, and over the years, God would bless with several revivals where meetings were extended and souls were saved–especially during the extra days.

In 2012, Barker began a weekly pastors’ prayer meeting that focused on revival in north central West Virginia. A small band regularly joined together on Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. Barker, John Freeman, Jeff Vaughan, George Heitman, and Roger Brown were hosted by Chuck Madaus at Bible Baptist Temple of Stonewood, in the Clarksburg area. Over the years, even when things seemed dry, these pastors remained faithful to express faith in God, pleading for revival.

In 2015, Pastor Barker was burdened to start what he called a Revival Prep Conference to prepare for revival. Bob asked me to come and to recommend another speaker familiar with revival themes. This is how Rick Flanders and I became involved with the work.

Thinking the conference should be an annual event, plans began to take shape for 2016, and once again, Bob requested that I provide another speaker recommendation. David O’Gorman,who saw revival in his church in Ireland back in 2000, agreed to make the trip across the Atlantic to join us. But then there was doubt about the program’s continuation. God took Bob Barker home before the second conference, and I wondered if this was the end.

Was it over? No! Chuck Madaus and the four others would stay the course, and Nathan Barker, Bob’s son, was ready to take up any slack. Nathan was called to be the next pastor in Fairmont and had the same revival heart as his dad. Only God can do that!

I had the privilege of coming to the Revival Prep Conference each year along with someone else.

Over the years, we heard from Harold Vaughn, Otto Koning, Ralph and Lou Sutera of the Canadian Revival of 1971, Scott Pauley, Ben Burks, and Dave Young. We addressed revival history, revival theology, and various subjects dealing with personal revival. The annual conferences were blessed, and at times. the sweet breeze of the Spirit could be sensed. The core group would lose another member when the Lord eventually took George Heitman home (in 2022), but their numbers would hold firm as Bill Toothman joined their pursuit.

In 2023, the pastors met to discuss taking a step of faith. Upon seeking the mind of the Lord, Awake ’25 was born and scheduled for November 17-21, 2025 (website: awakewv2025.com).

Much prayer and planning was poured into the next two years, and the number of sponsoring churches grew from 5 to 8.

Months in advance, the eight churches held cottage prayer meetings. God stirred and typically 60 to 80 people would attend. The prayer meetings were blessed with life by the Holy Spirit, and when I heard reports of life in the prayer meetings starting with the very first one, I knew God was moving. The churches also came together in various locations to pass out gospel literature and leaflets regarding Awake ’25. Anywhere from 40 to 75 people participated in each of these endeavors, and participants from the various churches began to sense a growing unity among themselves. Radio spots announced the meetings, commercials with the same message ran on television, and as the event got closer, the number of participating churches jumped to 20. For this to occur among Independent Baptists was perhaps the beginning of a revival movement!

The main venue for Awake ’25 was the Nathan Goff Armory in Clarksburg, WV. The core supporting pastors each took responsibility for a major part of the effort: Nathan Barker led on the platform, Chuck Madaus organized transportation for all children’s meetings, Bill Toothman led the training and organization of personal workers, and Jeff Vaughan handled the financial matters. Importantly, Amanda Barker and Michelle Toothman organized a nursery. Five evangelists were invited to minister. Scott Pauley was the evening speaker, Chase Williams was the children’s speaker, Ben Everson served as the soloist, and Tim Thompson led the choir and congregational singing with his wife, Brittany, on the piano. I had the privilege of preaching on revival themes in the morning services before an extended time of prayer. The camaraderie was sweet.

Many answers to prayer also paved the way before the conference started. For example, the portion of the armory designated for use as the nursery proved less than ideal. Instead of just doing her best with what she was given, Amanda Barker began praying earnestly for wisdom on how to prudently handle the situation. She told me that several times the Lord woke her in the night with ideas of what to do. Writing the thoughts down before going back to sleep, she would later implement these things, and when the meetings were live, a veteran of many past conferences noted that this was the most efficient conference nursery they had ever seen.

On Sunday morning, November 16, several of the evangelists preached in various participating churches. That evening three or four churches joined together in three regional locations to hear one of the evangelists. Four professions of salvation were reported for the day. God was already on the move.

On Monday morning, November 17, about 80 people came at 8:00 a.m. to set up the armory.

Anticipation filled the air. At 10:00 a.m. we convened for a service and prayer. The prayer time immediately took hold with sweet spontaneous praying for forty-five minutes among both men and women yearning for God to work. Excitement seemed to build.

The events of Tuesday’s prayer time are recounted at the beginning of this article. Wednesday and Thursday sessions were much the same with brokenness and heart cry for an hour and forty-five minutes each day. Some individuals clearly experienced life-changing moments with the Lord. Thursday stood out as children joined in and the symphony of prayer continued. Friday went about an hour and a half, primarily focused on burdened praying for the lost. Each day the crowd grew; Tuesday’s attendance was 56, but the number had climbed to 96 by Friday.

Larger crowds gathered at the armory for the much blessed evening services. On Monday, 569 people filled most of the main floor of the venue–more than doubling any Revival Prep Conference crowd. Tim Thompson led the opening choir number with the theme song Awaken Us, O Lord. Attendees joined in enthusiastically as the service continued with congregational singing. Ben Everson “preached” as he sang his solos. We were all stirred. Evangelist Scott Pauley, a man gifted to preach with profound simplicity and clarity, brought a riveting message from the Word of God.

The focus for the first three nights was reviving the saints, and these targeted services realized a great response among believers. But that was not all. Lost people also came to Christ each night. The last two nights centered on the gospel message, with many more saved and many decisions made among believers. Attendance at these services averaged around 600 and boasted a high of 39 preachers in the crowd on one night. There were 53 salvations reported, a few of which were from the nightly children’s meetings. On Thursday night, nine surrendered to the ministry.

Evangelist Chase Williams (also a skilled illusionist) held two follow-up events on Saturday after having visited 16 public schools during the week. His presentations before some 7000 students piqued the interest of 656 children, teens, and parents who attended the first Saturday session. Another 813 gathered for the second. Between both sessions, we were blessed to hear of 97 salvation decisions.

There were several remarkable instances of salvation, too.

One of the churches that was blessed on Tuesday encouraged more of their people to attend Wednesday morning’s third season of prayer. Among those who came was an unsaved young man. He had previously resisted the gospel because of disillusionment with some Christians. But as the Lord poured out the Spirit of grace, many were broken and honest before Him, and God began to work in this young man’s heart as well. One who knew him prayed for him without naming him. Eventually, preachers who knew him spoke with him, and he trusted in Jesus. Tears of rejoicing followed.

After one evening service, an attendee left with his heart full and stopped at a nearby service station. His heart overflowed and the Spirit worked as he spoke to the station attendant. That worker trusted in Jesus. The attendee returned to the venue to tell Scott Pauley what had transpired. The evangelist went by and met the new convert who gave him a clear testimony.

Walt is the man who oversees things at the Nathan Goff Armory. Many got to know him, and in the Friday prayer meeting, someone prayed for him to come to Christ. Scott Pauley told the Lord, “If You will open the door for me to talk with him, I will.” That night, Scott parked in the back and began the walk around the building to enter through the front doors. But in his office near the back parking lot, Walt saw the evangelist, opened his door, and invited the evening’s speaker to enter there instead. Recognizing the Lord had opened the way, Scott witnessed to him, and Walt believed in Jesus. He even gave Scott permission to tell his story to the audience that night.

On Friday evening, with the invitation time nearly finished, Evangelist Pauley asked everyone to find someone they didn’t know and give each other their testimony. In one case, a man went up to an unsaved father standing next to his son. When asked about his testimony he admitted he did not have one. When asked if he would like one, he answered, “Yes.” The man brought him over to a pastor who took him to the counseling room and led him to Christ. I believe there was a second similar instance that also took place. Many more stories could be told. All who were there went away rejoicing in the Lord.

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6).