Southwest Arkansas churches partner, pray for revival

HOPE, Ark. – The Lord is moving in powerful ways in southwest Arkansas.  

Last January, several pastors of various churches and denominations in the region began meeting every Thursday in prayer. Among those pastors is Daniel Bramlett of First Baptist Church in Hope. He said attendance at the prayer meetings typically range anywhere from five to 10 people.  

When revival hit Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, in February 2023, Bramlett said the pastors all sensed a fresh wind in their churches and worship services.  

“It was extremely sweet, and our prayer times reflected that,” he said.  

Fast-forward to November, Bramlett told the guys he wanted to pray that God would do again this February what they saw Him do last February. The Lord brought Life Action to Bramlett’s mind. 

Life Action helps churches, families, and Christian leaders move toward revival, vitality, and their mission with Jesus. 

“I told them what little I knew, and one of the pastors had experienced one of (Life Action’s) events and said it was one of the best things he’d ever been a part of,” Bramlett said. He then reached out to Life Action. They only had one week left open for a 2024 event. It happened to be in February.  

“I gathered all the information and took it back to the pastors the next week and we spent time talking and a significant amount of time praying. We all left that meeting convinced that the Lord was in this and that we were supposed to do this together,” he said, noting they officially had seven churches partner to host the Life Action Summit, which they dubbed Church at Hope.  

The main seven churches involved were Anderson Baptist, Calvario, Principe de Paz, Hope Family Church, Word of Faith, First Baptist Church in Hope, and Life House Church.  

The 10-day event was held Feb. 4-14 at First Baptist Church in Hope. Bramlett said they had about 350 people that first Sunday and varying numbers from there. Most of the services averaged around 100-150 people.  

The Life Action team comes in and transforms the whole facility from children’s ministry and youth ministry to the sanctuary and prayer rooms.  

“The effect is people felt like, I believe, that they were stepping into a fresh spot, a different spot. Nothing felt very familiar. It was all fresh. New to all of us. Not just the ones who weren’t from here,” Bramlett said.  

Joshua Pickering, a member of the Life Action team, said they come in beside a church and give pastors and staff an opportunity to take a week and get poured into through the ministry.  

“We just take it over and let the staff and congregation truly just sit back and intently pursue Jesus,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot a lot of God moving through here. There is a lot of hurt here. … There has been a lot of healing this week.” 

Pickering said the week was the culmination of multiple churches coming together and seeking revival as one group.  

“It’s been cool to be a part of that and be able to facilitate. We don’t bring revival … we come up beside the people and look for revival ourselves. Even though we are facilitating it throughout these conferences we are also being revived through how God speaks,” he said.  

“God’s constantly working in and throughout lives as we minister to these churches. That is one of the best parts of this ministry and why I love it.”  

The services throughout the week taught basic Christian life beginning with the gospel, confession and repentance, dealing with a clear conscience and grace and forgiveness, and the Spirit filled life, Bramlett said.  

“We all have dealt with heart issues that I think most people, like me, didn’t know that they had. We’re in a different place. We’ve grown and changed to a degree that we’re in a different place now,” Bramlett said. “It’s been the sweetest time. The Lord has just done a really strong work in our hearts and in the hearts of the people.”  

Lee Little, pastor Word of Faith Church in Blevins, said the Lord laid on his heart – about the same time as Bramlett – revival in southwest Arkansas. God put the two men together.  

“Our prayers have been, ‘God, we don’t know what we’re looking for we just want you.’ That has been our prayer,” Little said. “That is what we’re seeking, that Christ becomes the head of the church. That we see the bride of Christ come together and begin to function as a body. That’s our prayer and that’s what we’ve been seeking God for, and we’re not done.” 

Moving forward, Little said they now need to figure out their next step.  

“We’ve seen what He’s done here,” he said. “This was so different than I expected but at the same time I think it was one of the greatest spiritual awakenings for me. I’m old enough I’ve experienced some things in the past. When God begins to really deal directly with your heart you start realizing you ain’t as good as you thought you were. It has impacted us all.” 

Little said all their members are already asking when they will get together again.  

“We’re looking at each other thinking we’ve got to plan something. It’s exciting that God has brought everybody together,” Little said. “It’s just been amazing. This morning when we met, our prayers were for young people. I don’t know where that is going to lead. We’re excited. It’s really good. And we’re looking forward to the next phase.”   

Judi Lowe, a member at First Baptist Church in Hope, said at first, she thought 10 days was a lot, but knew she wanted revival.  

“I started praying about it. I feel like God was working before it even started and this has been wonderful. The teachings have been great. They have helped me in so many ways,” she said. “I knew I needed something. I prayed about it, and the Lord answered my prayers, and He has spoken to me through the pastors and given me tools to keep me moving on. I don’t think anybody here is wanting to go on as usual. We want this to continue on. It’s been a life changing thing, it really has.”