Come Easter, the Earth breathes once again. ‘For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone….’ Don’t you recognize it? This is revival.
Yet human spirits are suffocating.
This time last year, three women would testify to this. Another semester on academic probation ticked by for fourth-year sophomore Kiara Creary. A stretch of unfruitful attempts at trying to connect with other Christians in college crushed freshman Jessica Bangura; and the impending move to campus only instilled a fear of inevitably losing her faith, for transfer student Sanai West.
It may not have looked like it then, but this was God’s Glory at work. He was about to breathe life into all of them, and then some.
Out of organizational turmoil, pushback from the club senate, and overcoming personal demons of fear came the launch of campus ministry Generational Revival (“GenRev”) at William Paterson last fall. Founder Kiara Creary described “an encounter with God” led her to forming a community based on practicing Jesus’ teachings, rather than just speaking of them.
The very first interest meeting, barely advertised, drew in over 60 people. This proved to Kiara that what she had struggled with in her undergrad, she had not faced alone.
“I was the student that was in the party life that was doing the crazy stuff. To see the reverse of where I was versus where I am now– the student who was failing, the student who was on party flyers, to now the student who is walking with Christ, the student who Christ helped, I think that is the student [everyone] needed to see do this. That representation is my testimony.”
With meetings every Thursday evening, Kiara and her fellow board members plan elaborate events that welcome students, faculty, and families. All meetings have a common theme: self-care, a relatable goal for all persons, achievable through the love of Christ.
“Our main focus is basically Christ and connection…Every time we have a different kind of Bible study, or every time we have a different event, even students that don’t really have a relationship with Christ ultimately find something to connect with. They have breakthroughs, they have revelations, they have realizations,”said Jessica, who is currently the president of the club.
A recent event titled “The Esther Effect” invited attendees to ponder what God is calling them to through the lessons in the Biblical book of Esther. The women of the board testified how God equipped them with skills they never thought of themselves to possess, such as leadership.
A member since the first meeting, Sanai, now Vice President, recounted feeling uncertain at first in her worthiness to be a leader. Since then, she has spoken on her faith in front of whoever will listen, always bubbling over with her radiant love for Jesus.
“Be open-minded, be open-hearted, and let God use you,” Sanai said. “Take advantage of what you can get from the club, that’s what we are here for…this is a community. We are not here to judge you, we’re just here to spread the Gospel.”
Barely two semesters into its existence, the women have seen GenRev take off in ways they could have never imagined. Kiara, who stayed at William Paterson for her master’s degree to continue the ministry she started, foresees starting up GenRev in more schools. She is grateful to God for having steered her on the right path, and sees His favor being granted.
“Seeing what God is doing, I think he’s about to have more students graduate. I know we’re not the career center or anything like that, but I’ve seen what God has done in my life, and I see what he’s doing in these students, and even just the curiosity and the seeds we’re planting – ‘cause we’re not the ones saving anybody’s soul, that’s Jesus’ job – but just seeing that our seeds are in some good soil, I just think that is the best thing God is doing right now.”
With the spiritual revival that has taken place closely around them (and I will testify, through them), the women of the GenRev board are a lifetime away from the place they were at just a year ago. Jessica affirmed who (that is, Who) makes it all possible.
“GenRev started with a yes. An obedient ‘yes’ at that. Without Kiara’s boldness, without her confidence, without her ‘yes’, this whole campus would still follow the status quo. So the fact that God gave her boldness, the fact that God gave her grace, support, and favor among all to fulfill this worldwide revival, is just a beautiful thing to see. It’s a beautiful thing to just be a part of. And we invite everybody to be a part of it.”
