‘People are hungry.’ Christian organization hosted revival at UK’s Rupp Arena

By Bryce Towle news@kykernel.com

Pulse, a Christian evangelist group, hosted a “revival” at Rupp Arena on Feb. 24. When doors opened, floods of people came in and participated in worship, prayer and music during the service.

The free service began at 2 p.m. and brought in hundreds of guests from different states. Attendees ranged from all ages, but “priority seating” was given to those aged 1525, according to an Instagram post from Pulse on Feb. 24.

Chairs lined all sides of the stage, while one section had flyers reading “reserved for prayer.” All 22,000 seats in Rupp Arena were open to the public.

A sole wooden cross stood about seven feet tall along with musicians and speakers on center stage as the crowd sang.

Attendees observed the event, listening to testimonies, scripture readings, music and prayer. Some guests could be seen praying on their knees, while others stood with arms open wide.

Pulse is technically not a church but is considered a “501 C3 Christian nonprofit” according to Forrest Limon, a 23-year-old young leader of the organization

Nick Hall, the founder of Pulse, organized the revival; he traveled from Minneapolis to the Asbury revival in

Wilmore, Kentucky.

“Nick had actually come before I did, really to just experience it,” Limon said.”He was so impacted by what was happening at Asbury that he created a space back in our Minneapolis office for the same thing to break out.”

Limon went on to describe how the planning and brainstorming for Pulse’s Rupp revival came from prayer and inspiration while attending the Asbury revival.

“God just laid down on our hearts to say what would it look like to create a bigger space, because we knew that Asbury was tapering down services,” he said. “Obviously, they're overwhelmed and we just honor the leadership there for even going as long as they did.”

While the organization expected attendance to be in the thousands, the event received hundreds. Attendees, many of whom were from Kentucky, traveled from multiple states to attend the service.

Alex Rains, accompanied by his wife Alexis Rains, said they heard about the event through social media.

Some attendees said they came to the event after not being able to take part in the Asbury revival.

Others felt conditions at Asbury weren’t welcoming, so the event hosted by Pulse suited their needs for an easily accessible environment.

“Well, I wanted to go down to Asbury so bad, but I heard it was so crowded and standing around … I couldn't go down there and stay in the cold,” attendee Nancy Ford said.

Rebbecca Thornberry felt the need to attend both.

“I was in tears the entire time. You could really feel the vibration of it. It was just an emotional event,” Thornberry said about her time at the Asbury revival.

Attendees such as Anselmo Rodregues traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the revival.

“It is amazing, everything is very simple. It's hard to explain … we drove all the way here to see what was going on and it is impressive the way God makes precedent here,” Rodregues said. “It’s clear people are thirsty for God, people are hungry, and God is ready to free us”

The Rupp revival was not a formal continuation of the Asbury revival; however, the event brought people together to experience something they may not have had the chance to.