The Asbury Revival began on February 8, 2023, in an obscure town of around 6,000 population — Wilmore, Kentucky — home to a modest seminary university. Few could have predicted that a world-impacting spiritual awakening would take root in such a place. Yet, after what should have been a routine chapel service at Asbury University, students found themselves unable to leave, compelled by an overwhelming presence of worship and prayer. What started as a spontaneous moment stretched into an unbroken 16-day revival, drawing an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 visitors from over 260 colleges and multiple nations. The unplanned outpouring of the Holy Spirit ignited hearts, filled chapels, and spilled into overflow spaces as a steady stream of people arrived daily —averaging 10,000 per day — seeking an encounter with God. Testimonies, worship, and prayer echoed through the halls, fueling similar movements on other Christian campuses. In an age of skepticism and distraction, this unexpected flame of revival burned bright, leaving an indelible mark on all who experienced it.
Leaving All in Obedience to the Divine Calling to Intercede
As the second anniversary of the Asbury Revival approaches, we are reminded of the power of persistent prayer and divine timing. What began as a simple chapel service on February 8, 2023, turned into a historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit, drawing thousands from around the world. But long before the revival broke out, Rev. Dr. Leow Hong Too and his wife, Zona, had already been walking in obedience —praying for revival in Asbury, Wilmore.
Rev. Dr. Leow Hong Too received calling seven years ago to pray for Asbury and a global revival. Before the pandemic, God called Rev. Leow to respond to what seemed like an illogical prompting — to leave his lecturing position at a Malaysian seminary and dedicate himself to prayer. For seven years, he prayed alone or with small groups for extended periods, until the seventh year, when the promised Asbury and world revival began to unfold.
7 Years of Revival Prayers
Three and a half years before the awakening, Rev. Leow and Zona left Malaysia, responding to God’s call to intercede for revival in Asbury. Day after day, Rev. Leow could be seen walking around Asbury Seminary and University, hands lifted in prayer, believing that God would move in His perfect time. In May 2022, when they were led by God to leave for a homeless ministry in New York City, they carried a deep conviction that the revival they had prayed for was still coming. And just months later, it did.
Watch Rev Dr Leow Hong Too’s Wife Testifies at Asbury Revival: https://voanews.xyz/en/rev-dr-leow-hong-toos-wife-testifies-at-asbury-revival/
Sitiawan’s Revival Hub
These events echo another series of prompting of God that seems to defy human logic.
Pastor Daniel (Allan) Phua, a retired Singapore government servant, was summoned by God to return from Singapore. In a moment of divine orchestration, out of human expectations, the very day he and his team began to officially pray on Sitiawan’s soil was the same day the Asbury Revival erupted in the USA. His mission was clear — to pray for a revival in Malaysia.
Months ago, when Pastor Daniel first received the call from God, initially, he was reluctant. Having spent many years in Christian ministry in Singapore and overseas missions in another country, the call seemed unexpected. But one day, as he drove into Malaysia, the Holy Spirit overwhelmed him. His heart was stirred, and he broke down in tears, realizing that despite all his ministry experience, as a Malaysian born person, he had never prayed earnestly for Malaysia’s revival.
It was a few months before the Asbury Revival when the Spirit of God called Pastor Daniel to embark on this revival mission into Malaysia. He didn’t know entirely what this would entail, but, he made it a point to keep praying and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him in the next steps he should take. He was eventually led to call up an Elder Nga Hock Cheh of Shekinah Methodist Church. After Zoom meetings online and much prayers, he understood that his work includes monthly intercessory work that includes other preparatory arrangements for revival.
The Legacy of Faith at Glory Church
In Sitiawan stands Perak’s largest church building, Shekinah Methodist Church, an imposing sanctuary with the capacity to seat 3,000 people. Seven years before Asbury’s outpouring, Elder Nga built a church building after receiving an audacious command from God: build a church for 3000, despite leading a congregation of merely a little over 100 persons. The logic defied human reasoning. Even now, the church membership had not increase significantly.
For years, the vast hall stood as an enigma. In all of Perak, no other church could even accommodate 1,000 worshippers — let alone 3,000. It made Pastor Daniel Phua question: Why such a massive undertaking? The numbers didn’t add up. Back in 2016, there was no conceivable reason for a church of such scale.
But the story began much earlier.
Thirty years before the Asbury Revival sent ripples across the globe, God stirred the heart of a lawyer in Sitiawan. He was a man with a promising career at a prestigious firm in a big city, but God called him away from comfort and status. In obedience, Bro Nga Hock Cheh left it all behind at the end of 1979, returning to his hometown to establish his legal practice on January 2, 1980.
At the time, Sitiawan was little more than an obscure town, isolated from major highways and without even a train station — the nearest one was an hour away in Batu Gajah. No universities, no bustling industries. Young people who left for education rarely returned, draining local churches of their next generation. It was the last place one would expect to become a cradle of revival.
For years, the grand structure stood mostly empty, its seats sparsely filled. Occasionally, interchurch meetings were held there, with Shekinah Methodist offering its vast space freely to others. But even then, Sunday services rarely saw more than 200 attendees. By human standards, the church seemed an overambitious project — an unnecessary extravagance.
But God’s plans are never small.
This was not merely a building; it was a vessel of divine preparation. It’s a testimony in itself that Dato’ Ding Poi Chung, the Deputy Chairman of the Building Committee, once built the largest Buddhist temple in that town. And as Elder Dr. Seow Chu Tai testified, Shekinah Methodist Church has long been committed to embracing and sharing the Kingdom vision. They are involved in inter-church, cross-cultural, and cross-national ministries. But, the building structure was waiting for an appointed time, when the Spirit would descend and the dry bones would come alive. It was a Noah’s Ark of sorts, built in faith, awaiting the flood of revival.
The Transformation of Sitiawan
In February 2023, Pastor Daniel (Allan) Phua finally returned from Singapore, answering the call to retrace and walk the Ancient Path (Jeremiah 6:16), rekindling the embers of past revivals. Alongside Rev. Dr. Leow Hong Too — the Asbury Revivalist, who made Shekinah Methodist Church, a Malaysian base, and other ministers that were invited to fan the flames, many meetings were held. This church, which had never seen a full house before, suddenly became packed to capacity, with a staggering 2,500 people attending in person, with thousands more joining online at Rev. Raymond Mooi‘s evangelistic healing meeting. It was the first time in many years that the church’s audience exceeded 1,000. The last time was in 2016, when the Messiah sacred musical drama was held in the newly built Joy Centre as part of its dedication service. At that time, all 2,300 tickets for seats were taken, yet even with rounding, the attendance had not reached 3,000. Seven years after its dedication, at the start of the Year of Revival in 2023, the number — when rounded — finally reached 3,000.
Sitiawan — A Forgotten Town, Now a Key Piece in God’s Plan
Once considered insignificant, Sitiawan was now being used by God to display His power. This proved that revival does not only happen in expected places but in places where faith and obedience are found — even when it seems impossible.
For those with spiritual vision, all of this is a testament to God’s perfect timing. Waiting was never in vain, and preparation was never wasted. The floodgates of revival have been opened.
And this is only the beginning.
We Are Carriers of Revival
But revival is not bound to one place. Each of us is a carrier of revival. It does not come by our own striving but by our obedience to the Holy Spirit. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts (Zechariah 4:6). Whether at home, school, the workplace, or church, we are all called to carry God’s presence, ignite hearts, and bring transformation.
The same Holy Spirit who moved in the Asbury Revival is still at work within us today.
As we mark this anniversary, let it not just be a memory of what God did, but a call to action for what He is still doing through us. Revival is not a location; it is a lifestyle. May we, like Rev. Dr Leow and Zona, Rev Daniel Phua, Elder Nga and other people of faith, remain steadfast in prayer, prepare ourselves, and welcome God’s next great move — wherever He calls us.
The question is not whether revival will come again, but whether we will be ready to carry it.
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