BY SHELTON LIVESAY
ONE ACCORD MINISTRY DIRECTOR
On the heels of the Will Graham Crusade and simultaneous with the Bristol Tent Revival has been a community revival in Chuckey which has now moved to a 1,500-seat tent calling itself the “Greeneville Awakening.” Beginning April 15, meeting at Greystone FWB Church in Greeneville, the revival was conducted on Monday-Friday nights each week for seven weeks with 140 people giving their lives to Christ.
On June 11, the revival moved to a 1,500-seat tent in Chuckey on a very rural farm where organizers say it will continue until God moves on Greene County with true revival. The revival is being held weekdays Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. at 1005 Quaker Knob Road, Chuckey. A special regional Hope Youth Crusade is being planned for Saturday, July 7, at 4 p.m. Youth groups and teens have promised and are expected to come from states around.
Roger Stockton, pastor of Greystone FWB in Greeneville, wanted to see revival in his community and contacted surrounding pastors inviting them to share in organizing this effort. Stockton contacted Evangelist D.R. Harrison, asking if he would preach these meetings. The services, which began April 15, soon began running out of seats. Stockton said they prayed for a bigger place to meet. Within a week’s time, Harrison was given a tent. A frequent revival attendee donated his farm to set up the tent with other people calling to donate everything from sawdust to chairs and sound equipment. Under the tent, Harrison began the ninth week of services, June 11, meeting five days a week with a total of 217 people praying for salvation.
Coincidentally, the evangelist, D.R. Harrison, came to know Christ in the Burlington Revival in 2016. Rev. Harrison’s father, David Harrison, is pastor of Homeland Baptist Church in Kingsport.
Harrison tells the story of his dad, David Harrison, who was a part of the revival that took place in Kingsport under a large tent in 1985. After three to four weeks with little response, some ladies were burdened for the lost and came to the tent every morning, praying for hours. Within days, the tent began to fill, the altar area became full every night and after meeting 11 weeks, 1,000 people professed faith in Christ, impacting all of Kingsport. One night of the revival, it was reported, 3,000 people packed the tent.
Harrison continued his story by asking the audience the question, “Aren’t you tired of hearing what God used to do? He is the same God today and if we want revival bad enough, what He did in Kingsport, He will do in Greeneville. We will be here until God comes and moves in our region.”
Harrison says every person coming to Christ is a miracle, but we are seeing people in their later years, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, coming to Christ which isn’t seen in churches today. One of the more notable people receiving Christ was a man called Mountain Man. According to a post on David Harrison’s Facebook page, Mountain Man’s family had prayed for him for decades. He was 80 years old and came to several services but sat in the back, unresponsive. One night after an extended invitation, this man started walking down the aisle weeping uncontrollably saying, “I can’t take it anymore, God save me! Hallelujah!!!
”There have been Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Church of God, and Lutherans here every night. It’s just been a community-wide revival,” Harrison said. “The hunger that people have had for this has been outstanding. It’s just been unbelievable.”
The Greeneville Awakening has already been followed by national Christian news CBN and picked up by several other national media outlets. Local residents can keep up with the revival through their Greeneville Awakening Facebook page.