Tent revival coming to Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — Blue Heron Park in Moses Lake will be abuzz with faith next week, when Glory Cloud Crusade holds its annual tent revival.
“It’s like having church, but under a tent,” said Nini English, one of the organizers of the event. “We’re uniting the Moses Lake community to worship God and bring hope to the community.”
Glory Cloud Crusade partners with about a dozen local churches and ministries to put on the five-day event, which involves services every evening Sept. 2-4, and two on Sept. 5 and 6. The event’s name is taken from a passage in the Book of Exodus, in which God showed his presence by covering the Israelites’ tabernacle, or sacred tent, with a cloud.
There is no charge for any of the services, and there will be free meals Saturday and Sunday, according to the event’s website.
The first night, Wednesday, will be Salvation Night, English said.
“We want people to come and give their lives to the Lord,” she said.
Thursday will be Connection Night, where attendees are encouraged to connect with the Holy Spirit, English said. Friday night will be devoted to healing, she said.
“We want all those who are sick, either physically or mentally or emotionally, to show up (so we can) lay hands on them and pray over them and see them recover,” English said.
The first service Saturday will be the Youth Light-up, with music by L.O.J. SoulJaz and a talk by Rick Willison and his Extreme Team, which uses feats of strength to illustrate points of faith. There will also be a free lunch, English said.
“We fill their bellies and their spirits,” she said.
Saturday night’s service is called Impartation Night, English said.
“We’re imparting what God has given us as pastors and leaders, as Christians, to other believers,” she said. “We want them to also experience who God is and make other disciples.”
The Sunday morning service will be led by a group of local churches and will include baptisms and free lunch. Sunday night the crusade will wrap up with Glory Night, which centers around praise and worship.
“We’re going to magnify God … all night,” English said. ‘There’s no agenda; we’re just going to give the glory to God.”
Tent revivals originated in the 19th century, when evangelists would travel from town to town on the frontier holding fervent, grassroots services. The tradition continued into the 20th century, especially in the South, when evangelists like Billy Graham used a similar format to fill stadiums with crowds eager to know more about God.
Pastor Gary Pierce of Desert Springs Community Church of the Nazarene, one of the churches that partners with Glory Cloud, said he’s seen lives changed through the crusade.
“You’ve got to understand that you’re loved, that you matter,” he said. “The second year (of the crusade) there was a teenager who came over who was getting ready to commit suicide, and he thought, well, I’ll just go ahead and get a free meal. We still work with him and he’s doing well. He’s about to get married and he’s got his life under him … We want people to know that they’re not junk to be thrown away. God doesn’t make that. He created everybody in his image and wants (them) to get back to that.”
Glory Cloud Crusade Tent Revival
6 p.m. Sept. 2-4
10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 5-6
Blue Heron Park
111 Westshore Drive NE
Moses Lake