This project would propose that the United States and the world-at-large need
another Great Awakening. Witness these indicators: the predominance of relativistic
thought with its accompanying moral drift, the rise of militant religions, the increasing
intrusiveness of government in the lives of citizens, the devaluing of life represented by
trafficking and human rights abuses, and the continual corruption in many countries by
dictators and kleptocrats.
Yet the church of Jesus Christ remains a city on a hill, with light that cannot be
hidden or dimmed. Throughout church history God has sent revival to the church, often
resulting in awakening that transforms individual lives, and society. Examples include the
role of St. Patrick and the Celtic saints in spreading the gospel and saving civilization,1
Saint Francis and his followers who gave their lives to humbly follow Christ through
poverty and rebuild His church, and Martin Luther who nailed the Ninety- Five Theses to
the door of the Wittenberg church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation. More
modern examples of the power of Christ working through His church include the
Holiness movement with its accompanying moral reforms during the nineteenth century,
the quick rise of the Pentecostal movement worldwide in the past 100 years, and the role of Pope John Paul II and Polish Catholics in speaking truth to power and bringing down
the Communist regime in Poland and beyond.