1997 20/20 report on the Brownsville Revival

by a school vice principal turned Pied Piper who brought some children along then who cares if that's illegal Lin sure takes us inside an explosion of religious fervor in America countdown to salvation well next we're going to take you to Florida with this man a former drug addict with a long criminal record is running a religious revival people from all over the world are going there because they say he has the Word of God and it's change their lives ah you'll find out when we come back how a glimpse into a world many of us don't know even exist in Pensacola Florida a religious spectacle is underway night after night people from all over the world come by the thousands hoping for a divine encounter revivals usually lasts only a few days but this one has been going on for more than two years what are people looking for inside Lindsey reports nothing less than God himself [Music] Hollywood couldn't have created better special effects signs from above beckoning thousands all hungry for divine power they've traveled the globe to reach this unlikely method an inner-city church called the Brownsville assembly of God in Pensacola Florida what's gotten into them why when many American churches are struggling with empty pews are these worshipers camping out before daylight to live in line up to 18 hours for a good seat I'm here because I know God is here the power of God is so real on me my human body cannot handle it [Music] the message they have heard is relayed up and down the line God is in the house [Music] the wait is finally over it is show time [Music] [Applause] [Music] inside the energy is infectious gospel rhythms underscore a torrent of enthusiastic praise this it would be fair to say is a party for Jesus when the music fades the message turns urgent we cast out devils we heal the sick and we pray and we pray and we pray are we tired we're exhausted but then we pray and we pray the man leading these prayer warriors is evangelist Steve Hill a repentant sinner with a passion for redemption you need Jesus you need Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus teeth heal his part showman part salesman he didn't say that friend he said behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world there's sometime around 7:00 p.m. he takes center stage with Pastor John Kilpatrick to lead a five-hour worship marathon they all believe that God can touch them and they all believe that in this place miracles are taking place clearly this is not Church as usual the worshipers packing this sanctuary four nights a week mostly Pentecostals say they've been left empty by dry stale religion many claiming that here God touches them for the first time it is called a revival literally a breath of new life into a withering faith [Music] God's presence they say has ignited this spiritual revival he's delivered me from so much friend-friend what Jesus Christ came into my life what a change man Wow I want you to experience that I want you to experience victorious living the promises of God your past forgiven and forgotten freedom from addiction in this emotional cauldron the faithful believe broken lives are healed this revival it's about will change lives it's about people that were hurting people that were dying people that were just like like groping through the desert sands hoping for a drink of water from somebody and they're revived [Music] revivals are an American tradition dating back to itinerant preachers who converted the masses claiming the power of Jesus in a modern throwback to that old-time religion worshipers at the Brownsville revival also strive to cleanse their souls with full immersion baptisms Brownsville is the country's longest-running revival in nearly a century more than two years old and members here are convinced they're headed toward something even grander that's called a Great Awakening a period when spiritual fervor sweeps across the land they believe there have been only four in the world my name is Cristina Bungay from Freetown Sierra Leone Sierra Leone France pirates from Melbourne Australia Melbourne Australia how many of you the line without of them Germany let me see your hand Wow Argentina I am from Ukraine this revivals power reaches far beyond Florida the church is proud of its converts and pay special homage to those who've traveled the longest distance would you give a warm welcome to Steve Hill according to those who were there this revival began on Father's Day 1995 Steve Hill was a visiting evangelist passing through town Pastor John Kilpatrick invited him to his pulpit for the morning service my home father's day the power of God fell and it was awesome we've been praying for two and a half years and when he came for quiet praying for revival Hill says he felt a heightened intensity as worshipers clamored for prayer pastor Kilpatrick yelled to the congregation that the moment they prayed for had at last arrived moments later the pastor fell to the floor unable to rise for hours overwhelmed he says by the power of God it's a story he likes to tell it wasn't scary nothing phobic it didn't hurt it was the most wonderful feeling that I've ever felt in my whole life today the momentum shows no signs of easing and he'll the one time traveling preacher has stayed making brownsville home base to shepherd what he calls a movement of God well the power of God was delivering drug addicts from drug addiction alcoholics were given up alcoholism it was merited miracle after miracle one after another people being set free from bondage as we started seeing this we realized that this is supernatural I mean the scum of the earth began to show up because they had heard God was coming down in power and they needed God's power to help them here's what that power can look like according to Hill & Kilpatrick some worshipers are so filled with the spirit they jerk and shake uncontrollably if you need forgiveness if you're away from God I want you to come right now you need the Lord hurry hurry the surface shifts into high gear after the sermon when evangelist Hill delivers his urgent call to the altar it sends sinners running a countdown to salvation [Applause] [Music] and then the moment many longed for a prayer and a light touch that can drop some of them to the floor able to hear but often unable to move it is cold being slain in the spirit in effect a wake-up call from the Holy Spirit so when you're down there in front talking to people and putting your hand on them you are being a conduit for the power of God well I believe that a lot of things are happen but get specific with me you're you're standing there I've seen you do this you walk up to someone and you say down what are you saying I am saying more of Jesus a fresh touch from Jesus and the power of God comes over these folks and they fall to the ground we don't feel like we're anybody's special but God is moving through us he has always used people to many he'll may seem is surprising conduit for the word of God a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict he also admits to having a long criminal record I was arrested for for drug sales car theft about 13 times and breaking and entering and you know I had to have money to get drugs the change came at 21 he says when his mother invited a Lutheran minister home to pray for him I didn't believe in God but he said say the name Jesus so out of desperation I looked up at the ceiling of the room and I said Jesus Jesus Jesus I just began to say that name and the power came through my body and in a matter of seconds it was like I was brand new I'm not using the needle anymore I'm not drinking whiskey anymore I'm not depending on a 6-pack of beer anymore I'm not smoking pot anymore I don't need pornography anymore he's changed my life and the revival Hill says has saved or transformed more than a hundred thousand lives I used to be a skinhead I used to hate anybody wasn't white God saved me set me free John Hall a former skinhead is one of a group of revival members who say they are now on fire for Jesus after a moment of prayer they eagerly shared their stories of spiritual transformation I wanted to kill my parents you literally wanted to kill your parents yes ma'am I wanted to kill my parents i sat down and I wrote out the perfect plan to kill both of my parents amen John found Redemption at the revival he's become a ministry student and like so many other converts readily told his story when he was baptized [Applause] there are also claims of physical healings despite a constant shaking that persisted throughout our interview school teacher Valerie Brun says God healed her tell him what God did to your neck He healed me every neck back injury from a car accident the head shaking began immediately afterwards she says it happens whenever she's in the presence of God she calls it a manifestation it's this manifestation that I have now in my neck that was a way for him to tell me that my neck is healed and there's no way that my neck could have ever withstood this ever I mean before has it been diagnosed what you're doing now you mean have I been to a doctor uh-huh no I haven't been to a doctor yeah how long does the shaking tend to last it depends it depends on what I'm doing when I get in God's presence that's when it starts so when I pray I read my Bible I come to church that's when I'm shaking pastor Kilpatrick says he's not the least bit ashamed to have Valerie sing in his choir but he told us that some others of his flock are fakers they just pretend to be set in motion by spiritual forces but both leaders adamantly denied criticism from some religious leaders that their church is like a cult that they manipulate worshipers to elicit what's been called mindless praise I would I would encourage anyone who would say anything like that to come meet these mindless people meet Patrick Waters who's been delivered from drug addiction meet the person that wanted to commit suicide but now wants to live on that's not mindless praise that's worship they're so thankful but neither man offers any apology for the next step in the process the step that makes many outsiders so wary and uncomfortable spreading the word and Jesus Christ has changed my life everyone healed is taught it is his or her duty to share the experience that's called witnessing or evangelizing we're not supposed to push things down people's throats by any means but I think that when they see something is real it makes them hungry you say it's not a religious thing but the truth is it is about Jesus Christ and there are people who believe in other religions as you well know who don't believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord right so it is a religious thing if one doesn't believe in Jesus if one doesn't accept this what does that make that person in this world lost the last even if they don't feel lost even if they don't feel lost you want to know why people hate revival it's in your face it'll mess with your comfort zone friend you'll hear things you need to hear like get the sin out the question is what happens when that process seats out of the church and into places where it's not always welcome or legal it is exactly that in-your-face approach that's put some revival members on a collision course with the law when we come back Lynn Sherr continues with the Pensacola revival and a school vice principal with very strong religious beliefs who leads some students there does he have a right to do that and what do their parents think from ABC News 20/20 continues once again you downs as we've seen the religious revival in Pensacola Florida has made believers out of thousands of people and they are then expected to spread the word to others but how would you feel if the believer was a teacher or a school administrator do they have a right in that capacity to try to influence their students possibly changing their religious beliefs forever Lynn Sherr picks up her story with a school vice-principal who did just that [Music] while the revival here in Pensacola is stirring up Souls the message being carried by one of its most fervent believers is stirring a very different set of emotions in a nearby community an ugly controversy has arisen in the town ironically named Niceville and the holy spirit doesn't cost disorder or dissension in a family and it was causing that in our family and it was it was painful Irma and bud temple like all the folks we spoke with in Niceville Florida call themselves faithful families but they also believe that religion belongs at home and in church not in the public high school which is where they say their children learned of the Brownsville revival worse yet they charged the message was preached by the school's own vice principal dr. chip will one the temples who asked us to kill their religious denomination private but are not Pentecostals say they became concerned when there's 16 year old daughter began to embrace the practices emanating from the revival when did things really start getting bad with your younger daughter my daughter pick me up at the airport one day she was driving I got in the car and she was driving down the road and she was shaking jittering bouncing and whatever term you want to use she was not you know as if she was afflicted with some sort of disease and I finally said well what is wrong with you what is what are you doing what's matter and she said oh I'm just filled with the Holy Spirit and it hit me like a ton of bricks and almost fell out of the car the temples claims she only started her shaking after attending one of the revival services with Vice Principal wool wine a devout Christian he readily admits the revival changed his own life and that at times he escorted up to fifty students to the church was I excited about the fact that I knew if some kids could get there that they could get squared away with the Lord and get off drugs and alcohol and stuff like that sure doctor wool wine has been called the Pied Piper of Brownsville a nickname not meant to be flattering to a man generally well respected by both parents and students and that's eight parents is part of the problem and a lot of those youth they're young youth and and and they're vulnerable and their influence and they're easily influenced and they look at an administrator and a teacher and they look up to them doctor will want insists the religious conversations were largely initiated by students but some parents argue that preaching religious beliefs is their responsibility and inappropriate behavior for a public school administrator did you ever say to one of the kids that if if he or she weren't saved he or she would go to hell well again you're talking about thousands of conversations of it but I don't I don't I do not have any recollection ever of looking at a kid and saying if you don't believe like I do you're going to hell would you ever say that to a kid but if a kid were to just come to me and say if I don't have Jesus in my heart for my Savior that I'm going to hell if you were just Corning me like that then yeah you'd have to say yeah you know and you think that was it's perfectly appropriate for you to have been if you ever said something like that to do that within the the context of your being vice-principal and this being a school I have no problem that at all right now we're in a major exciting situation at Niceville high school some of you know about it we got an assistant principal over there and so but the revival leaders have rallied behind dr. wool wine they see his cause as an opportunity to advance national support for school prayer what I'm telling you is there is a nation out there lying dormant and they're waiting for somebody some voice some church to some some governmental on-fire leader to rise up and go wait just a cotton-pickin minute don't you tell me we can't pray in our school doctor will wines religious activities prompted a school board investigation he was accused of holding Bible counselling sessions in his office and baptizing students at a local Bayou his supporters in this Bible Belt community were outraged by the charges and so vehement about it most of his accusers say they were afraid to speak out still in June at an emotional school board meeting dr. wool one was found guilty of violating a policy requiring religious neutrality if the laws are wrong then I invite people to seek out legislative remedy [Applause] but while the school board ruling was based on the separation of church and state wool wine supporters say the case is a First Amendment issue they believe students have the right to seek and receive religious counseling at any school they transferred to a position yet Mis chip will one was removed from his job as vice principal and shifted into a position where he'll no longer come in contact with students [Music] what's right for the boys Narrows temple and the other parents who spoke out are afraid of repercussions worried that this issue will not quietly disappear what goes through your head when you think about what might happen what are you worried about something somebody might say something somebody might do well I'm more concerned about doing somebody might do I might concerned about the activities of the zealous people to very very fanatical people that you can't predict what a fanatics going to do school board member Don Gates says he's received several death threats since launching the investigation but he claims he has no regrets concerning the board's verdict what do you think it means that you've that the board has disciplined dr. wool one what we're trying to say is that nobody uses our public schools as the staging area for an attack on anybody's religious faith or as a recruiting station to try to get kids to give up the faiths they're taught in their own homes and follow some Pied Piper however well-intentioned he might think he is do I feel like I've done anything wrong absolutely not do I feel like I'm guilty of violating school board policy absolutely not if you had things to do over again at Niceville high school starting with the day you went to the Brownsville revival what if anything would you do differently nothing I wouldn't do anything differently to save my job to save my career which one are the students would I send back to to the awful life that they were experiencing and my answer is I wouldn't send any of them back to save my job or my career I started skipping school and running away and I was in juvenile detention center and everything like that because I was skipping school I ended up in the vice principal's office god bless you doctor despite the ruling doctor wool wine shows no sign of walking away from his students he says he's proud of helping set law students straight and he recently attended a former students baptism at the revival a student he admits helping to find Jesus and he invited me to Bible study and he shared the word with me then who cares it that's illegal and what's happening with the doctor wall mine is so needed right now in America if a teenager needs prayer you know and they're going through a hard time with with a their boyfriend or girlfriend don't slip him a condom talk to him about getting their life together evangelist Hill and pastor Kilpatrick and even dr. will wine admit they are short on statistics that they don't know how long the conversions will last but that hasn't lessened their zeal an awakening coming to America that is gonna shake this nation the revival is now turning into a crusade with the evangelists and the pastor taking their message on the road to pave the way for the next step it's a nationwide awakening they hope will follow it's their way of using the revival fires from Pensacola to spread a wave of religious passion [Music] but for all his faith and hope the Evangelist who was here when it all began says he still takes nothing for granted I crawl in here every night spiritually speak and I'm humbled and I say God would it be possible for you to do it one more night would it be possible for something to happen one more not present I understand doctor wool wine is appealing to the Florida State School Board to get his job back and yes who was representing him it is a legal organization headed by Pat Robertson well next you have to

Channel: RevivalFireOkie

Views: 105,576

Rating: 4.7980638 out of 5

Keywords: Brownsville Revival, Steve Hill, Pastor John Kilpatrick, 20/20, Dr. Chip Woolwine

Id: aSIgSXvpMtM

Length: 24min 49sec (1489 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 04 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/froggiebandersnatch]

I remember when this story came out. Everyone at Brownsville was so proud. They thought the reactions of the nay-sayers were funny and joked about it from the pulpit. I think the mindset was something along the lines of 1 Corinthians 1:18, but in reality people were weirded out by the hysteria and strange manifestations--not the gospel itself.