Grammy-winning artist Michael W. Smith, fresh off an event in Vietnam that drew thousands, says he believes “God is on the move” around the world and that a global revival is breaking out.
“Something’s happening,” Smith told Christian Headlines.
“I’m so grateful that I’m alive to get to see it.”
Smith referenced the Asbury revival but also a series of other events: the timely release of Jesus Revolution and the popularity of The Chosen, among them.
The current movement of God extends beyond the United States, he said.
Thousands of Vietnamese attended the “Spring Love Festival” earlier this month at an outdoor field in Ho Chi Minh City, with Franklin Graham preaching and Michael W. Smith and other artists leading worship in song. More than 300 local churches participated.
In April, Smith will perform in Romania, Hungary, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy.
Smith posted a video on his Instagram account of thousands of Vietnamese singing the lyrics to the popular praise song Waymaker. Some of them sang in English while others sang in Vietnamese, he said.
It was a “bit overwhelming,” he said, to hear the Vietnamese crowd sing, in unison, music he had recorded. He wrote on social media: “God is on the move.”
A news release from Graham’s organization said it was the first time the Vietnamese government “has given permission for an evangelistic outreach with a foreign speaker to be held outside of a religious holiday.”
It is edifying, Smith said, to worship with Christians in other countries.
“Sometimes in western civilization in America, we think everything sort of revolves around our little world that we have,” Smith told Christian Headlines.
“It was just so authentic,” he said.
One particular moment stood out to Smith. It took place before the event began as he was preparing for his time on stage.
“I kept hearing this rumble,” he said.
Smith assumed the “rumble” was the crowd noise from a nearby soccer game. He followed the noise and discovered it was coming from a tent filled with Vietnamese Christians who were praying out loud. They were praying that the Spirit would move across the crowd.
“They were praying for what was happening out in the field where we were,” he said.
On a 1-to-100 prayer scale, they were at 110, he joked.
The world, he said, is experiencing a massive movement of God.
“I could be wrong … [but] I think it’s happening,” he said of a revival. “I think what we’ve prayed for for so long is actually happening. … There’s this resurgence of faith.”
Smith has been nominated for 14 Grammys, winning three. In April, moviegoers can see Smith on the big screen in the documentary, The Journey, which follows world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli, his wife Veronica and other musicians as they travel on horseback through the Italian countryside along the Via Francigena. It will be in theaters April 2-4 and 6.
I BELIEVE, it’s of the (UTMOST), importance, to “have faith” / believe, in a higher being, to be spiritual, in thought and deed. Have SO LONG, waited / wanted, to see a spiritual re-awakening a reconnecting, (WORLDWIDE), and a return, to a more godly / godlike way of life, ie lower crime rate, lower D.V.rates,greater respect, for the elderly, your Neighbour, those around you, (safer towns, safer cities). Believe it imperative, that a spiritual revival happens as this, the only, thing capable of stopping mankind’s inevitable slide into total anarchy and self-destruction, (see ancient histories, the Hittite kingdom, being a prime example), history (DOES), / WILL repeat!