Revival in Romney

West Virginia: Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River, and country roads — a place John Denver described as “almost Heaven.”

If you talk to Nathan Travis, pastor of Romney Assembly of God in Romney, West Virginia, “almost Heaven” is what the Holy Spirit brought last April in a youth rally and revival service. These twin events have made a lasting impact on his small congregation and the youth in the Romney community.

Travis, 42, describes Romney as “Nowhere, West Virginia” — a town easily overlooked in the state’s eastern panhandle. But Romney wasn’t overlooked by the West Virginia Prayer Alliance.

Rob Reynolds, one of the Alliance’s leaders and director of Teen Challenge-Maryland, contacted Travis earlier this year about hosting a prayer service the evening of April 11, 2024. A youth rally would be held that afternoon at nearby Hampshire High School, with evangelist Nik Walker preaching.

The Romney church was all in. Members had been praying a long time about how to reach their community. But they weren’t prepared for what would happen on April 11.

As Travis and volunteers were setting up the sanctuary for the evening service, the Prayer Alliance team arrived with incredible news: That afternoon, 250 young people at the high school prayer meeting gave their hearts to Christ. The sanctuary at the Romney church wouldn’t be big enough to hold the evening crowd.

Travis and his crew quickly set up their larger multi-purpose facility.

That evening the congregation watched, amazed, as the Spirit surged on the crowd. More people were saved, and a number were water baptized. Travis witnessed Heaven come down on the church he had been serving less than a year. “We have had outreaches and different things in our area for a while,” he says. “But on that scale? It was just beyond anything we could have expected.”

As it turns out, the Prayer Alliance and the Romney church hadn’t been the only ones praying. Members of the Fellowship of Faith, a Christian teen group at Hampshire High, had been asking God to move on their non-Christian school.

Eliza VanMeter, 18, led the group at the time. “Our school is not the most stable group of kids,” she explains. “We have a lot of kids who have really bad backgrounds and kids that drink a lot, that vape, that do drugs. So we always pray for our school a lot.”

The Fellowship of Faith sponsored the prayer rally on April 11, and attendance was voluntary. Group members spread the word around the school and continued praying.

When the rally started, VanMeter was stunned to see more than 200 kids gathered in the gym for Walker’s message.

VanMeter, who attends Mountain View Assembly in nearby Capon Bridge, describes watching kids pray to receive Christ at the end of the service.

“I got chills because it's something that we collectively have been praying about for so long. Seeing some people that I've known for a really long time, that I'm friends with, breaking down that barrier — I don't even have a word for it.”

What the Holy Spirit did that day was just the beginning. There have been more salvations and more water baptisms at the Romney church. Members have suggested starting new ministries or expanding existing ones.

“It's not just coming from the pulpit,” Travis says. “In fact, in our first board meeting after the rally, several on our board said, ‘Okay, we have all these young people and their families. How do we reach them? How do we disciple the ones that gave their hearts to the Lord, and how do we empower them to reach their families?’”

Travis says one way they disciple these youth is at an annual church camp at Camp Pinnacle, in partnership with non-AG churches. He describes the camp as an “upper room experience,” with conversions, baptisms in the Holy Spirit, and water baptisms. Also, at monthly youth rallies leading up to camp, young people deepen their Christian walk and are often called to the ministry. These and other activities in the Romney community are perfect for youth to become grounded in their newfound faith.

This grounding is critical. VanMeter sees her generation as corrupted and hurting. They fought through Covid. They battle drug addiction, vaping, and mental health issues more than previous generations.

Having graduated from Hampshire High last spring, with her sights on college, VanMeter further explains, “I think so many young people are looking for something to satisfy, like they're trying to find something to fill a hole. Once young people see Jesus, they're never gonna stop wanting more of Him.”

The Romney congregation will gladly welcome these spiritually hungry youth. Travis believes the church’s future depends on them.

“As I often tell our church, there has to be somebody that can take your place in your pew or take your place in your ministry, or there's no future for a church. Not just Romney Assembly or our area Assemblies or the National Assemblies of God. For any church, anywhere that wants to grow God's kingdom, there has to be someone to take our place.”

Spirit-filled, committed young people keeping the church alive: If you ask Travis, that’s almost Heaven.

Sherri Langton

Sherri Langton, associate editor of Bible Advocate magazine and Now What? e-zine, is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Focus on the Family, Decision, Upper Room, Today’s Christian Woman, and other publications. Langton, who lives in Denver, also has contributed to book compilations.