Photo above – When Time to Revive came to AFA’s hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, it didn’t take Martin and his team long to sense racial tension, and they soon recognized their role as peacemakers. Ethnically diverse gatherings have served to bring peace through confession and forgiveness between black and white pastors and congregants. 

March 2015 – Over 2000 years ago, Jesus sat by a lake engaging a large crowd for an entire afternoon with stories about everyday things like fields, fish, and seeds. Ordinary bread dough suddenly turned into an object lesson: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough,” He explained (Matthew 13:33).

Evangelist Dr. Kyle Martin recently found himself using a similar analogy. But it was with a different kind of dough, and the illustration was a little more hands-on.

As founder and CEO of the Texas-based ministry Time to Revive, Martin and his team travel across the U.S. spending months at a time in cities pursuing revival in the church. God often inspires him to unique and creative approaches to ministry.

“The Lord once told us to buy Play-Doh,” Martin told AFA Journal. “We had no idea how we were going to use it.”

When north Mississippi residents poured into a local sanctuary for an event promoted on social media as “a gathering of peace,” each was given a small packet of brightly colored dough. This particular church, typically comprised of African Americans, looked noticeably different that night as chairs began to fill with an ethnically diverse crowd.

The youthful Martin stood on the platform, looked across the large packed room and, with a winsome grin, pointed out the obvious, “There’s a lot of black people back there and a lot of white people [up here],” he said. “We ain’t sittin’ next to each other!”

Awkward chuckles skipped across the room as instructions followed. And the atmosphere began to change as each person located someone of a different ethnicity or denomination to sit with. They prayed together. They confessed. They embraced. They wept. And they shared their Play-Doh with one another, molding their distinct colors into one shape.

“We want to come into a community, set the sails, and see what the Lord does,” said Martin. “The challenge is – will the church be willing to put aside agendas and opinions, even if they don’t know what they look like, so we can see how the Lord works? We love to plan it. We love to spell it out. I’m telling you that’s what’s holding back revival. Let God do the work.”

Unexpected beginnings
In 2001, a college freshman walked up while Martin was washing dishes at a Taylor University coffee shop. “Hey, what do you want to do with your life?” she probed. The words “I want to train people for Jesus” were suddenly rolling off his tongue. The thought had never occurred to him before that moment. And from that point on, the thought would never leave him.

Martin attended Dallas Theological Seminary with a simple goal of obtaining a good foundation in the Scriptures. “When I went, they actually didn’t know what to do with me because I didn’t want to be a preacher or teacher,” he said. “I just wanted to soak it up – so that’s what I did. And when I left, I still didn’t know what to do, except I knew I was supposed to pray for the church and for revival.”

He prayed and fasted for six days. In an area several blocks from downtown Dallas, he heard the Holy Spirit say, “This is your land.” He kept praying about it and soon found himself standing before the owner of the valuable piece of property.

“Hey, this is going to sound drastic, but I’m praying for revival,” he explained. “The Lord told me this is my land. Can I use it?”

“You can have it as long as you want,” the owner said. That property became the site of a city awakening.

Believers from 200 churches gathered on that plot of land in 2007 for a 40-day tent revival. “It was the first time I saw what happens when the church comes together,” Martin said.

While God was putting a spark in him to move forward with a greater mission, a life-threatening disease suddenly attacked his 18-month-old daughter. It was a year of testing as he and his wife watched their baby girl struggle through chemo and steroids. During her treatment and recovery, the vision only grew stronger. “I knew this was my calling,” he explained.

The team has served in cities in 12 states over the last seven years. Almost 4,000 believers from 23 states and 339 churches participated in the 2014 Revive Twin Cities mission in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

“It’s growing really strong in the U.S.,” said Martin. “As we go from all of these different cities, God just keeps picking up more and more people. He’s the lint roller, and we’re the pieces of lint.”

Cities are left changed…and changing. A Birmingham, Alabama, pastor reluctantly agreed to participate in Revive Twin Cities. Within the first couple of months of returning home, well over 100 people in his church were going out to share the gospel as a result of what their pastor had experienced.

“I think Paul did that in Thessalonica really well,” said Martin. “And so we model it by literally hanging out with people every day. Our introduction to people is just, ‘How can we pray for you?’ That’s it. You get a glimpse into their world instantly.”

Denominational leaders were left puzzled when an Asheville, North Carolina, church quadrupled in size, and the lead pastor was asked to head up church planting on a national level. According to Martin, the rapid growth happened simply because members of the congregation continued going out on the streets and talking about Jesus – sharing the gospel.

“Our prayer is that we don’t have to be there,” said Martin. “We’ll model it for them. We’ll assist them. We’ll watch. And then we’ll leave.”

On the edge
In a nation showing evidence of rapid moral decline, multitudes of Christians are crying out for revival. And 2 Chronicles 7:14 has provided us with the formula: “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Many believers have heard this passage so many times, it has become rote. But what does it actually look like? One such example happened months ago as a north Mississippi white pastor stood before a large crowd and the county president of the NAACP, humbly confessing and asking for forgiveness for the racial sins of his forefathers. Moments later the two were washing each other’s feet.

Martin believes pride and unforgiveness are hindering the awakening and growth of the American church. “There is bitterness so entrenched in the churches,” he said. “If we forgive, we can go share the gospel effectively.”

According to Martin, another reason believers are not out intentionally sharing the gospel in their communities is merely that they don’t know how.

Burdened to respond to that need, “I want to train people for Jesus” remains the vision for Martin and Time to Revive.