Burlington Christian revival extended, to continue throughout summer in North Carolina

What was meant to be a week-long gathering of Christians in Burlington, North Carolina has extended far longer than expected and continues to set people ablaze until the summer.

Now entering its 12th week, the Burlington revival remains strong. With two worship services held daily from Monday to Friday, the big tent meetings do not appear to be ending anytime soon.

"There's a hunger. People everyday drive by this road and come in here just to pray," said evangelist C.T. Townsend, who leads the meetings, according to WFMY News.

Evangelist Heath Williams, who is helping out in the event as tent director, said the meetings will continue "until God tells us to shut it down."

With the growth of the revival, the community has contributed their time and resources to accommodate the crowd. Some of them help out in maintenance, while others try to find lodging for the attendees.

A hotel manager who got saved in one of the meetings is offering some hotel rooms for free.

"It's just everybody kind of chipping in from the community wanting to see God move," Williams told local news platform The Times News.

The gathering began in New Hope Baptist Church in May. The original plan was to host a gathering of Christians for one week, but as the week ended, Townsend and Randy Hobbs, pastor of New Hope, sensed that God wanted more.

The meetings went on and continued to grow until the venue could no longer accommodate the crowd. A businessman, Dan Cox, offered part of his property where a big tent was set up, and the meetings continued there.

Testimonies of healing and salvation abound among those who take part in the revival.

"We've had things like a teenager that's been praying for their dad who's had addiction problems, or the mother that flew her son up here from Florida because she knew he needed something in his life. He had a lot of problems, but he got saved, and God changed his life," Williams said.

The Burlington Revival will continue this week, July 25 to 29, as announced on its Facebook page.

How long the revival will go on is up to God, Townsend said.

"As long as God is still working, we're going to keep going," he said.