Hope Awakens, a global, online evangelistic series recently conducted by It Is Written, concluded May 16. The series of 20, sixty-minute, livestreamed meetings began April 17. That was to be the date when Revelation Today started in a number of cities in Indiana, including Indianapolis. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those in-person meetings were canceled, but within a matter of days It Is Written was planning a virtual series that would reach all of North America and the world.
The meetings aired on hopeawakens.org, itiswritten.tv, Facebook, Roku, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon Fire, and through the It Is Written mobile app. More than one million people reacted to the social media advertising campaign. Almost three quarters of a million people responded to It Is Written directly. Tens of thousands of people registered to attend Hope Awakens. Over 3,500 people made decisions for Christ during the meetings and are being mentored by volunteers from the 600 churches who signed up to be a part of the initiative.
Many attendees of Hope Awakens are attending local virtual communities to continue their studies with Bible workers who received special training by the It Is Written SALT (Soul-winning And Leadership Training) team. Attendees have also been invited to attend Take Charge of Your Health, the new It Is Written virtual, one-week series starting June 22.
Stories pouring in from people blessed by Hope Awakens
Denise worked on a cruise ship and was quarantined on board the ship off the Florida coast after a crew member was diagnosed with COVID-19. Denise found It Is Written online and discovered Hope Awakens. She began watching and looking into the Bible to study the texts that were being shared.
Denise’s sister wrote, “She loved the presentations and learned so much and was fascinated to learn about how the Sabbath was changed. In fact, she was angry when she discovered this truth, knowing what God says had been kept from her for so long. Internet troubles prevented her from filling out an online decision card, so she emailed her decision to an online Bible worker who sent her decision to It Is Written! On May 2, 2020, right on the ship, she kept her first Sabbath, and she did the same the following week. What a God!”
Another viewer wrote, “During the past four years, I’ve been praying for my son Chris, who struggles with addiction. He’s been watching the Hope Awakens meetings every night and requested that I call him after each meeting to pray with him. One night, his girlfriend, (who also struggles with addiction) asked to join us and tearfully surrendered her heart to Jesus while praying. Last night I heard my son pray for the first time. I am so thankful for these meetings. Jesus is changing my son’s life, and I’ve been given the privilege to witness it!”
“Last year my church started a community garden,” said a third viewer. “We invited community gardeners to join our weekly Bible study, and two attended. One man went through the whole series of lessons and attended church once. We invited him to watch Hope Awakens. He did, and he made decisions. We just voted him into church fellowship on the profession of faith during our online church service.”
One of our Bible workers dropped off a Mother’s Day gift and the book Steps to Christ to someone watching the meetings. The recipient shared, “I think I clicked on Hope Awakens because I was depressed, and now God is answering my prayers.”
That was the point of Hope Awakens: to awaken hope in our Savior. To give people in an uncertain world a certain hope.
In addition to being streamed in American Sign Language, Hope Awakens has been translated and shared in seven Indian languages. Meetings are also being held in French, Italian, and several languages for refugee groups in the United States. Pastor Robert Costa just completed a companion series in Spanish, and the meetings in English are being aired in New Zealand and Australia.
If you watched Hope Awakens, please take the short follow-up survey: iiw.us/has. Archives of the meetings are available on demand at hopeawakens.org. The new It Is Written virtual series, Take Charge of Your Health, will begin June 22. Registration may be completed at takecharge.life.
