Five Things We Will Learn
- How God reached into Pastor John Kilpatrick’s family through salvation, Pentecostal worship, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
- How persecution inside the home became one of the very things that drove Pastor Kilpatrick closer to God.
- How a miracle under Oral Roberts’ tent forever settled in Pastor Kilpatrick’s heart that God is a miracle-working God.
- How Brownsville reached a defining moment when the church chose to go after God and never turn back.
- How grief, opposition, pressure, and surrender preceded the Father’s Day outpouring that became known around the world as the Brownsville Revival.
When God Interrupts the Planned Message
Pastor John Kilpatrick had planned to preach a message on miracles. The message was prepared and ready to preach. But the Lord began dealing with his heart in another direction.
Pastor Kilpatrick remembered talking with Jensen Franklin a couple of weeks earlier on a Friday night. They were simply talking informally, and Pastor Kilpatrick began sharing revival stories. As he shared, Jensen became deeply moved. By the time Jensen walked out into the service that night, the Spirit of God moved so powerfully that he could hardly preach.
Then the Lord spoke to Pastor Kilpatrick’s heart and told him to talk to the congregation informally. Not to preach the prepared message. Not to follow tradition. Just to talk to the people and tell revival stories.
And so he began.
Watch Pastor Kilpatrick Share These Revival Stories – Part 1
In this powerful first part, Pastor John Kilpatrick shares the deeply personal journey that prepared the way for the Brownsville Revival. From childhood persecution and Pentecostal worship in the home to miracles under Oral Roberts’ tent and the growing hunger for revival, these stories reveal how God prepares hearts long before the fire falls.
Key Moments in This Video
- 0:00 — Introduction and revival stories begin
- 2:10 — Pastor Kilpatrick’s family background and early years
- 5:20 — His mother’s salvation and Pentecostal experience
- 8:40 — Speaking in tongues enters the home
- 12:05 — Persecution and violence from his father
- 17:30 — Church becoming the place of peace
- 21:15 — Watching Oral Roberts on television
- 25:40 — Promise to his mother to serve God
- 29:10 — The Oral Roberts tent miracle
- 35:00 — “I’m going after God and never turning back”
- 41:20 — The spiritual pressure before revival
- 46:15 — His mother’s death before revival
- 50:10 — Transition toward Father’s Day 1995
God Reached Into a Broken Home
Pastor Kilpatrick shared that he did not come from a preacher’s family. In his own words, nothing could have been further from the truth. He came from what he described as a heathen family.
His mother was saved when he was five years old in Columbus, Georgia, under his brother-in-law’s tent ministry. His brother-in-law and his brothers traveled across America preaching the Gospel under old-fashioned tents.
Pastor Kilpatrick’s sister was not even saved until she started dating the man who would later become part of that ministry family. She was saved in church, and after she began dating him, the Lord filled her with the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Kilpatrick remembered the night his sister came home after being baptized in the Holy Ghost. She and his sister Nita returned home speaking in tongues, and it caused a great commotion in the house.
For the very first time in his life, Pastor Kilpatrick heard speaking in tongues.
It frightened him because he had never heard anything like it before. Yet even as a young boy, he knew it was supernatural. He knew God was moving in his family.
Soon his sister began taking piano lessons and started playing Christian songs. God would later use her as a pianist in ministry. Pastor Kilpatrick remembered the house becoming filled with the sound of Pentecostal worship.
As the sun would set in the evenings and shadows stretched across the living room, his sister would sing about Jesus and Heaven while playing the piano. Pastor Kilpatrick remembered the atmosphere in the house beginning to change.
But as the atmosphere in the home changed, his father became more and more violent.
Persecution Inside the Home
Pastor Kilpatrick’s father did not want his mother to become a Christian. More than that, he especially did not want her becoming a Pentecostal Christian, a tongue-talking Christian.
After church on Sundays, Pastor Kilpatrick remembered his father getting up in the middle of the floor ranting and raving, mocking preachers and mocking speaking in tongues.
As a little boy, Pastor Kilpatrick watched this with fear. He did not understand the theology behind it all, but he knew something spiritual was happening.
Yet strangely, the more his father mocked the power of God, the more Pastor Kilpatrick desired it.
He was torn between wanting to honor his father and being drawn toward the things of God through his mother. Pastor Kilpatrick was his father’s only child out of seven marriages. His mother was his father’s fifth wife, and there would later be two more after her.
His father loved him deeply, and Pastor Kilpatrick did not want to hurt him, even though he saw his father become abusive toward his mother and half-sisters.
Pastor Kilpatrick remembered Saturday nights when his mother would wash his hair in the kitchen sink and lay out the clothes he would wear to church the next morning. They would wake up early and catch the city bus to church.
But as church time approached many Saturday nights, his father would begin threatening her not to go.
One night, Pastor Kilpatrick got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and saw his father holding his mother against the wall with a knife pressed to her throat.
His father threatened to slit her throat if she took his son to church.
His mother, crying, told him she loved him. She said that when God saved her, He saved her to become a better wife than ever before. She said she loved him more than she ever had, but she could not forsake her family or stop going to church. She told him if she stopped going to church she would lose her soul, and there was no telling how their children would turn out.
Then she said if he was going to kill her, he should go ahead, but as he killed her, she would be praising her Lord.
Pastor Kilpatrick said he never forgot that moment.
Week after week, his mother endured beatings for taking the children to church. She was abused, cursed at, mishandled, and thrown around while trying to cook lunch.
Pastor Kilpatrick remembered thinking as a child, “Mama, how do you go through all this over church?”
His father often would not stop until he drew blood from her nose or mouth.
Yet somehow, that persecution drove Pastor Kilpatrick closer to God.
Church Became the Place of Peace
As a young boy, Pastor Kilpatrick remembered feeling the heaviness of demonic oppression in the home. The only place where he felt peace was at church.
Church became something he craved because he was tired of violence, fighting, and fear.
Then his mother suffered a nervous breakdown. She pulled the shades in the bedroom and would not come out for three months. Since she could not go to church, Pastor Kilpatrick could not go either.
Every Sunday morning he watched Oral Roberts on television.
Pastor Kilpatrick heard his father mock Oral Roberts so severely that doubt tried to creep into his own heart. His father insisted it was fake.
Yet Pastor Kilpatrick would watch people cry, praise God, and throw away crutches, and deep inside he wanted to believe.
One Sunday morning while his father was away, Pastor Kilpatrick was watching Oral Roberts when the Spirit of God spoke to him.
He walked into his mother’s room where she sat in bed. He took her hand and told her that one day he would grow up and take her out of that hell.
He told her he believed he would become a preacher and a pastor, and wherever he pastored he would take her with him because she had paid such a price for him to be in church.
That promise became reality.
After Pastor Kilpatrick’s father left when he was twelve years old, his mother followed him to every church he pastored. Every congregation loved her and called her “Big Mama.”
She was there with them at Brownsville, but she died five weeks before revival broke out.
The Miracle Under Oral Roberts’ Tent
Pastor Kilpatrick remembered hearing his father mock Oral Roberts relentlessly. Then one day Oral Roberts came to Columbus, Georgia, under a tent.
At school there was a rumor that Oral Roberts had something in his hand that shocked people when he touched them.
Pastor Kilpatrick begged his mother to let him go, and she agreed.
He rode the city bus to the fairgrounds and remembered feeling the warm presence of God in that tent before the service even began.
When the music started and they sang “Where the Healing Waters Flow,” Pastor Kilpatrick said his heart cracked open and he sobbed as a young boy.
That night he witnessed something that changed his life forever.
A black woman came forward with a massive goiter on her neck. The veins in it protruded from the pressure.
Oral Roberts asked her if she believed God could heal her.
She placed her hands on her hips and responded, “Oh, Roberts, do you believe I’d be here if I didn’t believe God could heal me?”
Oral Roberts touched her forehead with two fingers.
Pastor Kilpatrick watched her swallow, and the goiter visibly shrank until her neck looked normal.
That moment settled it forever in Pastor Kilpatrick’s heart.
No amount of mocking, persecution, or ridicule would ever dissuade him from believing in miracles again.
Pastor Kilpatrick said there comes a moment in life when a person must believe that God is truly God and that He is still a miracle-working God.
And he still believes the greatest days of miracles are ahead for the Body of Christ.
Burning for Revival
Pastor Kilpatrick described how he would come into church on Sundays literally burning inside for God.
Around the time of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995, shortly before revival broke out, Pastor Kilpatrick was deeply touched by the Spirit of God.
He watched the memorial service held for the victims’ families. Billy Graham was there. President Clinton was there. The Governor of Oklahoma and many dignitaries were there.
When Billy Graham stood to speak, Pastor Kilpatrick began crying uncontrollably.
He said he was not naturally a crier, but he could not stop.
That evening while brushing his teeth and shaving before church, he cried so hard he could barely prepare himself. The Spirit of God rested heavily upon him.
That night he preached a message titled “Showdown at the Border,” based on Ruth, Naomi, and Orpah returning from Moab to Bethlehem, the house of bread.
While preaching, Pastor Kilpatrick drew a line in the carpet. Then he jumped across it and declared to the congregation that he was going after God and would never turn back.
I was there that night when Pastor Kilpatrick drew this line and invited us to jump over it. Little did we know that all of us who accepted the challenge and jumped over the line would have our lives so totally transformed by the glory of God. Since that time, we’ve been chasing after Him, helping as many people as we can come to know this amazing, loving, merciful God of glory and His presence.
He declared he would never return to religion or church as usual. He had heard there was bread. He had heard God was moving. He was going after God.
Then he asked how many were going with him.
That night, the overwhelming majority of Brownsville chose to cross that line with him.
Some later chose not to continue pursuing revival, and Pastor Kilpatrick made it clear he held nothing against them. But the overwhelming majority chose to go after God.
Revival has always required a people willing to leave behind “church as usual” and pursue God wholeheartedly. A New Way of Doing Church to Save This Generation
The Pressure Before the Breakthrough
From that moment forward, Pastor Kilpatrick entered one of the hardest seasons of his life.
The moment he made up his mind to pursue God regardless of the cost, opposition intensified.
The enemy tried to intimidate him, discourage him, break his heart, and destroy his courage.
Pastor Kilpatrick warned that whenever someone truly decides to go after God, they should expect spiritual opposition.
Key people said painful things. Some threatened him. Some told him they would not go with him. Others said not everyone in the church wanted revival and accused him of being deceived.
But Pastor Kilpatrick knew he had to remain resolute and push through.
During that same period, his mother became very sick in the nursing home. Pastor Kilpatrick was deeply hungry for God during that season.
He would visit her, hold her hand, sing to her, pray with her, and remember together how God had been faithful in their home even during persecution.
The Spirit of God would come strongly upon Pastor Kilpatrick as he worshiped in that nursing home room.
During that season, Brenda repeatedly told him they knew God was going to do something powerful at Brownsville. They knew revival was coming.
Yet Pastor Kilpatrick wrestled with concern about his mother.
Then one day, a man from the church called him unexpectedly. The man had never called him before.
He said he believed he had a prophetic word for Pastor Kilpatrick. He said the Lord told him not to worry. God had heard the burning cry in his heart for revival and would answer that prayer, but revival would not come until his mother was gone.
Pastor Kilpatrick’s mother died on May 7, five weeks before revival broke out.
God gave him five weeks to grieve.
Then on Father’s Day, the Spirit of God broke out at Brownsville.
Jeri Hill later shared firsthand stories of how surrender and perseverance helped sustain the revival atmosphere during those historic days. Don’t Quit When It Gets Hard, Jeri Hill, Wife of Evangelist Steve Hill, of the Brownsville Revival
Watch Pastor Kilpatrick Share These Revival Stories – Part 2
In this second part, Pastor John Kilpatrick recounts the unforgettable Father’s Day 1995 service when the Spirit of God swept through Brownsville Assembly of God. From Steve Hill’s arrival to the rushing mighty wind, people falling under the power of God, and the little girl who saw angels holding hands in the ceiling, Pastor Kilpatrick shares firsthand what it was like when revival finally broke out.
Watch Part 2
Key Moments in This Video
- 0:00 — Transition into Father’s Day 1995
- 2:20 — Steve Hill arrives at Brownsville
- 5:10 — Grief, pressure, and spiritual heaviness before revival
- 8:45 — The Saturday night before revival broke out
- 12:15 — Nearly staying home that Sunday morning
- 15:30 — Introducing Steve Hill to the congregation
- 19:40 — The altar call begins
- 22:50 — “This is it, church”
- 25:00 — The rushing mighty wind
- 28:15 — People falling under the power of God
- 32:30 — Four hours on the floor in God’s presence
- 36:40 — The sounds of repentance and worship filling the sanctuary
- 40:05 — Children crying in the presence of God
- 43:10 — The little girl seeing angels holding hands in the ceiling
- 47:00 — Revival spreading beyond Brownsville
- 50:20 — Final reflections on revival and surrender
Father’s Day at Brownsville
When Pastor Kilpatrick arrived at church that Father’s Day morning, Steve Hill was on fire for God.
Steve had been powerfully touched in England. Pastor Kilpatrick had known him for years, but he had never seen him like this before. Steve could hardly sit still.
Steve had preached at Brownsville before and had always done well, but after God touched him, something was different.
After Pastor Kilpatrick’s mother died, Steve called, and he and Brenda talked excitedly about what God was doing.
Pastor Kilpatrick listened quietly on another line, discouraged because of his grief and because he had not personally experienced what they had experienced.
Steve told Pastor Kilpatrick he could come preach sometime, but the only open date he had was Father’s Day.
Pastor Kilpatrick agreed.
The Saturday night before revival broke out, they all went to Red Lobster in Pensacola.
Pastor Kilpatrick sat there emotionally heavy. He was losing people because they did not want revival. Hurtful things were being said. His mother had just died.
Meanwhile Steve and Brenda laughed and celebrated what God was doing.
Pastor Kilpatrick quietly drank his tea and thought, “Jesus, if I could just get out of here.”
The next morning he felt even worse and nearly called to say he would not be attending church.
Then he remembered he had to present the “Father of the Year” plaque to a man in the church. That man’s little daughter dearly loved Pastor Kilpatrick and would always hug his legs and tell him she loved him.
Remembering her face caused him to get out of bed, get dressed, and go to church.
He had Steve sit out in the congregation so people would not leave when they realized there was a guest speaker.
After presenting the plaque, Pastor Kilpatrick introduced Steve Hill.
The moment Steve stood up, he was electrified.
Over and over Steve declared that they were going to pray for people that morning and God was going to mightily touch them.
Finally, Steve gave the altar call.
Out of approximately 1,500 people present, nearly 1,000 came forward for prayer.
Pastor Kilpatrick thought to himself that it was Father’s Day and people needed to go home and eat lunch with their fathers.
Then Steve lunged off the platform praying for people, and people began falling under the power of God.
That was unusual at Brownsville.
Pastor Kilpatrick sat there discouraged but finally thought he should put on his preacher face and go help Steve.
He stood and walked across the platform, not realizing that within seconds his life, ministry, and church would be forever changed.
“This Is It, Church”
Steve Hill was praying for a large man near the front.
Pastor Kilpatrick walked down from the stage and placed one hand on Steve’s back and another hand on the man’s shoulder.
The instant he touched them, he heard what sounded like a rushing mighty wind.
At first he thought something was wrong with the sound system.
Then he felt literal wind swirling around his ankles. It felt like gentle electricity moving around his legs.
Suddenly his ankles folded underneath him, and he could no longer stand.
A man from the church helped him back onto the platform.
Leaning against the podium, Pastor Kilpatrick looked at the congregation and declared:
“This is it, church. Get in. This is what we’ve been praying for.”
Revival often begins when ordinary believers fully surrender with one simple “yes” to God. When One “Yes” Ignites Revival, Jeri Hill, Wife of Evangelist Steve Hill
The moment he said those words, people began falling everywhere.
Pastor Kilpatrick said it looked like someone had taken a machine gun and was mowing people down throughout the sanctuary.
Eventually Pastor Kilpatrick himself fell on the marble floor so hard that his head bounced several times.
He could not lift his head. He said it felt as though he weighed 10,000 pounds.
Yet it was not frightening.
It was the safest and most secure feeling he had ever experienced.
It was as though God tucked him in and said, “Now there, big boy, while I do My thing.”
Pastor Kilpatrick lay there for four hours.
Though his eyes were closed, he could hear everything happening in the sanctuary.
He heard shrieks of laughter, cries of repentance, moans, groans, and children crying in the presence of God after being brought in from children’s church.
It reminded him of the children crying “Hosanna” in the temple.
The sounds of praise and repentance blended together into a hum that grew like a distant train until it became one great crescendo of worship to God.
Pastor Kilpatrick thought to himself, “God, as long as I live, I’ll never forget this sound.”
Finally, his sons helped him up from the floor.
He wanted to know how many people were still there.
Sitting in his chair, he lifted one eyelid with his finger.
The first sight of revival Pastor Kilpatrick ever saw was a little girl around three or four years old standing at the bottom of the steps looking upward.
Her mother asked if she was okay.
The little girl never took her eyes off the ceiling. Her dress and face were soaked with tears.
She asked her mother, “Mommy, don’t you see them?”
Her mother asked, “See what?”
The little girl answered:
“The angels in the ceiling holding hands.”
That was Pastor Kilpatrick’s first sight of revival.
Revival Is Worth the Cost
These revival stories are more than memories from another season.
They are reminders that God often prepares His people through pain, hunger, opposition, surrender, persecution, and grief.
Pastor Kilpatrick’s story was shaped by a mother who refused to turn back even under threat of death.
It was shaped by a young boy learning to recognize the presence of God through worship.
It was shaped by a miracle under Oral Roberts’ tent that forever settled faith in the supernatural power of God.
It was shaped by a church that crossed a line and chose to pursue God regardless of the cost.
And it was shaped by a Father’s Day morning when grief, weakness, obedience, and hunger collided with one of the most recognized revival outpourings in modern church history.
Revival is not casual.
It is not church as usual.
Revival comes to the hungry.
It comes to those willing to cross the line and say, “I’m going after God, and I’ll never turn back.”
That hunger for God reflects the very heart of the Kingdom life Jesus described. The Beatitudes: A Portrait of the Kingdom Life
Call to Action
If your heart is hungry for God, do not settle for routine religion or church as usual. Ask the Lord to awaken fresh hunger inside you for repentance, holiness, miracles, and His presence.
Choose to go after God wholeheartedly.
Let these revival stories stir your faith to believe that God still moves powerfully among people who surrender themselves completely to Him.
Jesus didn’t just call us to believe in Him—He called us to follow Him.
Step into the life He designed for you through Emmaus Road’s The Commands of Jesus. This is more than learning—it’s an invitation to walk with Him, obey Him, and experience Him in a real and powerful way.
You don’t want to miss this exciting adventure Jesus has called you into.
Start now:
https://GregLancaster.org/StartHere
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