Whenever we do a class, like REVIVE, we like to do an entrance survey. This gives us an idea who is participating and what their hopes and expectations are so we can customize our content and classroom to best meet the needs of each group. And then at the end, we like to do another evaluation to see how well we did. Our goal, quite simply, is to provide the very best training we possibly can, and member feedback is important!

Our REVIVE class is no exception. Approximately 30% of our class completed our entrance survey, but given the fact almost 1200 people are participating, it's still a representative sample size. Here's a few quick takeaways from the results:

Q. In your opinion, how important is it for God's people to have an experience in true revival today?

A. The class was nearly unanymous on this: 96% gave it the highest possible score. Except for 2 people, the remaining 4% gave it the second highest score. Clearly revival is important. But that makes sense--given these members all signed up for the class!

Q. Have you ever personally witnessed an outpouring of God's Spirit at a conference, retreat, campmeeting, etc?

A. A little over half said yes (54%), the rest said no (46%). The percentage decreased gradually as more people filled out the survey, suggesting perhaps that those who had experienced revival in the past we're more eager to participate in the class, and signed up more quickly.

Q. What do you believe is the greatest obstacle to revival?

A. Lots of answers to this one. I tried to categorize them and give a rough count for each category--but it wasn't an exact science. Here's the most common reasons:

#1 Self, selfishness, pride, stubbornness, etc. Our unwillingness to surrender (about 75).

#2 A lack of personal discipleship in such areas as prayer and Bible study (about 55).

#3 Busyness, lack of time, priorities and other aspects of time management (about 50).

#4 Either apathy for spiritual things or attraction to the world. These seemed like flip sides of the same issue: our laodicean condition (about 37).

There were lots of other reasons given, including unbelief or lack of faith (about 20). And cherished sin (12 mentions). Other obstacles mentioned a time or two include fear, personal pain, disunity, a lack of repentance, and little burden for souls. A half dozen or so people mentioned a lack of understanding about revival, and how to maintain it as an obstacle.

Q. Have you ever spent 10 days in focused prayer for revival?

A. Less than 1/3 of our class shared having done this in the past. A sizeable percentage, but still a minority. That means for hundreds of us--this will be our first time to do this ever!

Q. How would you describe your current devotional life?

A. Only 16% said their devotional life was strong. 58% said fair. And 26% said weak. Granted this was a somewhat subjective question, but it does represent that the vast majority of us feel our devotional life could be stronger.

Q. How often do you memorize Scripture?

A. Barely a quarter (26%) memorize regularly. Most (64%) memorize sometimes. And a few (9%) never memorize. This shows that even among our community there is still significant room for growth in this important spiritual discipline.

Q. Have you ever taken a class from FAST before?

A. About half and half. 53% said yes, 47% said no. Likely, some of those saying yes, include individuals who took a course in their local church using our printed lessons. Regardless, extremely exciting to see so many new people participating!

Q. What do you most hope to gain from this course?

A. Once again, there were lots of answers to this. I did my best to categorize the responses and do a rough count. Here's the most common responses:

#1 Growth in discipleship, esp in the area of memorization. Prayer and Bible study were also mentioned frequently (about 87).

#2 A closer walk with God, and more of the feeling of God's presence (about 79).

#3 Actual revival--an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Some used words like renewal or awakening (about 36).

#4 Greater focus and or commitment. Several people talked about wanting a clearer sense of direction and purpose (about 33).

Other things mentioned more than a few times include: power for mission (24), longing for victory and heart change (16), growth in faith (12), and the desire for fellowship and accountability (10). A few joined just because they were curious! :)

In general, our class seems to want both the sense of greater intimacy with God, and the tools to get there. There was less interest in seeing the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power and presence. In some ways this looks like maturity in our motivation. But it could also reflect a lack of exposure to true revival. Hard to know.

Q. How did you hear about this class?

A. Most heard about REVIVE through our FAST community emails (57%), but many from friends (25%). Another 8% said they saw it in a bulletin insert, and 5% saw a Facebook post. A few also mentioned hearing about it from their church pastor or their local conference office! Thanks to each of you who invited someone to participate. You made a huge impact on the success of this class!

Lastly, we did a bit of statistical analysis of our class membership to check on demographics and found the following:

Gender
       Female: 67%
       Male: 34%
Age
       Adult: 68%
       Senior: 17%
       Young Adult: 13%
       Youth: 4%
       Child: 1%
Country
       USA: 58%
       Australia: 10%
       Canada: 5%
       United Kingdom: 3%
       South Africa: 3%
       Philippines: 3%
       Korea: 3%   
       Malaysia: 2%
       New Zealand: 2%
       Indonesia: 2%

Another 47 countries are represented by one or more class members for a total of nearly 60 countries. And of the 50 states in the USA, at least 44 are represented.

Note, these statistics only represent those who have filled out their profile information. As more people do that, we may see these figures change slightly. For more detailed information, click the new "stats" button in the REVIVE classroom.

Exciting to see so many people participating from so many places. We will likely provide this kind of statistical analysis to all future classes as well.

Comments

What about you? Why did you take REVIVE? Or maybe more important, why did you choose not to participate? Anything special you want to add to the numbers above? Share it in the comments below.

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