The Town That Raised You

There is something sacred about your hometown. It is more than just a dot on a map. It is the place where your story began. It is where you rode your bike through the same streets you now drive. It is where the people know your last name, where the school colors still stir up pride, and where certain buildings hold entire chapters of your life.

For me, that place is Batavia. It is where I learned to love God, where I first sensed the call to ministry, and where I saw firsthand the beauty and brokenness that exists in every community. And like many of you, I have had moments of wondering, Can anything really change here?

But then I remember. This city does not belong to the past. It belongs to God.

Seeing With New Eyes

It is easy to look at your hometown through the lens of nostalgia or disappointment. You either remember the good old days and feel like they are gone forever, or you have been so hurt or frustrated that it is hard to see anything but what is broken.

But when we begin to see our cities the way God sees them, something shifts. We do not just see empty storefronts or struggling schools. We see potential. We see people that Jesus died for. We see opportunities for healing and hope.

Revival starts when we stop writing off the places we are called to pray for. It starts when we realize that we are not here by accident, and neither is anyone else.

Interceding With Purpose

Revival does not start with programs. It starts with prayer. Not just casual prayer, but committed, consistent, honest prayer. The kind of prayer that comes from a deep ache in your heart, the kind that cries out, God, do something here. Move in this place.

I have spent mornings driving around Batavia just praying. Praying for the schools, the businesses, the churches, the families, the addicts, the lonely, the leaders. Not because I have all the answers, but because I believe God still responds to the prayers of His people.

What if you started doing that in your town? What if you picked one street to walk and pray over each week? What if you committed to interceding for your mayor, your school board, your local police department, your youth?

Prayer does not always change our circumstances immediately, but it always changes us. It opens our eyes. It softens our hearts. And it aligns us with the heart of God.

Investing With Intention

Prayer leads to action. If we are truly praying for our towns, we will start investing in them too. And I do not just mean money. I mean time, presence, and love.

Find the places where people are hurting and show up. Volunteer at a school. Coach a team. Support a local business. Get to know your neighbors. Speak life where others speak death.

If you are part of a church, ask how your church is serving the city. Not just running programs for members, but actively seeking the good of the entire community. Is your church known for what it is against or for how it loves?

Jesus did not sit in a synagogue all day. He walked among the people. He went to the outcasts. He ate with sinners. He wept over cities. That is our model.

Believing God Can Move Here Too

Sometimes we believe revival can happen, just not here. We have heard about powerful moves of God in other places. Wales. Asbury. Big cities with big stories.

But what if Batavia is next? What if your town is next? What if the next great move of God does not come from a famous church in a famous place, but from ordinary people in an ordinary town who simply believe God still works through the humble and the hungry?

I believe with everything in me that God wants to pour out His Spirit here. That He wants to heal marriages, break addictions, save the lost, awaken the church, and renew the streets where we live and work and worship.

Start With You

Revival does not start with a crowd. It starts with one person. One person who says, God, start with me.

Maybe you have been waiting for someone else to step up. Maybe you have been discouraged by what has not changed yet. But do not let that stop you. The seeds you plant today may become the harvest someone else reaps tomorrow.

Keep praying. Keep showing up. Keep loving your city like Jesus does. Let people see what it looks like when someone truly believes their hometown belongs to God.

Batavia Is Not Forgotten

I know it is easy to feel like small towns get overlooked. But I promise you, God has not forgotten Batavia. He has not forgotten your town either.

He sees the single mom raising kids with strength and faith. He sees the teenager wrestling with purpose. He sees the tired pastor still preaching truth. He sees the elderly woman praying behind closed doors.

And He is not done here.

Batavia belongs to God. So does your town. Let us live and pray like it. Let us believe again that revival can start right where we are.