Revival is not merely something that happens in stadiums or on mission fields—it is meant to happen on suburban streets, in neighborhoods, across kitchen tables and in everyday routines. That is the message echoed by Pastor Jack Hibbs in a powerful teaching from Romans 15.
“If you’ve been transformed,” Hibbs declared, “there is a 365, 24-hour-a-day awareness of the fact that you belong to Him and you’re in the family.” Transformation is not a Sunday-only experience—it is a continual awareness of identity, relationship and mission.
When believers truly embrace this transformation, evangelism becomes the fruit rather than the task. “When we become a hearer of the word and a doer of the word,” he said, “we will not even have to preach Christ. We will display Christ, and people will say to us, ‘Okay, what’s with you?’”
This, he argues, is how the gospel advanced in the first century—and how it must advance again. God is saying, “Come and walk with Me, and let your neighbors and your unbelieving friends see how you’re walking with Me.” When they ask about the hope within us, the believer can respond, “Follow me as I follow Him, because He can be experienced.”
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The urgency of the moment cannot be overstated. “We’re running out of time,” he warned. “If God called the apostle Paul to the ends of the earth… we live in the 21st century now, and we have scarcely taken the gospel to the end of our street.”
For many, the hindrance is not hostility, but comfort. We live among neighbors who may never set foot in a church—yet they live close enough to witness our marriages, our suffering, our generosity, our peace and our endurance. Hibbs reminded believers that the early church was known long before it was understood; Rome had heard of their faith. Paul wrote in Romans 15:14 that they were “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge.”
This goodness is not merely politeness—it is God-likeness expressed in action. Knowledge, likewise, is not theoretical but experiential. “Do you know Christ,” he asked, “in an experiential way?”
Such experiential faith provokes questions in a dark world. It also provokes repentance among believers, who must guard their private time with God from the busyness—even of good things. Transformation begins in secret and is displayed in public.
In the end, Hibbs’ appeal was simple: to live as a family on mission. Not a religious crowd, but a transformed household. Not merely a people who study doctrine, but a people who—by the Spirit—embody it. “Now’s the time,” he said, “for us to truly be living, breathing children of the Most High God… and all that that means.”
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment.
