It began with a vision in 2023. Haddonfield UMC, like many other churches, was finding its feet after the pandemic. Leadership longed for an event that would help reclaim life. They landed on a revival—not an old-timey one—but something that would carry the best of the past into the present. In 2024, Haddonfield hosted its first revival with Rev. Rachel Billups. The congregation and community gathered around the spoken word, sang, prayed, and anointed one another for healing.
In 2025, they decided to host another one—this time with Rev. Michael Beck of Fresh Expressions. Rev. Chris Heckert, Senior Pastor of Haddonfield UMC, met him at Annual Conference and was impressed by the way Rev. Michael inspired his congregation to take church outside its doors and into the community.
After a few songs led by the fantastic praise team, Rev. Jisun Yang, Associate Pastor, took to the stage to open the gathering in prayer, calling upon the Holy Spirit to be present: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us. Break down the walls within us and between us, whatever they may be.”
After a few more songs, Rev. Michael Beck took to the stage to share what he calls a “Jesus Story” and invited those gathered to become a church of the party. He chose Luke 15 as his text, where Jesus tells the story of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. “These stories,” he proclaimed, “are a window into the heart and nature of God. God is like a reckless shepherd who will leave the 99 to go and seek after the one. God is like a woman who gets down on her hands and knees and will seek nonstop until she finds you. God, like the father of the prodigal son, will keep God’s eyes on the road, watching for the son to return home.”
The point wasn’t the stories, but the pattern they presented—a pattern that Michael believes the church is called to imitate. “In each of these stories,” he explained, “there was a lost party, a search party, and a party-party. The church is a place where we are always about the search party, the lost party, and the party-party.” He quoted Vivek Murthy, former U.S. Surgeon General, who declared that there is a loneliness epidemic afoot: 100,000 people die
every year from drug overdoses, and others walk around thinking the world would be better if they weren’t in it.
Then things got personal. Michael shared his testimony about a UM church that was his search party, saying, “The inherited church was the only safe place I had in my life.”
As he told his story of how he found new life in the church, he challenged those present to push beyond the present boundaries of church ministry. “At least 60% of the community is not going to come, no matter how good we do it. How selfish would it be if all we did was enshrine this glorious party we’ve been invited to? The gift of communal life in Jesus could save their life.”
Rev. Michael Beck closed with a call for a decision—but not your typical altar call. He invited everyone present to turn and face the door. “Take this joy that you have in Jesus out into the world. Take this joy in a God that is always out ahead of us. We’re supposed to be the church that’s telling the world a story of three parties.”
After the powerful message drew to a close, those who wished were invited to come forward for anointing and healing prayer. When it came time for the sending, Rev. Heckert got honest. “I had a secret agenda for inviting Michael here. This building was built in 2007, and already we have more space than we need. People aren’t asking, ‘Where’s the best church to go?’ They’re asking, ‘Where can I find friends? Where can I find help?’ The good news is that God has organized us to be a search party. May God stir in us a new work tonight. We haven’t been
called to come, but to go.”
D.S. Glenn Conaway was grateful for this night spent in song and prayer: “The church needs to find its voice and its vision again, and this reminds us that we should be partying—be the search party.”
As the evening came to a close, there was a palpable sense of hope and renewal. The revival not only brought the congregation together, but it also kindled renewed purpose. The church is not a place to gather, but a community called to seek, to find, and to celebrate.