Junior leads revival movement for college community
Bethel University student experienced a personal revival, now heads up a student group.
By Judd Martinson | Staff Writer
Andrew Sheahan talked with a Bethel classmate in the hallway near the bathrooms at Grove Community Church. The very place he experienced a life change during the summer. Now, during a break from a class session at the church, their conversation focused on a hope for a new student movement at Bethel University.
“Dude, I’m sick of this. I’m just gonna create a group chat right now,” said Sheahan, junior Business Marketing major.
The group chat started with 6 people. Within a week, it migrated to a GroupMe of more than 100 people. Now, they communicate through Instagram account @bethel_revival which now has more than 200 followers.
Now known as Bethel Revival — the first term that came to Sheahan’s mind when he made the first group message — the group hosts prayer meetings Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 a.m. in Benson Great Hall.
What does a group chat and Instagram mean for Bethel University?
What needs revival at Bethel University? Sheahan mentioned Pastor Laurel Bunker’s message in Chapel earlier this year, urging the campus to pursue true community, not just proximity.
“It’s really a foundation,” Sheahan said.
He went on to add how the prayer group is a simple building block. He said they don’t just pray in the morning and then forget about Jesus. It’s about praying for a friend on the way to class. Handing out water bottles and striking up conversations in DinkyTown on Friday nights. Starting a female athletes’ Bible study.
On a Thursday morning, Sheahan and Nicole Miller, met at a corner booth in Dunn Brothers — the one with a bench seat on one side and chairs on the other side of the table near the window. They shared the ideas that weighed on their hearts for what they think God wants to do at Bethel. Miller thought the movement focused on prayer.
Andrew Sheahan likes to go to Dunn Brothers in Arden Hills in the morning. The coffee shop usually features a guitar player who Sheahan said sets his mood for the day. He orders a black coffee, but adds free condiments from the counter.
Leading up to the meeting with Sheahan, Miller had talked with her church’s missions pastor about his experience at Gustavus as a college student. He was part of a prayer group that later held an event where about 700 people gave their lives to Christ.
Miller presented her prayer group idea to Sheahan, and he suggested that they start the next day.
The next morning at 7 a.m. about 50 students showed up with mugs in hand for free Dunn Brothers coffee — which the leaders brought — and to pray outside the side entrance to the CLC at Bethel University.
Some students shared a prayer topic, and then people broke off to pray in small groups. They ended by coming back together in a big circle, praying again and casting a vision for the group going forward.
Following the first morning, Sheahan put in the original GroupMe that he would be meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same time and place.
Now moved inside Benson Great Hall for the winter, about 50 students consistently show up.
Bella Burtsev, a freshman double major in missional ministries and international relations, began attending the morning prayer meetings when a friend invited her.
“Knowing that there is a group of believers willing to wake up … at 6 o’clock to come and pray over the school … that warmed my heart,” Burtsev said. “It’s definitely helped me to grow in my faith.”
Burtsev hopes to join the fight against human trafficking with International Justice Mission after her time at Bethel University.
Ben Tiskevics, a junior business major, thinks there is a difference to campus this year.
“This semester has been crazy because people came back from this summer all just wanting more,” said Tiskevics, as he tied his shoes for track practice in the SRC. “They wanted to pray, they wanted to worship more, they wanted to just, like, be in the word more, and they wanted to be in community all seeking it together more.”
Tiskevics has seen the Bethel Revival group use their talents to lead worship, prayers and outreach into Minneapolis.
Sheahan’s story
Sheahan grew up in Marshfield, Wisc., as a pastor’s kid. He has an older sister and younger brother.
He said he grew up considering himself a Christian, but fell into the wrong crowd in high school, which had an impact on his habits, such as partying on weekends.
“At the time I was still pursuing God, I just didn’t realize that it’s about fully surrendering to him,” Sheahan said. “His way is actually better than the ways that you try to satisfy yourself with, like partying.”
In June of last summer, Sheahan’s friend invited him to attend church at Grove Community Church in St. Anthony, just 10 minutes down 35W from Bethel. The church features charismatic worship, and sits in a residential family neighborhood. It offers overflow parking at a nearby school to keep traffic light for children playing outside.
“I just started weeping, and I finally felt joy and at home in where I was supposed to be.” — Andrew Sheahan, Bethel University junior
At the end of the message, guest speaker William Hinn of Lifestyle Christianity did an altar call. Sheahan said he was thinking to himself that he had already given his life to Jesus. Then he noticed Hinn looking at him and was a bit confused.
“Then I looked up and realized my hand was raised,” Sheahan said. “I was like, ‘K, the Holy Spirit raised my hand. This is real.’”
As Sheahan walked to the front of the church, he thought to himself how he would normally be nervous in such a situation, but this time he was at peace.
“I just started weeping, and I finally felt joy and at home in where I was supposed to be,” Sheahan said. “Ever since then it’s just been a crazy ride.”
Initially Sheahan felt God replace all his old desires with wanting to know the Lord more. Now he sometimes feels tempted to old ways, but has a new outlook.
“I know what God has is much greater and that I’m not called into that (old ways) anymore,” Sheahan said.
For part of the summer Sheahan worked landscaping and lived in the Twin Cities. He then moved home for the second half of the summer and worked at Target. During one morning shift at Target, he walked past a coworker and felt like he was supposed to tell her that Jesus loves her. He thought he’d try it.
“This is going to sound really weird, but Jesus wants me to tell you he really loves you,” Sheahan told his coworker.
Her response didn’t seem very significant to Sheahan in the moment, and he walked away thinking to God how he was confused and expected a different reaction. Ten minutes later another coworker walked up to him saying she didn’t know what he had told the other coworker.
“If you’re a Christian, you really should be so in love with God that you just can’t help sharing with others because he’s (God) just too good.” — Andrew Sheahan, Bethel University junior
“She’s crying right now,” Sheahan said his coworker told him.
She’s still not a Christian, Sheahan said, but he likes to think the encounter made a difference in her life. She told Andrew how she prays to something out there everyday, wondering if there’s something greater for her.
“If you’re a Christian, you really should be so in love with God that you just can’t help sharing with others because he’s (God) just too good,” Sheahan said.
When studying in a managerial finance lab, a person might overhear Sheahan inviting someone to a Wednesday night prayer room at his church.
His friends have taken note of Sheahan’s example.
“The dude is absolutely radically changed,” Tiskevics said. “The dude can’t stop talking about Jesus.”
Nursing major and spiritual development assistant Danny Christian, at the University of Northwestern St. Paul, leads a similar prayer group on his campus, and he also attends the Bethel Revival group sometimes.
“If two people show up, great. If 100 people show up, great.” — Andrew Sheahan, Bethel University junior
“Just being around him (Sheahan) makes other people want more Jesus,” Christian said.
The journey forward
As the prayer group moves through the year, Sheahan said failure would be leaving Bethel without preparing the freshmen to take the lead.
“If two people show up, great. If 100 people show up, great,” Sheahan said.
The last thing Sheahan wants is for people to feel obligated to attend the prayer group. He doesn’t attend Vespers in order to make sure he gets enough sleep amidst various ministry activities on and around campus.
Miller said people on campus know the name of Jesus, but are not necessarily living out their faith.
“It doesn’t mean He (God) hasn’t moved in the past,” Miller said.
She thinks this year there has been a wake up call to God moving on campus. Ultimately, the group wants people to know Jesus in a personal way.
Sheahan plans to graduate from Bethel in May 2021 after taking a semester off this spring to do YWAM, a global missionary movement.
