A voluntary student assembly at a Mississippi high school turned into a revival meeting April 12 as God began to move among students, observers say.

Most of the 670 students of Pearl River Central High School in Carriere, Miss., gathered in the gym to watch a drama presentation by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club. What happened next, witnesses say, was unexpected and glorious.

"At the end of the skits people began to come up front and give their testimonies," says Clifton Worley, son of Darrell Worley, pastor of Christian Life Assembly of God in Picayune, Miss. "You could feel the presence of God in the place and many people were crying."

"I was in tears, as was everybody else," senior and FCA member Cary-Anne Dell told Biloxi’s Sun Herald. "I really am speechless to try to describe the presence of God."

Non-Christian students, too, began to come forward and apologize for the sinful lives they had led. One girl, a professing atheist, told the assembly she felt something so strong that she now believed in God.

"All of a sudden there was a conviction in the place and many people were crying," Worley says. "Then people began to come up and testify what God had done for them and as a result, many people got saved and made a decision to rededicate their lives to God. I don’t know the results that will come from this but it is just so awesome to see God move like He did, especially in school."

The meeting ended four hours after it began. Principal Lolita Lee watched as it unfolded.

"It couldn’t be stopped. It was too heart-stopping," she told the Sun Herald. "We were hoping that the students that came to the gym wouldn’t ridicule and laugh at them. It just snowballed. I have never seen anything like it in my life. … Maybe it was more than a revival. It was students coming together, student fellowship. They’re treating each other as they want to be treated."

— Joel Kilpatrick