FAITH & SPIRITUALITY: CITY-WIDE REVIVAL AIMS TO UNITE CITY

Organized by Travest Hunter, the goal of the revival is to bring together the religious community of the city in hopes of uniting for the greater good of Winston-Salem.

Hunter says he noticed that Christian churches of all denominations, not only in Winston-Salem but across the nation, all worship the same God but they don’t work together in any way, shape or form. 

To help combat this, Hunter began sending out a clarion call to churches throughout the city to participate in this unity event. As a native of Winston-Salem, Hunter has been a preacher for over three decades.

“It’s time to be united and it’s time to show the world that our city can unite under one roof, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and it’s time to practice it,” said Hunter. 

To kick things off on Wednesday, the revival will honor several pastors in the city that Hunter says are “doing the work” and wanted those pastors to be recognized. Hunter will deliver the message that evening. All events will be held at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 1317 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem.

For Thursday, the focus will be on the youth. They have selected a young man who will be graduating from high school the same day. There will be a donation box where people can donate goods for his apartment prior to him heading off to study to become a funeral director this fall. The young man will also receive a scholarship to help with tuition.

“If you see a young person that is pursuing something positive that can bring employment, that can bring a change to our city, I think we need to help them along the way,” Hunter said. “We have to forget about the me, me, me mentality and help the generation that is emerging.”

Friday will focus on women in the word. Hunter says women in ministry need to have a voice and they need to use their voice. There will be several women in the ministry who will speak that evening. Friday evening’s event will also feature a united choir filled with women from several different denominations.

“I just believe that if a woman can bear children, be a wife, teach kids, then a woman can teach the gospel,” Hunter went on to say. 

According to Hunter, this event is important to him because it will better the climate of the city of Winston-Salem. He says people coming together with one mission, one focus, one voice, is a beautiful sight.

His wish is that people just don’t go back to their home churches and return to the status quo, but instead use this event as a springboard to continue collaboration in the future. 

“My hope is for us to change the spiritual culture of our city and to change the way we view each other. God is not a color; God is not a denomination.  We shouldn’t be confined by a denomination, but we can identify ourselves as being the family of Christ and that is the chief objective,” Hunter said about what he hopes happens after the event.

Hunter held the first city-wide revival back in 2017, but says he was being haunted at night to put the event on once again. He says the emphasis back then was to try and curb the violence of the youth in the city.

“I had no rest until I yielded to this once again,” Hunter said about the event.

For more information about the revival, please visit their Facebook event page at “City-Wide Unity Revival.”

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