From Sammie Carel, founder of Revival of Hope

The vision was to have Jesus under string lights, and a backyard ministry was born.

Revival came out of the beautiful community formed at the Hope Retreats. I hosted these pro-life retreats when I was the Education Director at Life Choices Women’s Clinic, and I assumed that these retreats would be something that teens could come to once and then move on. After all, how many teens want to hear the same abortion, IVF, and euthanasia talks over and over again? I was not expecting the teens to form their own community that would have them coming back. I was not expecting the miraculous healings that came from time in front of the Eucharist. What I realized is that these pro-life retreats were not just about saving babies; it was also about saving the lives of the teens right in front of me and bringing them to Jesus.

When I left my job at Life Choices, I knew I wanted to not only keep this community together but also pour into these teens that wanted to be a part of something bigger than the Hope Retreat - a movement of revival in the Church.

For the last Hope Retreat, I created sweaters that say, “Need prayer? Tap my shoulder” - and as they all began wearing them, I started wondering how many of them were actually prepared to pray if someone indeed tapped their shoulder.

At Revival, we give teens the tools they need to pray with one another while also giving them the opportunity to pray and praise in adoration to feed their own hearts. Every month, we are hosted across the valley by generous families in their backyards.