It's Happening: CA Revival Extends for Weeks, 'Greatest Nights' in Over 50 Years of Evangelist's Crusades
Evangelist Mario Murillo, who has been preaching since the Jesus People movement in the 1960s, said his ministry just experienced the “greatest nights” of his long career.
It happened in Stockton, California, where what was to be a four-night crusade extended into four weeks.
“From our vantage point, these were the greatest nights of our tent crusade history,” Murillo said in a statement to The Western Journal.
In a Facebook post last week, the ministry wrote, “Night after night, hundreds responded to the Gospel and gave their lives to Christ — and the healing power of God moved through the crowd in remarkable ways, touching people with all manner of sickness and disease. All glory belongs to Him.”
In a blog post, Larry Rutledge with Murillo’s team wrote following the last day of the crusade on June 18, “For 52 days a tent sat on a property in Stockton, a city a lot of people had written off, and on the final night the crowd was the largest of the extended run.”
The audience was filled with young people from Generation Z and others of all ages.
As I write about in the new edition of my book “We Hold These Truths: The Two Beliefs That Still Hold the Power to Transform the Nation and the World,” America appears to be in the midst of a revival, which many are praying will lead to a reformation in culture and government.
My new book, “We Hold These Truths: The Two Beliefs That Still Hold the Power to Transform the Nation and the World,” is out, and it could not be more timely with #America250 and the rise of socialism. The book hits key moments in US history from the founding to today!… pic.twitter.com/Ot0pWyKcag
— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) June 25, 2026
In April 2025, Barna polling revealed that 66 percent of Americans said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus, which marked a 12 percent increase since 2021. The population of America in 2025 was 342 million, meaning there were apparently about 40 million new believers.
“This shift is not only statistically significant — it may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States,” Barna said.
And Gen Z is leading the resurgence in church attendance, averaging twice per month, the highest of any of the generations in the U.S., according to Barna.
Murillo told the thousands gathered at his final tent meeting in Stockton last week, “You are the miracle that America needs right now.” People clapped and cheered in response, and some called out “Preach!” as a pianist played, revival-style, in the background.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what I’m going to tell you next is so important, I’ve waited I don’t know how many years to get to this,” Murillo added. “Do you know what it’s like when God takes matters into His own hands? He did it during the Revolutionary War. We had a great awakening that none of the churches wanted.”
“In an awakening, God pours His Spirit out on the secular community without the church’s permission,” he said. “It’s happened several times.”
Murillo offered the example of the church’s founding in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection. It came despite the religious leaders of the time’s desires for the status quo.
“God is pouring out His Spirit,” he argued, saying that’s the reason thousands are coming to his tent revival meetings.
Murillo prayed at the end of the meeting, “God save America by millions of young people coming out of the hellholes, coming out of darkness, who don’t even know who they are or why they feel the way they do. Let them rise up and silence CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the cultural political establishment.”
The evangelist concluded that “20 years from now, if Jesus tarries, they’re going to remember the 52 days that this tent sat on this property.”
I’ve attended multiple Murillo crusades, including in Hanford, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As I write about in my book at the tent meeting in Hanford in 2022, there was a live filming of the Christian commentary show, “Flashpoint,” during which the panelists spoke on the importance of America experiencing both a revival and a reformation.
Murillo said, “There are two things that God is doing. One is in the body of Christ [the church], and another is in the community of the mountains of influence… the political, the business community, education, entertainment — the Christians that are in that world.”
He argued that the two streams must come together to impact culture, those inside and those outside the church.
Murillo and fellow panelist Lance Wallnau put their money and time where their mouth was in 2024, hitting the seven key swing states, including Arizona, with tent meetings aimed at not just revival, but also reformation.
The purpose of the meetings was to unify and to activate Christians to get involved in the 2024 election cycle. And their work, along with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA and many others, helped carry Donald Trump to a seven-state sweep.
And that victory brought reformation in policies regarding the recognition that there are just two genders — which the Bible affirms — not to mention border security, pro-growth capitalist economic policies, and greater freedom of speech and religion.
Those past tent meetings that I attended were powerful, so it is more than encouraging to see that Murillo’s crusades are only growing in power and influence.
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