Jessi Green on the Cusp of Great Revival in "Wildfires"
Personal Revival
Jessi grew up in a Christian home on Long Island, NY. During her middle school years, her family went to what she describes as a legalistic church, which caused her to walk away from God. In high school, Jessi says she wanted nothing to do with God, and by college, her world rotated around parties, her sorority, and clubbing. After college, she worked as a doorman at a nightclub in NYC. There she started dating a guy, fell deeply in love, but saw the relationship end within a couple years. To cope with the pain, Jessi started going out more, staying out later, and using cocaine. All that only left her depressed, anxious, tormented by demons, afraid to be alone, and entertaining suicidal thoughts. When running into him again only resulted in disappointment, 24-year-old Jessi went up to her apartment and cried out, “If you are real, God, take this pain away!” What happened next changed her life. “Immediately, peace filled my room. All of Manhattan went silent outside my window. I lay still, in silence, as this powerful love was filling the deepest crevices of my heart. I gently whispered, ‘If I can have a relationship with you, God, I will give up everything to know you.’”
The 2020 Beach Revival
Six months after calling out to God, Jessi joined a YWAM “world race,” taking her to 18 countries over the course of a year to do street evangelism, preach the gospel, pray for the sick, and work in orphanages. In 2012, she met her husband-to-be, Parker Green, a new, young pastor at her NYC church. After they married, she joined him in ministry at the church. One morning in 2016, three-months pregnant and sick with the flu, Jessi sensed God asking her this question: “Jessi, what do you look like fully alive?” She closed her eyes, and whispered the prayer, “I don’t know, Lord, please show me.” Then she saw herself walking on a huge beach, having conversations about dreams and spiritual revelations. She also saw crowds of people having “God encounters,” realizing that Jesus was indeed real, and saw herself preaching with passion. In reality, she says, her life looked nothing like that.
After prayer and fasting, both Parker and Jessi sensed the Lord leading them to move to southern California to be a part of His work there. With their two-month-old son in tow, the Greens moved across the country and started connecting with other pastors and spiritual leaders. In 2017, they started a family of small, home-based churches they call “Salt Churches.” By 2019, they felt the Lord tell them that there would be a spiritual harvest in 2020. The Greens shared their conviction with other churches and together they planned for what they called “Saturate OC” (Orange County) for the summer of 2020. Through a series of four weekly worship events, they planned to share the gospel, teach others to do likewise, baptize converts, and cause a ripple effect in S. California.
The plans changed dramatically when Covid entered the scene in March, including the cancellation of their original venue, and the closure of most public beaches. Huntington Beach wasn’t one of them, so they planned to hold the event there, starting Friday evening, July 3rd (just a month after Jessi gave birth to their third child!). Opposition was evident all along the way. On July 2nd, the governor ordered the shutdown of all public beaches for the July fourth weekend; thankfully, the City of Huntington said they wouldn’t close their beach until the fourth. Many of Saturate OC’s church partners said they could no longer participate because of health concerns, and fear of the authorities, though eight local churches remained steadfast. Despite the challenges, 300 people showed up, heard the gospel, and 100 of them were baptized in the ocean. Jessi describes it this way: “That evening, many were delivered from demonic strongholds, while they went down into the water. We prayed for people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and people were set free from depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Backs were healed, fingers were put straight, and the Lord moved powerfully. My soul burst with excitement; I knew we were on the cusp of a great revival.”
Along with positive press from many sources came intense criticism. Jessi says some social media comments called her a “cult leader’ and a “murderer” for gathering people during a pandemic. Before Saturate OC’s fourth meeting, the police came to the Green’s home, and told them they would be meeting without a permit, and risking arrest if they proceeded. Scared but resolute, the Greens went forward with the event. When they arrived at the beach, a thousand people were already there, along with seven police cars. When Jessi used her megaphone to encourage worship, a policeman used his own to tell people they were assembling illegally and must leave. The crowd started speaking in tongues and singing louder to drown out the order. They also prayed for the policemen, and the meeting lasted ‘til midnight with no arrests. With that huge response, Saturate OC held two more events on different beaches before concluding the summer revival. The meetings had surpassed their best hopes with thousands in attendance, and 2500 new believers baptized. All of them were invited to join one of the nine Salt Churches. This summer, the Greens and their ministry team have embarked on their Wells of Revival Tour of historic sites of past revivals. They’re partnering with local churches and holding gospel/worship events in eight cities, starting in Philadelphia.
Burn
Jessi longs to exhort and inspire other believers to “revolt against apathy.” Encouraging people to lay down the things of the world and fully follow Jesus is her passion. As she puts it, “To burn and ignite others with the fire, power, and love of Jesus. Gosh, that is all I want to do on this earth.” We’re all responsible to share the gospel, she says, and need to be equipped for the next revival. Jessi believes we will be most fully alive when we are wholeheartedly serving the Lord and His purposes, which she says requires radical obedience and rapid repentance.
