Photos courtesy of Ryan Ries

As the doors opened for the revival night on August 24, Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (CCGS), CA, was quickly filled, doubling the number of attendees typically in the main sanctuary. People of all ages, backgrounds, and positions in life were leaning on walls or sitting on the ground as Ryan Ries sensed the Holy Spirit was preparing the hearts of attendees for the Calvary Chapel Revival Night.

“My theme for this tour is The Power of the Holy Spirit and Light vs. Darkness—I believe more than ever, even in America, there is a serious battle between light and darkness,” Ryan explained.

In-Reach and Outreach

The first half of the Calvary Chapel Revival Night began with a parking lot outreach. “We did have action sports demonstrations, food trucks, a DJ, and live art for people to hang out,” Ryan stated. This offered a place for people to be surrounded by community—and to invite their family and friends who wouldn’t typically attend church. “It was an outreach in the parking lot and an in-reach within the church.” The fellowship in the parking lot was followed inside by a time of worship, an evangelistic message, and a time of responding to the Holy Spirit and prayer.

At the end of his message, Ryan invited people to give their lives to Christ and then be baptized. “Before I even got done saying the sentence, they were running forward!” Ryan exclaimed. Hundreds rushed down the sides of the rows, “fleeing the oppression of sin and running to their new life in Christ.”

Fully clothed—but with ready hearts—many were impatient to make a public statement through baptism: “I am all in for God!” Ryan shared. “No more games; they were serious about handing their lives over so they might find life. Because Jesus can set you free, and you could have joy and peace, or you could be miserable and in darkness.”

Intercessions were made for those struggling, he said. “The Lord met people personally, confirming and speaking to them. People left that night with excitement, joy, and an awakening,” Ryan affirmed. “The whole purpose of revival isn’t just the one moment, but being awakened and encountering God, being set free and going out to live the life God has called you to live.”

Ryan emphasized that this wasn’t just one night of emotion—but rather repentance and lasting change. He was pleased later to learn from his dad, Pastor Raul Ries, that CCGS had grown from those attending the CC Revival Night event. The following Sundays after the event have seen an increase in all three services.

Motivated to Expose the Darkness

In a world where “the culture is constantly force-feeding us sinful content cultivating in our hearts and minds anxiety, oppression, and darkness,” Ryan yearns to declare the story of Christ’s light, power, healing, life, and freedom. As someone who knows what it’s like to be “a castaway, once a slave to sin, but now saved by God’s grace”, he wants others to know the healing, freedom, and forgiveness found in Christ alone. Countless stories within the church, of people at their wits’ end because of what was being put in their bodies through their eyes, have devastated Ryan. “The church needs God and the power of the Holy Spirit more than ever before,” he exhorted.

Ryan, well-known for many outreach events, including The Whosoevers Movement (TheWhosoevers.com) which ministers to youth and adults alike globally, explained the heart behind these revival nights. “The eye is a lamp to the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body is full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body is full of darkness. And if then that light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” Ryan quoted Matthew 6:22 from memory.

The Lord, he sensed, guided him to start CC Revival Nights after sharing and praying at a Calvary Chapel Christian school in Idaho. A young girl approached Ryan asking for more prayer because she didn’t feel God’s presence. She explained how her parents had told her there was a demon inside of her and described the feeling of a presence taking over her body.

“What do you do when the presence takes over your body?” inquired Ryan. Her response reminded Ryan of a passage in Scripture: “I start cutting myself,” she replied. Knowing this, Ryan imitated the example of Jesus as shown in Mark Chapter 5, asking, “What is your name, unclean spirit?” The spirit manifested, Ryan cast out the demon in Jesus’ name, and the girl was set free.

“When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”’ Mark 5:6-9

Years earlier, Ryan was approached by a boy who began watching pornography at age 11; by age 15 he identified as gay. The boy had been raised in a Calvary Chapel in Philadelphia; prior to exposing himself to porn, was not gay. “In a few short years, the boy walked into darkness through what he was putting in his body through his eyes,” Ryan elaborated. “This is why I decided to start the CC Revival Night—for the people who think they are in light that have slowly been walking in darkness.”

Ryan shared his concern about the times we are living in: “The world is putting darkness into these kids. With screen time being so heavy and uncensored, it is destroying our mental health.” Faced with this, Ryan prayed for the doors that had been opened to these unclean spirits to be shut. “When we find out the stronghold that the enemy has, we need to expose the darkness, confess sin, and repent of it.”

“Revival is when we are individually revived and awakened by the Lord and the power of The Holy Spirit,” Ryan said. “When Calvary Chapel started in 1965, we saw a massive amount of young people being individually awakened at that time—which we know as the Jesus People Movement Revival.”

Future Plans

Ryan revealed that for future CC Revival Nights, “I just want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.” Each CC Revival Night may look different depending on the church’s need and availability; however, the theme of The Power of the Holy Spirit and Light vs. Darkness remains the same. It is both an outreach to those outside the church and an in-reach to those within the church—all to repent and turn to Christ and be filled with the power from Heaven.

“Lord willing, I plan to speak at 10 additional Calvary Chapels throughout the States and overseas this year. In 2025, I will be releasing more dates. I am trusting the Spirit to lead me to other churches where God wants this message,” Ryan reflected.  Expectant, he knows that God will provide the discernment, message, and locations for these nights.

To attend, host a Revival Night, and learn about all tour dates, contact Ryan at Ryan-Ries.com

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