05-CHOOSING THE TEN GREATEST REVIVALS

The authors had a difficult task to choose the ten greatest revivals ever. They began by setting criteria for their choices. They asked five questions of each revival, and the answers helped guide their choices.

First, does the experience fit the biblical guidelines of revival? To answer this question, the authors agreed on a common definition of revival. Essentially, an evangelical revival is an extraordinary work of God in which Christians repent of their sins as they become intensely aware of His presence and His extraordinary works, and they manifest a positive response to God in renewed obedience to the known will of God, resulting in both a deepening of their individual and corporate experience with God and an increased concern to win others to Christ.

This view of revival recognizes several distinctives common to historic revivals: (a) An extraordinary work of God should be differentiated from the more ordinary work of God in the life of the believer, (b) the realization of the unique presence of God during times of revival is consistently reported in the testimonies of the revived, (c) revivals naturally tend to precede a significant evangelistic outreach and harvest of souls in the community touched by the revived church, and (d) while there may be isolated exceptions, these are manifestations connected with the normal experience of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that were experienced in Scripture.

Second, Was there a demonstration of God’s presence? Since revival is God pouring Himself on His people, there is an unusual manifestation of God when revival is poured out. Sometimes this is called atmospheric revival, where people give testimony to feeling . . . experiencing . . . sensing . . . that God is present. However, a New Testament revival is never measured by feelings alone; there must be a demonstration of New Testament fruit for an experience to be labeled a New Testament revival. The significance of the revival experience itself sometimes works to hinder the progress of revival. Some see revival as an end in itself, rather than an opportunity to know God Himself. Remember, the most important thing about a revival is knowing God, not experiencing its manifestations. When that happens, revivals become inclusive and sectarian, sometimes even falling into the ranks of cultism.

Third, Was the larger body of Christ awakened to a New Testament task? While revivals often begin in a small group, church or single denomination, every great revival spills over its natural boundaries. The Moravian Revival began in Hernhutt, but it touched the world. There were fewer than three dozen people at Fetter Lane, but it gave birth to the Methodist Church. Asuza Street was a small church by contemporary standards, but Pentecostalism has become a world-wide movement. Each of the revivals described in this book spilled out of its context into a broad arena.

Fourth, Was culture impacted positively by the revival? When a revived church is mobilized to preach the gospel, individual lives (both believers and the unsaved) are transformed by the power of God. When many individuals are brought into conformity to Jesus Christ, the culture is transformed. The First Great Awakening in England resulted in Sunday School and educational reform, changes to labor and child welfare laws, significant prison reforms, and the abolition of slavery. During the Welsh Revival, the culture was so transformed that new mules had to be secured to work in the coal mines. The old mules would not respond to miners who no longer cursed and abused the animals. Revivals in England, America, and other places have historically shaped those nations into Christian communities.

Fifth, Are there reliable sources that demonstrate the greatness of the revival? The authors have tried where possible to rely on primary sources of eyewitnesses, newspaper accounts, journals, and other written observations of the revivals. When secondary sources sere consulted, we tried to eliminate bias accounts where writers had a reason to exaggerate or records that were not objective.

Since this is not a reference book for scholars but was written to touch the hearts of readers to challenge them to revival, we have left out a footnoting system used in scholarly pursuits.

Even though we have used primary sources and direct quotations, we have attributed them to their source as a modern newspaper might present a story. For the scholar seeking further research, consult the Bibliography. The stories of the revivals revisited in this book are written by men sympathetic to revival. Each is the product of revival. Elmer Towns was converted to Christ during a revival experienced in a Presbyterian Church in Bonnabella, Georgia. Douglas Porter yielded to God’s call on his life to preach the gospel during a similar revival experienced during a youth conference. Each prays for God to send “the greatest revival since Pentecost!” The reader will note the most recent revivals described in this book are over thirty years old. Does that mean the age of revivals has come to an end? That is not the view of the authors. Even as this book was written, the authors received reports of significant revivals around the world. Some revivals, like those in Toronto and Pensacola, have received much attention internationally. Others tend to be promoted widely in their region but widely unknown beyond their state or national borders. Some revivals appear to be having a profound impact on their country, especially in some Latin American countries like Argentina. Other revivals, such as those recently reported at Wheaton and Cornerstone College, appear to have had a profound impact on a college campus. The authors rejoice in reports of God at work among His people even though they may not be able to endorse everything that happens in these and other revivals.

Some contemporary revivals have not been described because their story has not yet had the time needed to measure their impact on a generation. The dramatic events surrounding the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit is only part of the story that makes a revival great. The real impact of a revival is realized in the ministry of a revived church in an awakened community. This takes time. In the opinion of the authors, it takes a generation for the story of a revival to unfold. We are better able to evaluate the impact of the Asbury College Revival a generation later than those caught up in the enthusiasm of the revival itself in 1970. It remains the task of the next generation to revisit the revivals of this generation.

The Psalmist wrote, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done" (Ps. 78:2-4). This is not a history book for scholars, even though we have relied on primary sources and have quoted from them; rather, this is our account of some of "His wonderful works that He has done." The stories gathered in this volume are included as models of what God has done and is doing in our world. These stories are retold in this book with the hope that they might motivate Christians to prepare their heart and lives for revival. May God use this book to stir hearts to pray that God one more time, "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" (Ps. 85:6).

Elmer L. Towns                                 Douglas Porter

Virginia, United States                             Ontario, Canada

Pentecost 2000                                 Pentecost 2000

There is a Divine mystery about Revivals. God’s sovereignty is in them. I may not live to see it, but the day will come when there will be a great Revival over the whole earth.

Alexander Whyte