THE TEN GREATEST REVIVALS EVER From Pentecost to the Present ELMER TOWNS DOUGLAS PORTER 2 SERVANT PUBLICATIONS ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN © 2000 by Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter All rights reserved. Vine Books is an imprint of Servant Publications especially designed to serve evangelical Christians. All Scripture quotations in this publication are from The New King James Version, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Published by Servant Publications P.O. Box 8617 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107 Cover design: Paul Higdon 00 01 02 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America ISBN 1-56955-217-7 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Towns, Elmer L. The ten greatest revivals ever / Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-56955-217-7 (alk. paper) I. Revivals-History. I. Porter, Douglas, Dr. II. Title. BV3770.T69 2000 269‟.24‟09-dc21 3 The Ten Greatest Revivals CONTENTS CONTENTS ________________________________________________ 1 PREFACE __________________________________________________ 2 INTRODUCTION, The Reality of Revival __________________________ 6 CHAPTER ONE, The 1904 Revival _____________________________ 18 CHAPTER TWO, The First Great Awakening; 1727-50 ______________ 62 CHAPTER THREE, The Second Great Awakening; 1780-1810 ________ 85 CHAPTER FOUR, The General Awakening; 1830-40 ______________ 115 CHAPTER FIVE, The Laymen s Prayer Revival, 1857-61 ___________ 142 CHAPTER SIX, The World War II Revival, 1935-1950 ______________ 171 CHAPTER SEVEN, The Baby Boomer Revival, 1965-70 ____________ 189 CHAPTER EIGHT, The Pre Reformation Revival, 1300-1500 ________ 218 CHAPTER NINE, The Protestant Reformation, 1517 _______________ 237 CHAPTER TEN, Pentecost: The Beginning (Revival, A. D. 30) _______ 250 EPILOGUE, Some Lessons Learned ___________________________ 266 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES CONSULTED _________ 272 1 The Ten Greatest Revivals PREFACE There have been instances in the history of the Church when the telling and retelling of the wonderful works of God have been used to rekindle the expectations of the faithful intercessors and prepare the way for another Awakening. J. Edwin Orr Pray for revival in America.” So read a sign in a Dallas restaurant not long ago, spotted as we were writing this book. In our spirit we say, “Amen!” But we wonder if the folks in that restaurant know what they‟re praying for. When most people pray for revival, they‟re probably asking for a wonderful experience at church next Sunday at 11:00 A.M. But revival is more than a Sunday morning experience. When you pray for revival, you‟re asking God for life-shaking experiences that will cost you plenty. Revival is agonizing: It so terrorizes you over your sin that you repent deeply. Revival is consuming: It leaves you no time for hobbies, for chores around the house, for work, for sleep. Revival wrecks your appointment calendar, interrupts TV times, demands your full attention ... and wears you out. Usually when we pray for revival, we‟re thinking about the bad guys, and we‟re telling God to “sic „em.” Little do we realize that revival begins with us, the people of God. As a matter of fact, we‟ve got a suggestion for those who want revival: Don‟t pray for revival. 2 The Ten Greatest Revivals Just repent of all known sin, do everything you‟re supposed to do, give God all—not part, but all—your time, and you‟ll experience revival. If you need some inspiration for such repentance, we know of no better place to find it than in the records of earlier revivals. For that reason, this book describes The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever and their influence. The stories of the revivals revisited in this book are written by men sympathetic to revival. Each is, in fact, the product of revival. Elmer Towns was converted to Christ during a revival experienced in a Presbyterian church in Bonna Bella, Georgia. Douglas Porter yielded to God‟s call on his life to preach the gospel during a similar revival experienced at a youth conference. Each prays for God to send “the greatest revival since Pentecost!” Our choice of which ten revivals rank as the “greatest” is based on years of study. Douglas Porter‟s doctoral dissertation was a close analysis of evangelical revivals and their implications for evangelism. Elmer Towns was his mentor for that study, and Towns himself has written the book Rivers of Revival with Neil Anderson, as well as several books on related subjects. The reader will note that the most recent revivals described in this book are more than thirty years old. Does this mean the age of revivals has come to an end? That‟s not the view of the authors. Even as this book was written, we received reports of significant revivals around the world. Some current revivals, like those in Toronto and Pensacola, Florida, have received much attention internationally. Others have been promoted 3 The Ten Greatest Revivals widely in their region but are mostly unknown beyond their state or national borders. Some revivals appear to be having a profound impact on their country, especially in such Latin American countries as Argentina. Others, such as those recently reported at Wheaton College and Cornerstone College, appear to have had a profound impact on college campuses. We rejoice in all the reports of God at work among his people, even though we may not be able to endorse everything that happens in these revivals. Some contemporary revivals haven‟t been described because sufficient time has not yet passed to measure their impact on a generation. The dramatic events surrounding the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit are 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 fact, in the opinion of the authors, it takes a generation for the story of a revival to unfold fully. We‟re better able, a generation later, to evaluate, for example, the impact of the Asbury College Revival in 1970 than were those caught up in the enthusiasm of the revival itself. It thus remains the task of the next generation to revisit the revivals of this generation. This is not a history book for scholars, but was written rather to touch the hearts of readers and to challenge them to revival. We‟ve therefore left out the footnoting system used in scholarly pursuits. For the same reason, though we‟ve relied on primary sources and quoted from them, we‟ve attributed them to their sources as a modern newspaper might present a story. The scholar seeking further research should consult the bibliography. If you wish to correspond with us about revival or comment on this book, 4 The Ten Greatest Revivals contact us by e-mail: Elmer Towns at www [email protected] or Douglas Porter at [email protected]. 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 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. We‟ve retold them with the hope that they might motivate Christians to prepare their hearts and lives for revival. May God use this book to stir hearts to pray one more time, “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Ps. 85:6). Elmer Towns, Virginia, United States Douglas Porter, Ontario, Canada 5 The Ten Greatest Revivals INTRODUCTION, The Reality of Revival But there have been certain seasons called revivals—when God has “poured His Spirit out on His people.” These times—also called awakenings— occurred when the presence of God is experienced in powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit. J. Edwin Orr The evening prayer meeting had been over for about an hour. Students of Liberty University and members of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, were milling around the front of the sanctuary. It was late—10:30 on a Wednesday night—so most of the ushers and pastors had gone home. Suddenly a lone student rose and walked to the pulpit, weeping, to confess sins. The microphone and pulpit lights were off, but God was there. That student‟s passionate repentance captured the attention of those who were still in the auditorium. Someone began singing. Someone else ran to play the piano—softly, so as not to interrupt the sacred sound of tears. People dropped to their knees beside the altar and front pews. Shortly, another broken person approached the pulpit to confess sins. Soon there were others. After two hours, frantic phone calls went out to the pastor and deacons: 6 The Ten Greatest Revivals “Revival‟s hit the church!” Church members, awakened in the middle of the night, dressed hurriedly and drove through the dark streets of Lynchburg. All came back to the church building expecting to experience God. No neckties ... no Sunday morning dresses ... just believers eager for a divine touch. Soon the glory of the Lord flooded the church auditorium. People stayed at the church from Wednesday night until Saturday morning. All normal activities in their lives shut down. Classes were canceled. Most of those involved didn‟t leave for work; some didn‟t eat.