Revival: It Leads to Social Reforms

by Marilynn Chadwick

True revival awakens a heart for the least and the lost. Historically, revivals have occurred during times of cultural darkness.

England, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, had plunged into moral decadence. Drunkenness was rampant and gambling so pervasive that historians described the nation as "one vast casino." Tickets were sold to public executions as entertainment. Many children died in workhouses. Conditions were dismal all around.

Amid this degradation, increasing numbers of British grew rich on the African slave trade, causing one Anglican bishop to remark that morality and religion in Britain had collapsed "to a degree that was never known in any Christian country.”

It was into this dark culture that John Wesley’s life and ministry helped spark the Methodist movement in Great Britain, which gave rise to the Eighteenth-Century Evangelical Revival. This same movement helped ignite the Great Awakening in the thirteen colonies in the 1730s. Methodists and Baptists took the lead in using revivals to expand the spread of Christianity into the frontiers of America.

Wesley’s revival methods gave birth to a small group discipleship movement. These small groups of five to ten people never exceeded one percent of the total population of Great Britain.  Yet their influence swelled among the masses, eventually spilling over to the upper-crust English society.

It’s no surprise that this Revival had a powerful effect on social conditions in England, including child labor, prison reform, and later the abolition of slavery. Some even say the Wesley Revival movement helped England avoid the type of violent revolution which swept through France.

One thing is clear. Throughout history, true revival brought societal reform wherever it spread. If God could use a small group of revived people to transform culture in one of the darkest times in history, just think of what he can do in and through you in these days.

Revival: It is Characterized by Repentance

by Marilynn Chadwick

The First Great Awakening in America was ignited around 1730 by a scholarly New England minister named Jonathan Edwards. From there, a series of revivals rapidly spread, bringing about the most significant social upheaval to occur prior to the Revolutionary War.

The dramatic, impassioned preaching of England’s George Whitfield fueled these revival fires as he passed through the colonies. The strategic discipleship methods of John Wesley, also from England, extended the revival’s power and impact in early America.

The widespread salvation of unbelievers (that extended beyond the church) marked these Great Awakenings, along with renewed emphasis on holiness by believers. The “pattern” of revival often points to a period of spiritual decline and darkness in the culture.

Collin Hansen and John D. Woodbridge speak to these patterns in their book A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir. In the midst of despair and hopelessness, someone steps forward to confess their sins and others follow their example. God often answers these humble, heartfelt, corporate cries with a sweeping move of revival.

Confession of sin was also the very backbone of John Wesley’s small discipleship groups and initially the vehicle for the spread of the English Evangelical Revival. This same “method” was the foundation for early Methodism in America—contributing to the spread of revival fires throughout the colonies. Wesley’s foundational verse was James 5:16a emphasizing the healing that comes through confession: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

The Second Great Awakening in America occurred in the mid 1800s following a great spiritual decline after the Revolutionary War. Results were staggering. Revival historian Edwin Orr states that in the U.S., “a million nominal church members were reinvigorated, and more than a million converts were added to the membership of major Protestant denominations—out of a population of less than 30 million.”

If we want to partner with the heart of God to move in our midst, repentance is key. Take simple steps to introduce rhythms of repentance in your life. You never know. It might create revival in your personal life.

Revival: It All Begins with Prayer

by Marilynn Chadwick

Fervent, persistent prayer always precedes revival.

Revival historians consistently point to what is sometimes called extraordinary prayer. This is united, persistent, and frequent prayer…often for extended periods of time.

The Moravian Revival of 1727 started as a 24/7 prayer meeting that lasted for over 100 years. A group of humble, simple servants who were hungry to see God move. This same Revival gave birth to the most wide-reaching global missionary movement in history.

The Moravians’ fervent prayer deeply affected the personal faith of John Wesley, who said his heart was “strangely warmed” while attending a Moravian Prayer Meeting in London in 1738. It was there he came to understand the true nature of salvation by grace alone and moved from what he called the “faith of a slave” to the “faith of a son.”

Historically, revivals were always sparked by prayer. A British pamphlet on Revival, dated 1859, states, “True revival breathed life into every sphere of society. The Church, the family, personal devotion, witnessed its intense ardor. Fervent, persevering, believing prayer marked these movements.”

Prayer meetings were reported as springing up everywhere from ships at sea to warehouses, marketplaces to workplaces.

What is now being called a revival on the campus of Asbury University in February of 2023 bears some characteristics of historic revivals. Sparked by the reported confession of sin by one student, the prayer gathering eventually lasted over two weeks.

News of the revival largely spread on social media, attended by about 15,000 people each day. By its end, the revival brought 50,000-70,000 visitors to Wilmore, Kentucky, representing more than 200 academic institutions and multiple countries.

As with any revival movement, only time will tell the full story of Asbury.

One thing is for sure. Revival always begins with prayer.