Establishing Foundations: Past World Revivals

Revival in Korea 1907. 1500 representatives of Presbyterian missionaries, hearing of revival in Wales, prayed earnestly for the same in Korea. The New Year's Bible study had a spirit of prayer break out. The leaders allowed everyone to pray aloud simultaneously as so many wanted to pray. That became a characteristic of Korean prayer meetings.

In the Communist Soviet Union, the Spirit of God moved in great power from the revolution of 1917 to 1927 and churches grew and multiplied rapidly. Baptists in the Ukraine grew from a few thousand to 100,000 in that decade, which was followed by savage persecution.

The famous C T Studd reported on revival in the Belgian Congo in 1914: 'the whole place was charged as if with an electric current. Men were falling, jumping, laughing, crying, singing, confessing and some shaking terribly. This particular one can best be described as a spiritual tornado. People were literally flung to the floor or over the forms, yet no one was hurt. ... As I led in prayer, the Spirit came down in mighty power sweeping the congregation. My whole body trembled with the power. We saw a marvelous sight, people literally filled and drunk with the Spirit'.

The famous East African revival began in Rwanda in June 1936 and rapidly spread to the neighboring countries of Burundi, Uganda and the Congo (now Zaire), then further around. The Holy Spirit moved upon mission schools, spread to churches and to whole communities, producing deep repentance and changed lives.

The Holy Spirit fell dramatically on a small prayer group of 8 people in Argentina in 1948, and their church immediately exploded with many signs and wonders and healing. Some converts in that move of God were in Bible College in June 1951 when the Spirit fell on them there. The college prayed for 4 months with intense weeping, and many astounding prophecies including that the largest stadiums in Argentina would be filled soon for Christian meetings. That happened in 1954 with the visit of Tommy Hicks. The largest stadium seating 110,000 was filled for weeks as 300,000 made commitments and hundreds were healed each night for three months.

God moved upon the mountain town of Soe in Timor on Sunday, September 26, 1965. That night people heard the sound of a tornado, wind and flames above the Reformed Church building prompted police to set off the fire alarm. Healing and evangelism increased dramatically. Hundreds of thousands were converted. About 90 evangelistic teams were formed which functioned powerfully with spiritual gifts. The first team saw 9,000 people converted in two weeks in one town alone. In the first three years of this revival, 200,000 became Christians in Timor, and on another small island where few had been Christians, 20,000 became believers. These are just some of the turn of the century revivals. Time and space does not allow telling of the revivals in Cambodia, Indonesia, Papa New Guinea, Brazil and others places which have had more recent revivals.