Revival Stories
The 1909 Chile Revival
In 1889, a doctor from Chicago, Willis Hoover, arrived as a missionary to the country of Chile in South America. Although he started by teaching English to the locals, he eventually was assigned by his Methodist Episcopal denomination to begin pastoring a church in the city of Valparaiso, Chile, in 1902. During that year, there was a strong renewal of interest in prayer and evanglism that swept across many churches in that region. As Hoover’s congregation studied the book of Acts that year, they grew bolder and more passionate for God.
In 1904, Hoover and his family returned to the United States for their furlough. Another minister stepped in during this period to lead the church, but great difficulties lay ahead for Hoover even after he returned. In 1905, the ci
ty was devastated by a smallpox epidemic that limited their opportunities to gather. Then, in 1906, a huge earthquake struck Valparaiso and leveled the church building. The growth of the church seemed to grind to a halt.
News about waves of revival in India and in Asuza Street in the United States started to trickle in to Hoover and his church family in the year 1907. As Hoover himself reached out to the revival leaders of his time, he and his church began to conclude that there was far more that God wanted to make available to them. They began seeking the Lord with a fresh and fierce hunger.
In December 31st of 1908, while the church’s new building was still under construction, Hoover called an all-night prayer meeting. With about 100 Christians in attendance, the group spontaneously at one point began falling to their knees to cry out fervently to God. They prayed out loud all at the same time, with a sound like the sound of many waters ebbing and flowing. This would happen many times over the next few days. On January 14th, one man received a vision from Jesus that exhorted Hoover to call his leaders to pray every day for a coming baptism of fire. Hoover agreed to gather such a group to pray each day at 5PM. A month later during prayer, the group experienced a strong sense of the sweet manifest presence of God in their midst. It caused them to weep profusely and also to sing or to laugh wholeheartedly. By Easter in April of that year, a full-on revival broke out as the church experienced an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people. As in past revivals, individuals saw visions, while some fell prostrate upon the ground, and others groaned in deep intercession. Great conviction of sin was coupled with an experience of intense joy and a powerful sense of love among the believers.
Over the next few months, the attendance at the church exploded. Evangelism took on a fresh new urgency coupled with supernatural power. The flames of revival spread to numerous cities up and down the coast. As revival rippled through the many towns and urban areas, the Holy Spirit began to transform the very moral fiber of society.
Sadly, Satan would stir up jealousy and bitter skepticism among the established religious leaders. The cruel opposition would force Hoover to leave his position at the church in 1910 and to establish a brand-new movement spearheaded by the local believers in Chile. This movement, over time, would bring nearly 1 million members into its group, with about 15% of the population of Chile in 2020 identifying with it. The small church that Hoover had once pastored would grow and blossom into one of the largest churches in the world today with over 150,000 members. What God began in 1909 with a surge of fresh revival fire has continue to blaze boldly among Christ-followers all throughout Chile.
QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:
- When have things not gone as planned as you’ve sought after revival? What has opposition and challenges to God’s Kingdom looked like in your life? What has helped you to stay in the race and persevere?
- What role did prayer play in the eventual triggering on the Chile revival in 1909? What catches your attention about the way prayer was conducted in that church? What could we learn today from the prayer habits of those believers?
- What are some of the ways Satan uses to try to delay or dismantle or extinguish revival in a city? How was God able to take whatever Satan intended for evil and turn it around for profound good in a nation?