Revival Stories

The 1996 Houston Revival


When a powerful revival swept through the city of Houston, Texas, in the 1990’s, it came through a small but growing church called the Christian Tabernacle. This church could trace its roots back to simple home meetings that faithfully gathered on the east side of Houston back in the year 1950. Of all the things it did right, it was its emphasis on prayer that caught the Lord’s attention.

In 1988, after many trials and transitions, the church called the veteran evangelist R. A. Heard to be its associate pastor. He eventually became its senior pastor, and he worked hard to build into this small congregation of just barely 70 members. His greatest passion was to invest into and equip other leaders to serve in God’s Kingdom. Yet, even as he labored vigorously for the Lord, he fell into the common dilemma of many ministers: he allowed the busyness of church to drain him of his intimacy with Christ.

In 1994, Pastor Heard had had enough. He purposefully set his heart and mind to wait upon God’s presence, prioritizing his times of devotion above all else. Through that year and 1995, he taught and preached on knowing God intimately. For him and his church, it was a year of intensifying hunger for more of the Lord and a season of crying out for a fresh revival.

Pastor Heard invited guests throughout 1996 to share their stories with his church and to stir up a deeper thirst for a greater move of God. One Sunday morning, on October 6th, the traveling evangelist Tommy Tenney was preaching at Pastor Heard’s church. The presence of God seemed to alight upon that place, and people’s longing for God rose to new levels. Pastor Heard eagerly invited Tommy to come back and preach the following week, on October 13th. Once again, people in attendance sensed the mighty presence of God in their midst. The following Monday, the church redoubled their prayers for revival to break out. Pastor Heard invited Tommy to preach a 3rd time on October 20th, and during the week leading up to it, he personally led his entire pastoral staff to visit together the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, Florida. It was there they received an impartation of revival fire to bring back to Texas with them.

That Sunday morning in Houston, the very air in the sanctuary was thick with the glory of God. People commented that it was almost hard to breathe. The faint sounds of sobbing ebbed through the crowd. Pastor Heard stepped up to the pulpit to welcome Tommy once again and to share a few thoughts. He read the familiar passage from 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”Pastor Heard then exhorted the people to seek the face the Lord instead of merely seeking His hand. More of God’s presence and not merely power. It was at that precise moment that supernatural lightning struck the pulpit, splitting it in two, and propelling the minister backwards to the floor.

As the pastor lay on the floor, others began to fall prostrate to the ground. People saw visions or angels or flashes of light. Cries of repentance swept through the sanctuary. Folks of all ages and professions ran to the altar to seek the Lord. As people fell under the conviction of sin, the church started to baptize those wanting to get right with God. It went on like this all day Sunday and into the early morning hours. The church, recognizing the revival God was bringing, continued to meet every Sunday but also held gatherings every Wednesday through Saturday. During these times, God’s presence would often overwhelm the worshippers and cause the manifestation of miraculous healings and numerous salvations for the lost. Over the next several years, many believers would visit from other states and even other countries to seek after God’s face and to catch an impartation of powerful revival fire.


QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:

  1. What is God looking for in a church when He wants to bring revival? Which of these traits do you see in the little Houston church? What was God looking for in Pastor Heard’s life that was more important than just being busy?
  2. How was intense hunger for God demonstrated during that one month of October as Tommy Tenney spoke to the little church? Why do you think God punctuated the service on October 20th, 1996, with the divine lightning bolt that split the plexiglass pulpit in two?
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