Revival Stories

The 1904 Welsh Revival: A Land of Revivals (Pt 1)


The country of Wales lies along the western coast of Great Britain, and its history is punctuated with stories of spiritual heroes of the Christian faith and great awakenings. In fact, Wales is commonly known as “The Land of revival” and “The Land of song” because of how deeply these aspects of faith have been etched into their collective experience. In 1735, one of the first of many mighty revivals swept across their land and birthed many outreaches and new churches. In the Welsh Revival of 1859, God put his anointing upon the revivalist David Morgan to lead 100,000 townsfolk to put their faith in Christ and pledge to follow God wholeheartedly. Each revival would bring its own unique emphases, its special songs, its particular reminders of God’s presence among the people. God has granted a rich legacy of revivals upon the Welsh believers. Yet towards the end of the 19th century, even Wales was exhibiting a pervasive coldness of heart towards Christ, as the people became more and more absorbed with worldly ideas and distractions. Attendance for worship and prayer dropped to all-time lows, and the leaders noted a distinct lack of spiritual power in the Church.

In 1899, the Holy Spirit began to blow on the embers of Welsh hearts, stirring a burning desire in the church to pray once again. Specifically, over the next 4 years, numerous intercessory groups were birthed with a keen focus on revival. By 1903, young men and women regularly gathered in crowds to join in prayer for revival on a mountaintop near the town of Pencoed. Ministers of varying denominations across Wales pledged to pray together for spiritual awakening. And, after the first Keswick Convention in Wales in 1903, the cry unto the Lord for a fresh revival intensified all the more.

In early 1904, the first flames of revival started to burst to life. Rosina Davies was an evangelist who traveled across Wales that year, conducting hundreds of meetings, sharing the Gospel, and seeing a significant display of God’s power in the seaside town of New Quay. Pastor Joseph Jenkins was a minister at the local Methodist church there, and he talked about his own journey and his longing for more of the Holy Spirit. This impacted his church deeply. On February 14th, after the Sunday morning worship, the youth gathered to pray and to discuss what they were hearing. At one point, a young woman named Florrie Evans stood up and publicly spoke out, saying simply: “I love the Lord Jesus with all my heart!” At these words, the Holy Spirit distinctly released a fresh powerful outpouring of God’s presence upon the young people. Many responded with impassioned prayers. Others were baptized that very afternoon. The fires of revival began to spread throughout this town and out to nearby towns. In this first phase of the Welsh revival, the early flames jumped to a good number of local churches in the region. But God was not done yet, and He would raise up others to carry the fire throughout the nation and across the globe.


QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:

  1. What is the history of God at work in your city or region? Who are some of its spiritual heroes whom God called and used mightily? How has God moved in incredible ways in the past through your city?
  2. Where is God at work in your region right now? What is God doing in the area of prayer for your city? Who do you know that is praying for revival?
  3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how hungry are you for a mighty move of God to touch your city? What are you willing to do to prepare for this?
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