Revival Stories
The Red River Revival in 1800
By the late 1700’s, Logan County, Kentucky had gained infamy at the western frontier as the home of many troublemakers who had fled the northeastern colonies to avoid pursuit and punishment for their crimes. The region was full of murderers, horse thieves, highway robbers, and money counterfeiters, and it was nicknamed “Rogues’ Harbor” and the “Devil’s Den”. Considered by many to be one of the most wicked places in the country, it was a rough-and-tumble area that terrorized anyone foolish enough to attempt to bring any semblance of law and order.
But in 1796, a preacher named James McGready decided to move to Logan County. In fact, he felt God calling him to this location all the more because of its dark reputation as the most ungodly place in all of America. James McGready had been born in Pennsylvania but grew up in North Carolina. After training to be a Presbyterian minister and experiencing revival in Virginia, he spent several years pastoring a church in North Carolina before God led him to Logan County. Rev. McGready believed that all true revival is essentially a supernatural move of God upon people’s hearts, and the way that precedes it must be saturated with persistent prayer. Before leaving for Kentucky, McGready persuaded hundreds of Christians in North Carolina to commit to a “Carolina Covenant” in which they promised to pray without ceasing until God finally brought revival to Logan County. He began to pastor three churches in Kentucky: along the Red River, the Gasper River, and the Muddy River. He stirred his people to pray passionately for the coming revival: exhorting each member to pray every Saturday at sunset and each Sunday morning at sunrise, and then gathering with the three congregations together on the first Monday of each month. He encouraged them to seek revival by asking for three things: repentance, redemption, and Pentecost!
In June of the year 1800, McGready called a meeting for all three churches to conduct a multi-day communion service at Red River. At the close of the service on the final day, a minister cried out, “Let the Lord God omnipotent reign in your hearts!” and the whole group was overcome with an intense sense of God’s manifest presence. Those who were far from God were struck with deep conviction of sin. Others fell to the ground in anguish, while others beamed with the joy of experiencing God’s goodness up close. A mighty flood of God’s Spirit came upon all the attendees as people were urged to give themselves fully to God.
Seeing such a powerful move of God, the ministers planned another camp meeting in July at the Gasper River Church. By faith, they cleared out trees and undergrowth to make room for extra people to show up, but they were still amazed as 8000 people arrived to the site, some traveling over 100 miles on difficult roads to attend. Once again, the power of God swept through the service, shaking the entire assembly. No one wanted to go home. People weren’t concerned with hunger or sleep. Eternity was the only thing on their minds.
By the end of 1800, a large section of southern Kentucky and part of Tennessee was caught up in revival fire and saw it spreading north to other states. The very presence of God reversed the course and character of these places. Logan County, once known far and wide for its lawlessness, came to be described later as the most moral place you could visit. When Christians persevered in prayer, when they expected greater things to come, God met them and transformed them and transformed entire regions with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:
- How would you describe Logan County, Kentucky, in the late 1700’s? What situations in society today seem too hard or too complicated to solve? How could the manifest presence of God impact the biggest problems of our day?
- Where does prayer fit into our plans for a better world tomorrow? What does our prayer life indicate about how much we truly believe we need God?
- After revival comes and transforms our city, what would you want a visitor to say about our city that isn’t true today but would be true because of how God revived us?