Longing For Revival

Revival begins with God. But it's lived out through us. While we can't determine how God will act, we can be expectant and anticipate his work. And revivals are not just experienced—they can be led. James Choung and Ryan Pfeiffer have seen revival in their own ministries, with remarkable transformation in both individuals and communities. They unpack what revival looks like, how Christians can anticipate it, and how they can experience it in their own lives and in larger movements. They provide a model of revival leadership for Christians who want to facilitate and spread revival in their contexts, with implications for evangelism, mission, and growth. We all need a spiritual breakthrough. Discover what revival can look like for you and those around you.

In every era the church needs revival—certainly today as much as ever. And in the heart of every committed Christian there is the longing for personal revival—to know the quality and depths of spiritual reality, and the presence of God in one's personal life. This was the deepest desire of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of the great 20th-century Bible expositors. It was also the purpose behind this series of messages which were first given on the 100th anniversary of the Great Revival which started in Wales, and swept across England and throughout the United States and to the far corners of the world. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones recognized, it is a rare time in the history of the church when there is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit— and a time of special interest of every Christian who longs for revival today. As Dr. J. I. Packer writes in his foreword, Dr. Lloyd-Jones believed in "the necessity of revival—that is, a quickening divine visitation—as the only vent that can avert ultimate spiritual disaster. The thrustful urgency of the sermons in this book testifies to the depth of his conviction that without revival in the church there is really no hope for the Western world at all." Dr. Lloyd-Jones deftly draws principles from the lives of Old and New Testament characters as well as expounding some of the great prayers of the Bible. Clearly and forcefully, he presents a masterful exposition of the circumstances accompanying revival in the past, why each generation needs it, and how it will come about today. We must come to the sovereign God, forsake our sin, and wait upon Him for this special, essential outpouring. God, bring us revival!

This book is a call for men to prayer, and to pray for revival in our churches. Drawing from GodÕs commands and lessons in both the Old and New Testament, as well as our rich Church history through men such as Irenaeus, Calvin and Edwards, we can develop a prayer life that acknowledges GodÕs desire to bring about His kingdom and pleads with Him to do so. A kingdom of peace and healing, of justice and life. For a revived land is transformed, by the love and respect people have for others, the affirmation of life, the care for the poor and needy, and by justice for all, not merely for a select few. But the first heart that must be transformed is our own and this comes through prayer. The 30 meditations of this book come complete with questions as well as a prayer incorporating the lesson. May this book encourage us to pray that God will change hearts in our land, including our own, and that God will transform our society.

Can God stir revival by his Holy Spirit, even in our culture today? Do we really believe he can? In a day of diminished expectations, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Accounts That Stretch and Stir recounts global examples of prior revivals, beginning with the Reformation and the Great Awakenings. It continues with the Welsh and Azusa Street revivals and those that occurred simultaneously in Asia, followed by the East Africa Revival of the 1930s. More recent revivals in North America that instigated parachurch or evangelistic ministries like those of Billy Graham and the revivals in China, particularly in Henan Province over the last forty years, give further evidence of church renewal. These stories enlarge our hearts, expand our minds, and empower our witness to the power of God at work in human history. Christians with a deep evangelistic commitment who realize that there is more to church growth than field-tested techniques will expand their vision by remembering God’s vision, as it has been revealed throughout history. Hansen and Woodbridge mine these stories of renewal to suggest how to get ready for revival today.

Fire blazes from heaven, and a stone altar erupts in flame. So begins a spiritual awakening, the kindling of a revival fire still burning today. Beginning with Elijah and God's tremendous one-day revival of Israel, Wesley Duewel tells stories of revivals spanning the globe from America to China to Africa, all brought by obedience and heartfelt prayer. He illustrates how God has used revival fire through the centuries to revive the church and reveal the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit.

Early Pentecostal revivals swept through Canadian communities, big and small, in the early 1900s. Reports abounded of worshippers falling down at the altar, speaking in tongues, having dreams and visions, and experiencing divine healing. Tent meetings inspired curious onlookers to witness these phenomena for themselves. Following these revival meetings, Pentecostals organized, built churches, and expanded across the country, while many churches were beginning to decline. How did these Pentecostal "holy rollers" move from the fringe to take centre stage in Canada's religious landscape? Why is a religious group rooted in the early twentieth century, tied to Methodism and the Holiness movement, still so popular among followers from all walks of life, especially Indigenous peoples and new Canadians? In After the Revival Michael Wilkinson and Linda Ambrose ask these and other questions, arguing that the answers are tied to Pentecostalism's continued organizational efforts. Since 1919, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) has worked to establish order and steady growth by managing financial and material assets, offering programs designed to attract families and youth, and training leaders. While Pentecostalism sometimes reflects broader cultural trends and at other times resists them, the PAOC has grown steadily to become one of the largest evangelical denominations in Canada. Addressing broader questions about how religious movements organize, establish an identity, and develop a subculture that flourishes, After the Revival explores the fascinating history of Pentecostalism in Canada and the ways the church, represented by the PAOC, engages with Canadian society.