Spiritual Awakenings by General Secretary Dan Coleman

Spiritual Awakenings

By. General Secretary Dan Coleman

    Great Spiritual Awakenings have swept the world over the centuries. They have changed lives and the very culture in which we live. During the month of February, I had the privilege to be in Charleston, South Carolina, to attend the annual PCCNA Conference, of which the Pentecostal Church of God is a member. Along with other members from the Prayer Commission, I visited the Anson Street Presbyterian Church, the location of one such Spiritual Awakening that took place not long ago.  

   It was at this church during the summer of 1857, a time when our nation was greatly divided over slavery, that black and white believers began a prayer meeting petitioning God to send a Spiritual Awakening while waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to popular opinion, the first shot of the Civil War was not fired at Fort Sumter but within a praying congregation of Christians, who were seeking the Lord and not a political remedy. That shot came just a few blocks from the very harbor Fort Sumter guarded.

     For months, the congregants intentionally and patiently sought the Lord, and then one evening it happened. While in prayer, what felt like a surge of electricity struck Pastor John L. Girdeaux’s head and filled his entire being. Before he called the prayer meeting, he had preconceived within his own mind what God’s eventual visit would be like. He would then simply dismiss the prayer meeting and resume his regular preaching schedule. But something greater was happening – something beyond him, and this would not be dismissed. The pastor first heard, then looked up to behold the trembling and tears of the others. The Holy Spirit had come upon the entire congregation and there they were, 48 black Christians and 12 white Christians – 60 in all – with everyone weeping, worshiping, and praying for the souls of lost neighbors and loved ones.

     When God came to the corner of Anson and Calhoun Streets, a powerful chain reaction occurred. For the next eight weeks nightly meetings followed, reaching crowds numbering from 1,500 to 2,000. God visited Charleston as thousands from across the city and every background were saved. Congregations from every background grew. The spiritual atmosphere over Charleston was altered, and a window for revival had been opened to an entire nation. Revival historian Edwin Orr cites the great impact of this event, which preceded another very important event to be held more than 700 miles away. 

   The spiritual, ripple effect of God’s move in Charleston eventually reached New York City. Roughly 30,000 men were idle on the streets of New York and drunkenness was rampant. God raised up a praying 48-year-old businessman-turned-lay-city-missionary named Jeremiah Lanphier. This man had started a noon prayer meeting for New York businessmen at the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in September 1857 (just a couple of blocks from what many years later came to be known as Ground Zero). 

     Out of a city of more than 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late to that initial gathering. This small group decided to meet the next week and the number grew to 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily. God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation. It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million over an 18-month period, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City for a season. If we had this kind of revival today, it would mean the conversion of 10 million people across America.

   Why are these and other powerful stories of Spiritual Awakenings so important today? Because it reminds us that God can do it again. God is still in the business of moving in Charleston and in New York City and all across the United States of America. He has done it before, and my prayer is that we would be the kind of people through whom he could do it again. So what do we do? Well, someone has to be a John Girdeaux or a Jeremiah Lanphier – someone has to pray. What about you or what about me? You could be the one that hits your knees on behalf of your city, on behalf of your community. You could be the one that helps lead the way in your own community. It has to start somewhere, and in 1857 it started with one, then six, and then thousands. And today, it may be back to one. That ONE might just be YOU! Prayer is the one thing more than anything else that connects us to God, but it also connects us to one another.  

     Many things have changed since 1857, but in many ways things are not so different. Today, the church is faced with many challenges. We are a nation in turmoil and in need for God to pour out the Holy Spirit on our broken, confused, and imperfect world. We are helpless and hopeless without Him. We need His grace and guidance, so that we can continue to focus on our mission and answer His call to go into the entire world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.