THEOLOGY OF REVIVAL

What exactly do we mean by “revival”?

When we talk about revival, we don’t mean hype, emotionalism, or a certain brand of Christianity.
We mean the Church returning to New Testament normalcy after a long season of spiritual decline. 

Revival is a dynamic, in which hearts awaken to the holiness and mercy of God. Repentance takes deep root, the gospel brings healing, barriers fall, love deepens, and the people of God rediscover the joy and power of the Holy Spirit.

Revival is not an event we plan or put on. It’s a work God does in His people when we make space for Him.

Is revival the same as renewal or awakening?

These terms are interrelated, used differently by different thinkers. Here is how we might think of them. 

• Revival refers to the dynamic of God’s people being revived - restored to normal spiritual life. As Tim Keller says, “in revival sleepy Christians wake up and cultural Christians are fully-converted.” Revival can manifest in different orders of magnitude, much like an earthquake with its Richter scale. There is such a thing as personal revival, family revival, the revival of a local church, and then there have been larger revivals in cities, regions, nations, even continents. A larger revival is never anything other than personal revival happening in many people at the same time. Revival is a consistent pattern in the history of God’s people, running all the way back through church history and the Bible, even to the beginning chapters of Genesis.
  

• Awakening describes the dynamic when the wider culture or civilization begins to become aware of God and turn towards Him spiritually. We might understand awakening as what happens when revival reaches a certain tipping point and the world takes notice. But also, it would seem that God initiates the dynamic of renewal, not just from within the church, but outside the church. An example of this might be the 1970s, in which after the tumult and chaos of the 1960s, a significant percentage of the youth counterculture abandoned drugs and free love for Jesus. At the end of Genesis 4, after Cain kills Abel, and sin begins to scale with human culture, it says: “At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord.” This is what happens in awakening. Men and women, sick of life without the life source, begin to search and grope for something more. Without even setting foot in a church, they begin searching for God. When this happens, it surely helps if the church is in a state of revival, so that we are able to help these multitudes find the one they are searching for and become his disciples.

• Renewal could be thought of as the overarching dynamic at work in both revival and awakening. When a church is being revived, we could certainly say it is experiencing renewal. In some streams or regions, renewal might be a less loaded term if revival. Likewise, renewal could refer to what happens spiritually to a society that is experiencing an awakening. 

Do revivals require certain charismatic gifts?

No.

Some revivals are marked by supernatural gifts; others are not.
The Holy Spirit is wonderfully diverse in how He moves.

We don’t equate revival with a particular style or manifestation.
We look for fruit—repentance, unity, holiness, compassion, mission, and ultimately, love.

What if we’re “charismatic cautious”?

You are welcome.

Revival does not require anyone to abandon their convictions or adopt a new theological identity.
We pursue biblical discernment, wisdom, and humility together.
The point is not to chase experiences but to seek Jesus.

Is revival compatible with liturgical or sacramental traditions?

Absolutely.

Many of the deepest revivals in history were shaped by people who loved the sacraments, valued liturgy, and held a high view of Scripture. St. Francis and St. Claire of Asissi helped launch a revival in Italy in the 1300s. The East African Revival of the mid-20th Century began in the Anglican Church. The Catholic Charismatic renewal began in Catholic Churches in Rhode Island in the 1960s. There are countless other examples where sacramentally focused churches experienced and participated in revivals.

Is revival just temporary emotional enthusiasm?

It shouldn’t be.

If what we call revival fades after the emotions fade, it probably wasn’t revival.
Authentic revival produces long-term transformation—in character, relationships, justice, and mission.

How do we discern what’s actually from the Holy Spirit?

Revival requires testing and discernment

We use Scripture, community, character, fruit, and pastoral wisdom to weigh what we see. 

1 Thessalonians 5 tells us not to despise prophecy, but to test everything and hold fast to the good. The Holy Spirit does not bypass the mind. He renews it.

HISTORY OF REVIVAL

Have women led in past revivals?

Yes—repeatedly, powerfully, and often at the center.

Women led prayer movements, preaching circuits, justice campaigns, abolition efforts, missionary endeavors, and evangelistic awakenings across the globe.

During the Second Great Awakening, women were among the most influential voices calling the nation to repentance and justice.

Revival has never been a men-only activity. The Spirit does not restrict His gifts.

Here are some historical examples of women who have led in past revivals. A couple notes:

• This list is not exhaustive. In nearly every awakening we’ve studied, women and girls weren’t on the sidelines — they were in the engine room: praying, preaching, organizing, discipling, writing, singing the gospel into people’s bones
  

• Women of color have led and sustained revivals repeatedly. Azusa, the Holiness movement, Moravian missions, India’s Mukti revival, and the East African Revival story all make that plain. journals.spu.ac.ke+4AG News+4Wikipedia+4

1. Florrie Evans (Wales, 1904) – a teenage girl whose simple public confession (“I love Jesus with all my heart”) is widely credited as one of the sparks that ignited the Welsh Revival. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2
   
   

2. Susanna Wesley (England, early Methodist/Evangelical Revival) – “Mother of Methodism,” whose discipling, prayer, and household “revival culture” profoundly shaped John and Charles Wesley and the wider movement. The United Methodist Church+1
   
   

3. Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (18th-cent. Evangelical Revival) – a key organizer, patron, and leader who financed and structured large parts of the English/Welsh revival and Methodism. Wikipedia+1
   
   

4. Sarah Osborn (New England, First Great Awakening) – a laywoman whose home prayer meetings, spiritual counsel, and evangelistic witness fueled awakening in Newport and beyond. Wikipedia+1
   
   

5. Phoebe Palmer (U.S., Holiness Revival) – Methodist lay evangelist who led the “Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness,” spreading a revival of sanctification that shaped later awakenings. Wikipedia+2Christian History Institute+2
   
   

6. Jarena Lee (U.S., Second Great Awakening) – first authorized woman preacher in the AME Church; a Black revival preacher who traveled widely calling people to Christ and holiness. Wikipedia+1
   
   

7. Rebecca Protten (Caribbean & Atlantic world, 1700s Moravian revival/mission) – formerly enslaved Afro-Caribbean evangelist whose preaching and missionary work helped birth early Black Protestant Christianity. Wikipedia+1
   
   

8. Amanda Berry Smith (U.S./UK/India/Africa, Holiness Revival) – formerly enslaved Black Methodist holiness evangelist and international revival preacher. Wikipedia+2The Behold Collective+2
   
   

9. Julia A. J. Foote (U.S., Holiness Revival) – Black holiness evangelist and trailblazing leader whose ministry influenced the movement and opened doors for women’s preaching. Wikipedia
   
   

10. Mary Bosanquet Fletcher (England, early Methodist revival) – an early Methodist preacher who persuaded John Wesley to affirm women preaching and led revival meetings across England. Wikipedia+2The United Methodist Church+2
    
    

11. Catherine Booth (England, Salvation Army / Holiness awakenings) – co-founder and primary preacher-theologian of the Salvation Army; a fearless revivalist and champion of women’s ministry. Wikipedia+1
    
    

12. Jessie Penn-Lewis (Wales/UK, Welsh Revival) – a major leader, teacher, and interpreter of the Welsh Revival, shaping its theology and safeguarding its fruit. EBSCO+1
    
    

13. Lucy Farrow (U.S., Azusa Street Revival) – Black holiness evangelist often called the “mother of Pentecost,” whose ministry and prayer leadership were pivotal at Azusa. AG News+1
    
    

14. Jennie Evans Moore Seymour (U.S., Azusa Street Revival) – worship leader, evangelist, and co-laborer at Azusa who helped lead meetings and disciple converts. Wikipedia+1
    
    

15. Pandita Ramabai (India, Mukti Revival 1905) – Indian Christian reformer whose compound of women and girls became the epicenter of a major revival that influenced global Pentecostalism. Wikipedia+1
    
    

16. Maria Woodworth-Etter (U.S., late-1800s revivals) – widely known as an “Indiana evangelist,” she led massive holiness/Spirit-filled revival meetings across America. Veracity
    
    

17. Aimee Semple McPherson (U.S., early Pentecostal/evangelical revivals) – charismatic evangelist whose tent meetings and church planting helped spread revival fire across North America. People SMU
    
    

18. Peggy Smith (Hebrides Revival, 1949) – one of the two elderly sisters whose intercession helped birth the Lewis awakening off Scotland. calltoprayer.org.uk+1
    
    

19. Christine Smith (Hebrides Revival, 1949) – Peggy’s sister and prayer partner; together their long, hidden intercession cracked open a public move of God. calltoprayer.org.uk+1
    
    

20. Heidi Baker (Mozambique & global, contemporary revival) – missionary and revival leader whose work through Iris Global has been marked by large-scale evangelism, prayer, and church planting among the poor. CBN+1

Have people of color led in past revivals?

Yes, and some of the most transformative revivals in American history have been led by people of color.

• The Azusa Street Revival—led by William Seymour, an African American holiness preacher—ignited a global movement.

• Black churches sparked revivals that fueled the Civil Rights Movement.

Revival is not culturally white. It is globally diverse.

Throughout the history of the Church, revival has been overwhelmingly multiethnic, multicultural, and frequently led by people of color—men, women, teenagers, the elderly, the poor, and the overlooked.

Revival is not a “white American” phenomenon.
It has been born in African deserts, Indian prayer rooms, Korean all-night meetings, Caribbean house churches, and Chinese village evangelism.

These leaders help us remember that God loves to use the whole Church to awaken the whole world.

1. Tertullian (Carthage, North Africa)

Early theologian whose writings fueled spiritual renewal.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian

2. Cyprian of Carthage

Revival leader during plague/persecution; embodied sacrificial unity.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprian

3. Athanasius of Alexandria (Egypt)

Catalyst for doctrinal revival — defender of Christ’s divinity.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_of_Alexandria

4. Augustine of Hippo (Algeria)

African theologian whose ministry sparked renewal for centuries.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo

5. Perpetua & Felicity (North Africa)

Young martyrs whose witness fed early Christian awakening.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_of_Saint_Perpetua,_Saint_Felicitas,_and_their_Companions

6. Frumentius (Aba Salama, Ethiopia)

A father of Ethiopian Christianity.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frumentius

7. St. Moses the Black (Egypt/Ethiopia)

Transformed gang leader turned revivalist monk.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_the_Black

8. Rebecca Protten (Caribbean, Moravian Revival)

Formerly enslaved evangelist — early Black Protestant leader.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Protten

9. Amanda Berry Smith (U.S., Holiness Revival)

Formerly enslaved evangelist preaching globally.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Smith

10. Julia A. J. Foote (U.S.)

AME holiness preacher and revival leader.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_A._J._Foote

11. Jarena Lee (U.S.)

First recognized Black woman preacher in the AME Church.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarena_Lee

12. Samuel Ajayi Crowther (Nigeria)

Revival-era bishop; translator of Scripture into Yoruba.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Ajayi_Crowther

13. William J. Seymour (U.S., African American) — Azusa Street Revival

Catalyst of global Pentecostalism.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Seymour

14. Jennie Evans Moore Seymour

Worship leader and co-laborer at Azusa.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennie_Evans_Moore

15. Lucy Farrow (U.S.)

“Mother of Pentecost”; key spiritual leader at Azusa.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Farrow

16. Emma Cotton (U.S.)

Black Pentecostal revivalist and pastor.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Cotton

17. Pandita Ramabai (India, Mukti Revival 1905)

Catalyst for major revival among women and girls.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandita_Ramabai

18. Dora Yu (China)

Chinese revival preacher who shaped Watchman Nee and early Chinese Christian renewal.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Yu

19. John Sung (China/SE Asia)

One of Asia’s most influential revivalists.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sung

20. East African Revival Leaders (Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania)

Multiethnic, cross-denominational, and deeply shaped by African leadership — men and women.

21. Girls of the Mukti Mission (India, 1905)

Teenagers whose prayer meetings helped ignite a global movement.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandita_Ramabai (background)

Were revivals ever connected to colonialism or harmful power structures?

Revivals are composed of human beings who are subject to sin. Revival is never entirely pure, and are often intertwined with the brokenness of their age.

And, in revivals, God brings a prophetic challenge to these same unjust systems—not an endorsement of them.

Revival has used flawed individuals to fuel::

• abolition movements

• women’s rights

• prison reform

• educational access

• reconciliation efforts

• social healing

When genuine, revival critiques, even topples the idols of its culture.

Did past revivals ever drift into excess or error?

They did.

Jonathan Edwards called this “the mixture”—real work of the Spirit alongside real human messiness. Gold and dross are contained in the same crucible. But if the work of the Spirit is stewarded and allowed to proceed, the dross can be burned away. Sometimes it isn’t. 

Why has New England often been both the birthplace of revival and resistant to it?

New England is spiritually complex—deeply intellectual, justice-minded, historically religious, and often wary of spiritual excess. But this region is also where God has poured out some of the most influential awakenings in world history.

We believe God has unfinished business here.

Does revival distract from justice?

Historically, no.

In fact, revival has repeatedly amplified justice.

When God revives the heart, He widens our concern for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. The Spirit awakens compassion, courage, and sacrificial love.

Revival without justice is not biblical revival.

Does revival critique nationalism, racism, and individualism?

It must.

Revival exposes idols—both personal and cultural. A revived church becomes a prophetic presence in the world, not an echo of partisan identity.

Revival is not America-centric. It is Christocentric.

Can revival transcend politics?

Yes.

We seek a work of God that no political party can fully capture.

A revived church becomes a community where partisan categories lose their power and Kingdom identity becomes primary. Revivals have political implications, no question. But the origin of their power is not human but divine. 

Does revival elevate marginalized voices or silence them?

True revival amplifies voices from the margins and pulls forward the gifts that have been overlooked.

The Spirit distributes gifts widely—across race, gender, age, and background. The question remains, will the church allow these voices to be heard, or will it quench the Holy Spirit. Arguably the Azusa Street Revival was quenched primarily by racism. It was a manifestation of Biblical multiethnicity that was offensive to the spirit of the age - and so it was resisted. But it could not be shut down before the seeds of that revival had been scattered across the globe…and now a half billion people trace their spiritual heritage to what happened in 1906 in Los Angeles. 

Does revival create space for lament as well as praise?

Every biblical revival involves repentance.

Revival is not just celebration; it is correction and restoration. Revival can only go as deep as our repentance will allow it. As it says in 2 Chronicles 7 - “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 will heal their land.” 

What if we’re burned out, cynical, or exhausted?

Then revival is especially for us.

The God who revives the fainthearted is the same God who restores shepherds, leaders, students, and weary disciples.

It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. Peter described the coming age of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as “times of refreshing” from the Lord. 

What if we’re new to this kind of language?

That’s okay.

It may help not to think of revival as something “extra” or “sensational” but merely as the restoration of normal Christianity. Normal Christianity seems exceptional after a long season of spiritual decline, just as flowers seem amazing after a long season of winter. But flowers are perfectly normal - what is not normal is permanent winter - and that is what the church has been experiencing for the past fifty years.

Does revival demand that all churches look the same?

No.

What is being revived is a diverse church with many streams of expression - liturgical, charismatic, evangelical, sacramental, Black, Latino, Asian, immigrant, rural, and urban.

Unity is not uniformity.
Revival happens across the Body. But Tim Keller often described a curious thing that happens in revival: churches experiencing it come to resemble one another in striking ways. In other words those charisms which, in a season of decline, become badges of identity or preference in one stream, in renewal are shared with and recovered in other streams of the church. 

In revival, charismatic and evangelical churches recover an awareness of the incarnation of Jesus, the richness of church tradition, and the need for the gospel to express itself in tangible acts of care for the poor and love for neighbors, foreigners, widows, and orphans. Charismatic and sacramental churches fall in love with the word of God and the gospel and evangelism. The sacramental and evangelical churches become aware of the voice and power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, no longer content to have a form of godliness without the power and presence of God Himself in their midst. 

How do we pursue unity without erasing important theological convictions?

We unite around what is essential and allow freedom where Scripture allows freedom.

Our unity is relational, not organizational. Jesus prayed that we would be one—not identical.

How do we disentangle revival from Christian nationalism?

By naming the difference clearly: Revival is allegiance to Jesus. Nationalism seeks to wrap Jesus in a flag.

We seek one Kingdom. And, it is not of this world.

Why do some people associate “revival” with MAGA or culture-war Christianity?

Because the word has been used by groups with political or ideological agendas.

But revival—biblically and historically—is not partisan. It critiques cultural idols on both the Right and the Left.

NEW ENGLAND QUESTIONS

Why here? Why now?

Because New England has been both thirsty and seed-rich.

Many have prayed for decades. Like Zechariah 8, we sense the Spirit saying, “Let us go at once to seek the Lord.”

Can revival actually take root in an intellectual, secular, justice-oriented region?

Yes.

In fact, regions like ours have often been the birthplace of movements that shape the world.

Revival does not bypass intellect or justice—it deepens both.

LEADERSHIP & PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

Will this add pressure to already exhausted pastors and churches?

It shouldn’t.

Extraordinary prayer is not about doing more. It’s about aligning what we’re already doing with the presence of God. Revival brings rest, not burnout.

Do small churches have a place in this?

Absolutely.

Historically, God begins most revivals in small places with faithful people. Small churches often carry the biggest spiritual authority.

What does signing the New England Revival Covenant actually mean?

It means we pre-decide to seek God together—
to pray,
to gather,
to unite,
and to prepare the ground for awakening.

It is a relational commitment, not a contract. A shared “yes” to seeking God with the wider Church.

Do we need to change everything in our church?

No.

Start where you are. Pray as you can, not as you can’t. Revival is built through simple obedience.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION QUESTIONS

Will revival disrupt our comfort?

Probably.

Every time God moves, He calls His people deeper, braver, more surrendered. But what He disrupts, He also heals.

What spiritual habits prepare us for revival?

Prayer, repentance, Scripture, unity, hospitality, simplicity, and a posture of surrender.

We don’t earn revival. We make room for it.

EVANGELISM & MISSION QUESTIONS

Does revival mean we’ll have to share the gospel more boldly?

It means love grows, and love is always invitational.

Evangelism becomes less about pressure and more about overflow.

Does revival change how we engage our city?

Yes—revival awakens love for our neighbors, our justice systems, our schools, our workplaces, and our most vulnerable communities.

Revival turns inward faith outward.

SAFETY, STRUCTURE & ACCOUNTABILITY

How do we keep revival healthy and safe?

With transparency, plurality of leadership, wise pastoral oversight, Scripture, and community discernment.

We guard against manipulation, personality cults, secrecy, and celebrity. Healthy revival is always accountable revival.

How do we prevent spiritual abuse?

By cultivating a culture of humility, shared leadership, slow discernment, and emotional safety.

By honoring “no” as much as “yes.” By valuing people more than experiences.

Revival reveals Jesus’ heart, not human agendas.

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