A revival meeting is a series of Christianreligious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come to the unconverted in consequence of a revival among Christians, but the revival itself has to do only with those who already possess spiritual life."[1] These meetings are usually conducted by churches or missionary organizations throughout the world. Notable historic revival meetings were conducted in the United States by evangelist Billy Sunday[2] and in Wales by evangelist Evan Roberts.[3] Revival services occur in local churches, brush arbor revivals, tent revivals, and camp meetings.[4]
Meetings
A revival meeting usually consists of several consecutive nights of services conducted at the same time and location, most often the building belonging to the sponsoring congregation but sometimes a rented assembly hall, for more adequate space, to provide a setting that is more comfortable for non-Christians, or to reach a community where there are no churches. Tents were very frequently employed in this effort in the recent past, and occasionally still are, but less so due to the difficulties in heating and cooling them and otherwise making them comfortable, an increasing consideration with modern audiences.[citation needed]
The length of such meetings varies. Until the last quarter-century they were frequently a week or more in duration, especially in the Southern United States.[6] Currently they may be held for three or four days. Evangelist Billy Graham planned a week-long crusade in New York City, which ultimately extended from May 15 to September 1, 1957. More than two million people went to New York's Madison Square Garden to hear him preach.[7]
Most groups holding revival meetings tend to be of a conservative or fundamentalist nature, although some are still held by Mainline groups, which formerly conducted them with a far greater frequency. Similar events may be referred to as "crusades", most especially those formerly held by Billy Graham and Oral Roberts.
Conservative Mennonites continue to hold and promote protracted revival meetings of usually seven or eight days duration at least once per year in a given congregation. The visiting evangelist is chosen from among their own or related congregations.
Many revivals are conducted by nondenominational community churches, most of which are conservative in theology.
The Academy Award-winning documentary Marjoe reviews the career of child-evangelist Marjoe Gortner, giving a behind-the-scenes look at revivals he promoted as an adult.
Remembrances of revival-meetings attended as a youth were the inspiration for the second movement of Charles Ives'Orchestral Set No. 2, The Rockstrewn Hills Join in the People's Outdoor Meeting.[9]
Oconer, Luther Jeremiah (12 October 2017). Spirit-Filled Protestantism: Holiness-Pentecostal Revivals and the Making of Filipino Methodist Identity. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p.4. ISBN9781498203609.
Ives, Charles E. (1973) Memos (ed. Kirkpatrick), Calder & Boyars, p. 92
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