The Welsh Revival Pt 1: A Short History That Could Change Our Future

THE FOLLOWING POSTS HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE HISTORY, IMPACT, LESSONS AND INSPIRATION FROM THE 1904 WELSH REVIVAL, INCLUDING A PERSONAL REFLECTION OF MY RECENT VISIT TO ITS BIRTHPLACE IN LOUGHOR, SOUTH WALES.

A BRIEF HISTORY...

(Thanks to 1904revival.com for the inspiration)

A century ago Wales experienced the last National Religious Revival, a revival that brought in an extra 100,000 new converts according to the estimates of the time, and a movement that quickly spread to the 4 corners of the World.

This was a move of God marked by the influence of ordinary men and women – especially young people. For example, a young girl from Cardigan called Florrie Evans, was in a youth meeting in February 1904, when she bravely declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire quickly spread to other young people in the Cardiganshire area.

In September of the 1904, an Evangelist Seth Joshua, was addressing a Convention which included groups of young people just 5 miles north of Cardigan. Seth himself had been praying for years that God would raise up a young man from the pits to revive the churches – little did he know that on Thursday September 29th 1904 his prayer was to be answered in a life changing experience for one 26 year old student, Evan Roberts. Evan Roberts was born in 1878 in the small town of Loughor in Glamorgan, just 7 miles away from Swansea. Having left school at 11, he worked with his father at the colliery until he was in his early 20s – he then for a short time became a Blacksmith’s apprentice with his uncle.

For years Evan had been a faithful member of Moriah Calvinistic Methodist church at Loughor and during that time he had been praying for revival for over 11 years. Having been converted as a young teenager, he continued to pray regularly that God would visit again the nation in Revival Power. Determined to do his part, he felt compelled to go into the Calvinistic Methodist Ministry and on September 13th 1904 he became a pupil at a local Theological College.

It was only 2½ weeks after arriving that he found himself at a crossroads in his spiritual experience. An experience which would lead him back to the young people of his own church Moriah Loughor where he shared his experience and encouraged them to be open to God’s Spirit. Within two weeks the Welsh Revival was national news and before long, Evan Roberts and his brother Dan and his best friend Sidney were travelling the country conducting Revival Meetings and they were meetings with a difference. Meetings which broke the conventional and bi-passed the traditional – often the ministers just sat down unable to preach or even to understand what storm had arrived in their usually sedate temples.

This was a Revival with youth on fire – young men, yes and women. After the first stirrings amongst the young women of New Quay, young women continued to play a part in the Revival work – young Florrie went on a team to North Wales with her friend Maud – others used their voices as instruments of God’s message.

Yes a storm had hit the churches yet for so many it was a storm of love and power which completely transformed their lives...

And if we are willing to look back in history, this storm might just show us a vision of the future...