Revivalist Biographies

‘We are living in days of accelerating moral decline when Christian standards are being cynically swept aside. Our so-called permissive society is rapidly becoming a licentious society in which secular man is doing what is right in his own eyes. The result is that many serious social evils are growing to alarming proportions and crime is increasing in every land.

What makes the situation more grievous to the earnest Christian is the glaring impotence of the Church. While an evil lawlessness is increasing dangerously, Christians (in the West) are decreasing in numbers and influence.

Dr. P. T. Forsyth once uttered words that are so tragically true of the situation to­day. He said "Ours is a Christianity without force, passion or effect. It is a suburban piety, domestic and kindly, but unfit to cope with the moral case of the world. We cannot deal to any purpose with the deep damnation of the race."

Our need is for revival.

We need to see the Holy Spirit falling again upon the people of God and reviving the Body of Christ with supernatural power. This is our only hope.

It may be that as we read these stories of men whom God has used in days gone by to bring revival, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us those basic principles which underly all the great awakenings of the past. Then, as we respond to the challenge of their dedicated and Spirit-filled lives, we too may become in our day pioneers of the greatest revival of all time.’ Charles Clarke, Pioneers of Revival, 1971, Introduction, p5.

We intend to include pensketches of the great revivalists like Jonathan Edwards, David Brainerd, Charles Finney and Evan Roberts but also add a whole raft of lesser known revival preachers who saw God come with great power in their day.

As you capture the spirit of these men and women may their stories kindle a flame of passion, hope and prayer in your hearts for the glory of God to be revealed in our generation.

Tony Cauchi
March 2009