The social structure of many towns, cities and even countries around the world is being changed by an apparently new radical type of Christianity. Significant crime reduction, violence, lowered drug and alcohol abuse, decreasing local government corruption, the increase of schools' academic ratings and the increase of land fertility and agricultural production are reported in areas where this neo-evangelical Christianity proliferates.
And this behavioural change is not due to imposed right-wing domination of political systems but is essentially a grassroots movement. City populations and rural communities; from educated municipal dignitaries to peasant farm workers to middle class professionals; no strata of society and no culture, it seems, is impenetrable to this phenomenon.
What is more interesting, or scary, depending on your point of view, is that some commentators believe that the time is ripe for this to happen right across Britain. Mr Gott is one of the foremost advocates of this notion having seen it happen, albeit to a lesser degree, in his hometown in the North of England.
Gott, an ex-policeman in the Durham Constabulary who also worked as a minister in the Newcastle area, started a church in August 1985 in one of the halls of Sunderland Polytechnic - now a university. In the summer of 1994, the congregation began to experience what is claimed to be “a visitation from God” when an ordinary Sunday morning meeting went on until 3pm. The “massive outpouring of the Spirit” was such that people felt compelled to come back in the evening. They attended the next evening as well and, in fact, came back night after night.
Meetings were then held every evening except Mondays for nearly two years. As word spread abroad not only were locals attending but also “thousands of Christians ... from all over Britain and the world”. In his book The Sunderland Refreshing Ken Gott talks much of “manifestations of the Holy Spirit” such as people behaving in a drunken manner (without having any alcohol), falling down, crying, jerking and shaking. There is also mention of “angelic visitations” although all these things are played down in favour of individuals' lives and attitudes being changed for the better.
The book reports that “denominational barriers came crashing down” with Anglicans, Baptists, Brethren, and many others attending and helping with the meetings. Following this a move to a larger building was itself outgrown in a three-and-a-half-year period as the local congregation doubled to 550. During the same period two more churches were planted in the area and, Mr. Gott writes, “Whether coincidentally or not, the city's sky-high car crime rate fell”.
Surprisingly, Sunderland had witnessed similar events nearly one hundred years earlier. In 1907 a revival happened which brought about the birth of the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain and spawned world-wide missionary enterprise.
It was out of this more recent “blessing” that Mr. Gott formed the organisation Revival Now, which has been operating since 1996. Still based in Sunderland, he, and his wife Lois, are actively preparing for a revival on a national scale. Revival Now stages UK and international conferences and seminars for Christians about revival and how to get ready for it. Their ideas are not regarded as cranky, in fact large sections of the Christian community in the UK agree with them.
Terry Virgo, who heads New Frontiers International, the largest of the new church groupings in the UK is fully in favour. Can there be a cultural shift big enough to accommodate such a different world view? Mr. Virgo answers “A definite yes!” And goes even further by saying that “... the shift IS the nature of revival.” He quotes the Wesleyan religious revival in the mid 1700s which is said to have changed the course of the nation's history. “Britain was in a worse condition, with crime and drunkenness etcetera, than we are now”. Mr. Virgo reckons that the movement, ”...saved England from the equivalent of the French Revolution”.
He claims that a lot of the activity in the one hundred and fifty plus New Frontiers churches is in preparation for religious revival. Many of the leaders of these churches have obtained large buildings 'presently too big' in order to accommodate expected increases in attendance.
Gerald Coates who heads Pioneer, the second largest of the UKs new church groupings, is also hoping to see a renaissance. Speaking of the church in a broad sense he asserts that a revival needs to happen in Britain. “We're lost if it doesn't”, he says. “You can't go on losing ten million people over ten years and still think you're going to make an impact”.
Ken Gott claims revival is happening in many places all over the world - so why not here? British Christians are being greatly inspired by a documentary video detailing some of the international events spoken about by Mr. Gott. Gerald Coates said that the documentary which is being distributed to many churches and individuals around the country “has been very important in stirring people up”.
The video presents the reports of George Otis's, an investigative researcher from the US, who travelled globally to scrutinize recent accounts of religious revival. Titled "Transformations," the film documents findings from three continents.
The initial focus is on the Colombian city of Cali, known as "the drug capital of the world." From the early 1980s until the 1990s, drug lords infiltrated the area, operating numerous illegal laboratories hidden in the surrounding hills, producing millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine. The video highlights that drug cartels dominated all aspects of life, resulting in the deaths of numerous journalists who dared to expose their activities. Murder became a daily occurrence, averaging 15 killings per day. Change began after the murder of a Christian minister, whose death, seen as martyrdom, united several church congregations to pray for the city's soaring crime rate. Coincidentally or not, within 48 hours of their inaugural mass prayer meeting in 1995, the daily newspaper headline read "No Homicides," marking the first homicide-free weekend in memory.
Subsequently, 60,000 people gathered in the local football stadium for an overnight prayer session, with another 15,000 turned away. The report includes footage of Colin Crawford, a Colombian House of Representatives politician, attributing the subsequent arrests of drug barons, significant drug seizures, and declining crime rates directly to the religious fervour in the area. Religious leaders proclaim, "God is answering prayers."
The second account features Kiambu, Kenya, formerly termed a "distressed suburb of Nairobi," plagued by murders, violent crime, illicit activities, and corruption until the late 1980s. The town witnessed a dramatic transformation following an evangelical Christian revival since 1988. Civil servants, previously bribing to avoid assignments in Kiambu, now witness one of the country's lowest crime rates. The population has surged by 30% as people from Nairobi seek housing there.
Hemet in California was notorious as a hub for methamphetamine production on the American west coast. Evangelical Christianity, active over the past decade, is credited with initiating radical social change. Initially addressing the drug problem, subsequent renewal efforts have elevated educational standards, with local schools now boasting some of the region's highest academic ratings. Many professionals, including teachers, lawyers, and government officials, claim conversion to Christianity.
The final report narrates the transformation of Almolonga in Guatemala. This impoverished farming town of 19,000 residents suffered from rural decline, characterized by deprivation, severe alcoholism, and family violence, necessitating the construction of four jails. Following a surge in evangelicalism two decades ago, the region experienced a remarkable turnaround. The crime rate plummeted to the extent that all jails have been demolished or repurposed. Chief of Police, Donato Santiago, states, "we don't need them anymore."
The most remarkable transformation is seen in agricultural production, attributed partly to farmers' improved work ethic and allegedly to divine intervention. From four truckloads of produce per month in 1979, the town now dispatches trucks 40 times per week, earning it the moniker "America's vegetable garden." The 1000% increase has attracted agricultural experts from across the US and the world, intrigued by this phenomenon.
Many religious revivals have been recorded in UK history. Probably the most famous of these is the Wesleyan one of the 1730s out of which came the Methodist church. Other revivals happened in Wales in 1904 and in the Hebrides in 1949. These 'awakenings' were often followed by sweeping moral changes in the societies where they happened. There are some factors that are common to these movements and their contemporary counterparts; they all begin with just a handful of highly motivated, like-minded people; they all produce an increase in direct religious activity (e.g. church attendance rockets); they all produce an increase in the involvement in social action which facilitates the remodelling of the culture.
Another notable aspect of these movements is the harmony between various Christian denominations or groupings in any given area where the upsurge occurs. Seen by many Christian commentators as a pre-requisite to revival, public displays of apologies by pastors and ministers followed by suitable announcements and acts of forgiveness are common. 'Doing your own thing' comes to be perceived as pointless as reconciliation replaces division.
This unity, the evangelicals say, should not be confused with ecumenism. The Ecumenical movement in Britain seeks to unite denominations through a clutter of various 'instruments'. These are organisations such as the Conference of European Churches, the World Council of Churches, Churches Together in England and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
In various publications and statements from these organisations there is much talk of “commitment”, “ecumenical conversations”, “informality” and “dialogue”. Most of this is viewed somewhat sceptically by evangelicals. Terry Virgo of New Frontiers says, “We don't put a lot of hope in a formal, structured movement”. One of the leaders of a New Frontiers Church, Mike Frisbee of Christchurch in Dorset, sums-up the type of unity that is a hallmark of evangelicalism: “We have good relations with other churches and denominations in our locality through personal friendships and not just on a functional basis. This is not from an institutionalised ecumenical movement - it's a grass roots thing”.
On this subject Pioneer’s Gerald Coates is more caustic: “A lot of ecumenicalism reminds me of a bunch of drunks coming out of a pub holding each other up.” He condemns established church hierarchy as being “Drunk on liberal theology and intellectualism”. He goes on to assess the alternatives which he sees as either being “insular or a relational unity based on friendships” and stresses “we favour the latter”.
Heralded as a sign that a revitalised Christianity is about to mushroom in the nation is the success of a large Pentecostal church in the heart of London. Kensington Temple, in the capitol’s West End at Notting Hill Gate, boasts that its “ministry regularly cares for and touches over 12,000 people each week”. From small beginnings in 1965 it is now said to have around a 110 different nationalities and ethnic groupings attending. This city church, although large claims to be “a very personal one”. Its 12,000 members are networked in up to 130 churches and ministries all over London.
In 1965 “a small nucleus of believers” moved into their current building and began spring cleaning. In the basement area they discovered a sign that was used outside the church during a religious revival in the 1930s. It read "Church Full". It is also claimed that they discovered various crutches, walking sticks and other aids discarded by people who had been healed at that time. Challenged and inspired by this, the pastor called the church to prayer fervently asking God to “Do it again”. But it was not until the mid-1980 s that Kensington Temple was regularly full for its 11.00 am Sunday service.
At that time two extra services were added on Sundays. In 1991 and 1995 television live links to buildings at Porchester Hall and in Edgware Road, both within a mile, were opened as an overflow to services. Kensington Temple reports that “during the late 80's and early 90's, the vision for satellite churches became a reality”. They say that “many leaders and members left the main congregations to start satellite churches”. This growth is such that “there are currently over 8,000 people associated with the church, meeting in seven different Sunday services and over eighty satellite churches all across London”.
After many years of under accommodation at the Kensington Temple building, they moved into a larger facility in March 1997 when they launched the London City Church Tabernacle opposite North Acton tube station. The leaders praise “a mammoth effort” which turned “a dusty, empty warehouse into a carpeted auditorium in just a few weeks”. This venue now hosts special Sunday evening services where the emphasis, almost unpredictably, is on revival.
Could a revival happen here? Ken Gott and the staff at Revival Now are staking much on the hope that it will. A lot of people’s minds have got to be significantly changed in the UK for religious revival to take hold as most of the population regard Christianity as an odd, outmoded system of beliefs. Mr Gott and his associates across the country are undeterred, wanting us to take a second look at something we regard as strange. Maybe it is not as strange as we think.
Anthony Whelan, 2000