Revivals bring hope in challenging times! In last week’s Messenger we explored an American revival of the past and how it dramatically changed our country—it was known as the Second Great Awakening. Today we are looking at the Third Great Awakening covering the period from 1850s to early 1900s.

Here’s the backdrop. The United States was in spiritual, political, and economic decline. Both the Civil War which ended in 1865, and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, revealed the vulnerability of humanity. Into this vulnerability enters the Third Great Awakening which was different from the previous two awakenings in America in that it did not have its origins in the pulpit. Instead, a layman with a burden to pray and serve the Lord was used of God to start a revival that crossed denominational boundaries. However, many ministries and preachers were also used in this revival. One such leader was Dwight L. Moody. Moody began a Bible study for street children in the 1850s. It grew to a substantial number whereby even President-elect Abraham Lincoln attended to see it for himself. Moody went on to establish Moody Church and Bible Institute and continued to preach all around the country to more than 100,000 million people. As the Holy Spirit began to move in America, He also moved in other parts of the globe during this same period, including Britain and Korea.

The Third Great Awakening was characterized by rapid church growth, new denominations, and increased missionary work.  Colleges associated with churches rapidly expanded in number, size and quality of curriculum.  The YMCA (founded in 1844) played a major role in fostering revivals in the cities. The Third Great Awakening also was marked by social activism. Many important moral causes were taken on, including prohibition and the abolition of slavery. Women that were included in this awakening movement organized to fight against pornography and prostitution.  Other issues touched by The Third Great Awakening were child labor, compulsory elementary education and the protection of women from exploitation in factories. Wow, what powerful impacts came from this revival!

Modern America has many problems. You may be thinking, ‘What can I do, I’m only one person?’ Historically, revivals often began with one person who decides to ardently pray and then do something for God. In 1857, a lay businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier decided to start a prayer meeting on Fulton Street in downtown New York. Only a handful of people showed up to pray at the first meeting on September 23. But Lanphier was persistent, and they kept meeting for prayer. Then something dramatic took place. The stock market crashed, and suddenly the prayer meeting grew. Then prayer meetings began popping up throughout New York City. And within six months, ten thousand people were gathering for prayer throughout the city, calling on the name of the Lord. Within eighteen months of that first prayer meeting on Fulton Street, an estimated one million people had come to faith in Jesus Christ. It wasn’t orchestrated. It wasn’t a campaign planned by people. Rather, it was a work of God in which He poured out His Spirit. O how we need to see that in America today.

Lanphier was used in the Third Great Awakening. Jeremiah Lanphier was not a preacher. He wasn’t famous. He was an ordinary person who decided to pray and be used by God. And you can do the same. Won’t you ask God how He wants to use YOU to bring hope to America?

Dr. Ray Ballmann
Glen Rose, Tx