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—the Third Great Awakening. Today we are looking at the last major American revival. This period of this revival took place from 1910 to the 1970s. The Industrial Age was in full force while Darwinism was reshaping our schools and universities. Two World Wars were sandwiched in between. Like the revivals before, this last great revival was noted for its large gatherings and the preaching of sin and the need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Billy Sunday, a professional baseball player turned preacher, was direct and powerful with the Gospel message beginning in 1907. He carried the message to 1.5 million people around the country in month-long meetings. His preached until his death in 1935.  Billy Sunday conducted more than 300 revivals. He was also prominent in the movement to prohibit liquor sales in the United States and reached the peak of his fame in his New York City revival of 1917, two years before prohibition became national policy by constitutional amendment. It is believed that 1,000,000 souls came forward to profess Christ as a result of his preaching and he played a significant role in the adoption of the 18^th Amendment ins 1919.

Then Billy Graham entered the scene with vigor in 1949 with his Los Angeles crusades that caught the attention of the press. He went on to hold more than 400 crusades in 185 countries, attracting arena-size crowds and broadcasting many crusades on television. He provided guidance and spiritual comfort to several presidents from Harry Truman to Donald Trump. His estimated lifetime audience, including radio and TV, topped billions of people. By the power of the Holy Spirit He was used to preach the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.

Both Sunday and Graham saw the fraying of American culture and sought to make a difference through the power of the gospel. They represented the preaching arm of revival. Francis Buchman who began the Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous and Robert Pierce who founded World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse represented the social arm of this modern revival. Others were involved, too.

Revivals usually happen around willing people who stand for righteousness and the gospel of Jesus Christ, like those revivals we have looked at all month. When revivals happen, they can dramatically change the culture for the better and bring great hope for the future. May your posture be one of devoted, untiring prayer and may the Holy Spirit use YOU to initiate a needed revival in the twenty-first century.

Dr. Ray Ballmann
Glen Rose, Tx