1904–1905 Welsh Revival

The Revival Movement of Wales 1904/ 05 was the largest of its kind in Wales in the 20th century.

Background

The last revival movement before 1904/ 05 was 1859. After 1850 Christianity in Wales was significantly less Calvinistic marked than before. An era of powerful preacher ended when Christian leaders such as Christmas Evans (1838 ), John Elias (1841 ) and Henry Rees (1869 ) had died.

Between 1859 and 1904, there were localized revivals: in Cwmafan (1866 ), Rhondda (1879 ), Carmarthen and Blaenau Ffestiniog (1887 ), Dowlais (1890) and Pontnewydd (1892 ).

From Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia and other countries around the world traveled to the people, to be with the Welsh revival here. Many wore their part the expectation of a revival in remote parts of the world.

Beginning

For the beginning of the movement there is no clear place can be identified, but several places have made ​​an important contribution.

New Quay and Blaenannerch

A prominent leader of the revival was the Methodist preacher of New Quay, Joseph Jenkins, who there a conference convened in 1903 under the slogan " Our faithfulness to Christ." Following a meeting in February 1904, the Sunday meetings and the newly launched mid-week meetings flourished and Joseph Jenkins ' community began to witness to their faith in the surrounding towns and villages.

It was reported that at this conference " great blessings " happened and that the news of it quickly spread throughout the region and beyond.

The South Wales Daily News took up the events and reported that " the third great awakening throughout the nation through in progress " would be, with the Welsh Methodist revival and the revival of 1859 than the first two revivals were counted.

Ammanford

Beginning of November 1904 Jenkins was a guest preacher, invited to the church of Nantlais Williams, Bethany, Ammanford. Williams, usually called simply " Nantlais ", was a Welsh poet and Methodist church leaders during the revival. From Williams is reported that he was skeptical that there would be interest in the guest preacher, but when he came himself, he could just cram into the overflowing chapel to hear preach Jenkins.

Jenkins preached again on Monday evening before his return to New Quay. The church was again crowded with people, but there was a dramatic turn when someone from the crowd announced that the next day a meeting would take place. This meeting was then again well attended, and was extended in time so that it it only ended the day in the early morning hours.

It is worth mentioning that Williams was indeed ordained as a preacher, but this weekend had a conversion experience in 1904, on the Saturday evening before the arrival of Jenkins.

North Wales

In December 1904 Joseph Jenkins came for three months preaching and confession to North Wales. Many meetings were held in Amlwch, Llangefni, Llanerchymedd Talysarn, Llanllyfni, Llanrwst, Denbigh, Dinorwig, Disgwylfa and there were conversions among the students of the University of Wales Bangor. But most and largest conversions existed in Bethesda, where JT job, another leader of the revival, the assembly in Jerusalem Bethesda on December 22, 1904 described as " Hurricane ". In Rhos the revival spread rapidly in the city, gathering all the Christian churches. The boundaries of denominations between Methodists, Congregationalists, Salvation Army, Anglicans and Baptists were no longer important in the perception of people. The effect of the revival lasted until the outbreak of war in 1914. The spirit of revival has been completed according to witness statements after the war by the rationalist theology and the Welsh nationalism.

Evan Roberts

Evan Roberts, who was coined as a young man from the stories and experiences in New Quay and Blaenannerch, the most important evangelist this revival was. He settled briefly trained in Newcastle Emlyn as a preacher and experienced this revival in the south of Ceredigion. Roberts attended the meetings diligently, Seth Joshua, another important leader of the revival in the area held. After his three -month training course in Newcastle Emlyn Roberts came back to his birthplace, Loughor to enter his service.

He claimed to have visions directly from the Holy Spirit. He made some very specific information, such as that God intend to save him by 100,000 souls. Roberts put together a group and went on trip through South Wales to spread the revival.

Roberts fell, frustrated about the decline of the revival and the fact that one expected his team failed to worldwide revival, in depression, from which he recovered until much later.

The role of newspapers

A special feature of this revival was the role of the media. The daily newspapers in Wales, the Western Mail and South Wales Daily News, spread news of conversions and generated an excited mood in relation to the revival, which contributed to its further dissemination. Especially the Western Mail carried extensive coverage to the meetings of Roberts in Loughor. These articles have been published by Quinta Press in book form in 2004.

Interpretations

The revival began in the autumn of 1904 under the main line of Evan Roberts ( 1878-1951 ), a 26- year-old former miner and preacher in training. The revival lasted less than a year, but during this period there were 100,000 conversions. She started with a non-sectarian and non-denominational spirituality, and coincided with the growth of the labor movement, socialism and general dissatisfaction with religion in the working class and youth. In this context, this short-lived revival appears as the culmination of non-conformism and flare from changes in religious life in Wales. The movement spread also to Scotland and England, and it is estimated that about one million people in the UK have been converted. Missionaries brought the movement abroad, and she was particularly influential on the Pentecostal movement in California.

Unlike previous revivals, which were driven by powerful preaching, the revival movement was based on 1904/ 05 primarily on the music and on paranormal phenomena, such as visions of Evan Roberts.

Media

In 2004, the BBC in the group Bread of Heaven did a post about the revival in Wales by 1904.

In 2005 the Musical Amazing Grace Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival was produced.