6 lessons we can apply from a 100 year-old revival

It began in a small, little-known town on the British coast on March 7th, 1921. In the ensuing months it burned like wildfire; spreading inland throughout East Anglia and beyond, rippling up the coast as far as Scotland, even alighting on the shores of Ireland.

Yet the Lowestoft Revival (also known as ‘The Fisherman’s Revival’¹) is a fading memory in the history of the church. It begs the question: one hundred years later, is there still something to be learned from it?

Mike Betts says yes! After a period of research and reflection on the revival, he has observed several foundational principles that we can apply today as we seek not just the start of a revival, but one that never ends.

An unexpected revival

For four years Lowestoft was a town under siege. Located on the most easterly part of the UK, it was a target for regular bombardment in the First World War and many local fishermen lost their lives as they worked to maintain a vital supply of food for the nation. After the war’s end in 1918, there was little work to be found and worse was to come: on the heels of the war came the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19 swept through Britain, taking an estimated 228,000 lives².

A local church leader, Hugh Ferguson, began to hold regular meetings to pray for a manifestation of God’s power. He then invited Douglas Brown, a gifted preacher, to lead a week of evangelical meetings in the town. One week turned into a month, as God’s power began to move - hundreds were saved and meeting attendance numbered in the thousands. As time went on, many more church leaders, preachers and evangelists furthered the revival as they began to preach all over the country. It spread throughout East Anglia and beyond, travelling as far as Scotland and Ireland. Countless thousands came to know Christ through the revival’s duration.

1. A shaken nation: fertile ground for revival

One can only imagine the emotional, physical and mental toil the previous years had wrought. The traumas of past war, a hopelessness of the future, and the threat of sickness and death in the present was shaking the nation at every level. In the town of Lowestoft hearts were hard, hope had long departed and an underlying desperation was threatening to erupt in violence at any moment.

On the surface, this was not the climate for revival.

The nation had been shaken. The hearts of its people were hard and cynical towards the gospel message. Yet it was the soil in which the seeds of revival flourished.

In the wake of Douglas Brown’s evangelistic meetings, the power of God came. Fishermen would fall under conviction of sin as their boats approached Lowestoft. Shoppers would repent in response to the gospel message being preached in marketplaces. Men and women would come under the conviction of sin as they passed by churches and cry out for salvation.

The shakings that were impossible to overcome by man’s efforts were the landing strips for the presence of God to come in power.

Have you seen the ‘shakings’ of your nation as detrimental to a move of God? In what ways could you apply Hugh Ferguson’s example of faithful expectation?

2. Surrendered servants: the channel for God’s power

One evening in February 1921, Douglas Brown gave up.

The previous months had been ones of fierce spiritual battle; he had been wrestling with God, refusing His call to give up his pastorate and pursue mission work. To obey required great sacrifice: Douglas loved his church, his ministry was flourishing (every week saw someone come to Christ), and his health was not the best for the demands of ministry on the road. Circumstances seemed to dictate that itinerant ministry should be the last thing that God called him to!

But on that evening Douglas Brown finally surrendered and wrote out his resignation from his church. A four-month long battle came to an end, and only then could his role in the coming revival could begin. “God had waited four months for a man like me; and I said, ‘Lord Jesus, I know what you want; You want me to go into mission work. I love Thee more than I dislike that.’”

“Here I am.”

From Genesis to now, God has done tremendous works through surrendered servants. None were fit for the incredible tasks ahead of them, but all were qualified by simple surrender. As we prayerfully cry out for revival in our day, we must first consider: are we qualified? Have we surrendered as far as God has called us, or have we held back?

Before praying for a great move of God we must first pray: "Lord, please tell me if you see any reservations in my surrender to you."

3. Simplicity: back to basics

The Lowestoft Revival was underpinned by the simplest of frameworks: the preaching of the Word, corporate prayer, and childlike faith in the supernatural. In Brown’s meetings he preached from the Bible, keeping the Cross always central to his message and invited people to respond.

Leaders from across denominational streams were united in a return to simplicity of faith: submission to the fundamentals of apostolic doctrine, engagement in large-scale corporate prayer, and the preaching of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

In what ways can you re-engage with the basics? Where have you over-complicated, or drifted from the simple fundamentals of faith?

4. Saturated: The felt presence of Jesus

One defining attribute of the Lowestoft revival was the tangible presence of God. Many people were coming under conviction of sin, the knowledge of the love of God for them, their need for salvation within the physical boundaries of the town.

The presence of God cannot be manufactured, but has great power to affect even the most stiff-necked of people.

Search your heart. Have you become cynical or hardened towards the idea of a physical manifestation of God’s presence?

5. Spontaneous: you cannot control a revival

The Lowestoft Revival began with a simple invitation by Hugh Ferguson to Douglas Brown, but from there it came into its own without human intervention. God was orchestrating things that had not been planned.

Many other preachers and leaders were drawn together in unity of spirit at a heart level; sharing pulpits, working together, traveling in partnership to preach.

Relationship became the foundation for the revival spread: the connections being formed between people were the leading factors for how and where they went, rather than an overriding strategic plan. It was when a committee was formed to organise the spread of the revival that it began to wane in power.

What precedence do relationships take in determining your plans? Where does strategic thinking override mission alongside brothers and sisters?

6. Prayerful: The engine room of revival

Prayer meetings in Lowestoft were remarkable. They were held most days and featured no agenda other than prayer. There was no sermon or hymn-singing, but all who arrived got straight down to the business of intercession.

They didn’t labour over each request but rather short, intercessory prayers were said (sometimes several at once!) and the request noted down before they moved to the next. If a request had been answered, thanks would be given and the next one read out.

"Revival kills long prayers. People do not talk nonsense at the Throne of Grace."

Today’s prayer meetings can be needlessly boring or intimidating for many churchgoers. For example, there can be an expectation for attendees to pray long, complicated prayers out loud - rather than the simple sentence-long prayers of the revivalists. Additionally, prayer requests can be so broad and unfocused that answers can never be measured - making the effort seem fruitless! - whereas during the revival, requests and their answers were noted down; tangible evidence of the power of prayer. Some prayer meetings can have so much on the agenda that the time given over to prayer has ended before it can really get going.