Revival in the Christian Church is at the heart of the Church Growth Modelling project. The first application of the Limited Enthusiasm Model was to data from the 1904/5 Welsh Revival. I have been clear from the start that revival concerns the works God does in a human being. The consequences of that reviving work are a zeal to see people become Christians and see other Christians revived. Hence, the church grows. Conversions and church growth are the consequences of revival. I will define revival as described by different authors and in the Bible, and explain how they relate to church growth models.

Origins of the word “Revival”

The word “revival” is not in the New Testament. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, describes the concept of revival using terms like “pour out” and “fall upon”. It was 18^th-century evangelical writers and preachers who popularised the term revival to summarise the works of the Holy Spirit in their midst. See Revival is a Work of God for more information. My favoured expression for revival is an “Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

Since the 18^th century, the concept of revival has become an important part of evangelical belief. It has undergone various revisions, some of which put a greater emphasis on human involvement. I have selected three 20^th-century authors who best reflect the 18^th-century understanding

Richard Owen Roberts

Richard Owen Roberts was an American preacher who wrote an influential book on revival. He defined revival as

An extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results [Roberts, 1991, p. 16].

His definition makes it clear that revival is something God does. What happens among Christians, the church, and wider society are the consequences of revival. God’s Spirit does a work in the hearts of people, conversions and church growth follow as a result.

Roberts further describes revival as a change in the spiritual life of those who are converted, or revived [6, p. 24]. He goes on to say that the revived people then become instruments of the revival, being used to revive others [6, p. 24]. These aspects of revival are the heart of my Limited Enthusiasm Model of church growth. The enthusiasts are the revived Christians, some of whom pass the faith and the revival blessing on to others, figure 1. Changes in the spiritual life of those converted are represented in the values of the parameter, Conversion Potential.

D Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Welsh preacher, D Martyn Lloyd-Jones, did more to promote the need for revival than any other minister. In his sermons, he produced a variety of definitions of revival, such as:

1. A period of unusual blessing and activity in the life of the Christian Church [Lloyd-Jones, 1986, p. 99].  
2. They immediately become aware of his (God’s) presence and of his power in a manner that they have never known before [Lloyd-Jones, 1986, p. 100].
3. I would define a revival as a large number, a group of people, being baptised by the Holy Spirit at the same time [Lloyd-Jones, 1995, p. 55].
4. In a sense, it (revival) is a repetition of Pentecost [1986, pp. 100, 200].

Lloyd-Jones is clear that revival is primarily a movement in the Christian church (1). I capture the spread of the revival work among Christians by allowing inactive believers to “catch the revival” and become enthusiasts, figure 2. I call this model the Renewal Model, or Limited Enthusiasm with Renewal.

Believers have their spiritual state transformed through being aware of his presence (2). Lloyd-Jones often used the expression “Baptism with the Holy Spirit” (3). I describe the effects of a change in spiritual state by using a variable called Spiritual Life. Spiritual Life enhances the conversion potential, tipping the church onto growth, figure 3. It also influences the renewal potential, enabling the revival blessing to spread among believers. See the Spiritual Life Model.

Spiritual life can increase suddenly, as in Baptism with the Spirit (3) and as at Pentecost (4). God can also bring revival through the work of the church. This can be described by linking activities in the church to the parameter, Influence of Church on generating Spiritual Life, figure 3.

Iain H Murray

Iain Murray is a founder of the Banner of Truth Trust, whose aim is to promote Puritan literature and revival. He defines revival as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, brought about by the intercession of Christ, resulting in new life in the churches and a widespread movement of grace among the unconverted [Murray, 1998, pp. 23-24]. This clear definition echoes the previous definition.

Murray also notes that what happens in revival is not miraculously different from the regular experience of the church. The difference lies in degree, not in kind. [Murray, 1994, p. 23]. This important observation stops revival from being viewed as something fundamentally different from normal church operation and growth. This exceptional nature is captured in my models by calibration. As such, the church growth models can be used for the church in normal times as well as revival.

Pentecost

To produce a definition of revival that could help with model construction, I will look at Pentecost (Acts 2), the original outpouring of the Spirit. What happened to the church? The Holy Spirit made changes in the disciples.. They were spontaneously praising God, evidence that they were unusually aware of His presence. They acquired a boldness that changed their behaviour. This change went beyond the day. In the following months, they preached in very hostile situations with considerable effect. They were able to do this because they were confident that Christ was with them, giving them a zeal for seeing people saved. Indeed, they wanted to ensure that what had happened to them was passed on to others.

For the crowd, those outside the church, there was the work of God among them. Initially, these people mocked the disciples, but by the end, they were cut to the heart and convicted of their sins. But they did not stop there. They went on to be taught by the apostles and discipled in the faith. They changed their beliefs to align with the truths of the gospel. What truth? If anyone comes under conviction of sin and turns to the Bible for help, they will face the issue of what it means to be right with God. If they then turn to Christ, they will inevitably come to believe the evangelical truths taught in scripture [15].

My Definition of Revival

Based on the above, I put forward a definition

A revival is an extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit that results in (1) conviction of sin, (2) an awareness of God, (3) a zeal to see people saved, (4) the Holy Spirit’s work being passed on to new converts and believers who are not enthusiasts, (5) growth in discipleship, (6) a love of the evangelical doctrines of scripture.

1. Conviction of sin, if leading to conversion, is the flow from unbelievers to enthusiasts, figure 1. There is a similar flow into inactive believers, the Limited Enthusiasm Model.
2. The increase in awareness of God is modelled by an increase in spiritual life, figure 3 and the Spiritual Life Model.
3. A zeal to see people is captured by an increase in the conversion potential, figure 1.
4. The Holy Spirit’s work being passed on to new converts is the flow of enthusiasts into unbelievers. The work being passed on to believers who are not enthusiasts is the flow from inactive believers into enthusiasts, figure 2 and the Renewal Model,
5. Growth in discipleship is given by an increase in active believers. Though they may not be infectious with the revival, they are not inactive. They work in the church and help build spiritual life resulting from their own growth in grace, see Activist Model and Spiritual Life Model.
6. This would have to be modelled by a variable for church purity.

References

• Lloyd-Jones DM. (1995). Joy Unspeakable, Kingsway.
• Lloyd-Jones DM. (1986). Revival. Marshall Pickering.
• Murray IH. (1998). Pentecost Today, Banner of Truth.
• Murray IH. (1994), Revival and Revivalism, Banner of Truth.
• Roberts RO. (1991). Revival. International Awakening Press.