Revival Stories

The 1922 New Zealand Revival


Henry Roberts was a skilled rugby player, well-known among the local New Zealand fans in the 1880’s. He gave his life to the Lord after hearing the Gospel from an English evanglist in 1889. For the next 33 years, he served Christ and preached the Good News, especially in open air situations. Over time, he became greatly burdened to see revival fires touch down upon his homeland, and he knew that prayer was essential to this end. He started prayer circles in the suburbs of Wellington, and by 1922, there were 9 prayer circles in New Zealand’s capital city fully activated and experiencing God’s power and blessings, praying for revival.

Meanwhile, far up north, in the country of China, a missionary named Fullerton had been laboring in the province of Henan. After two initially difficult years, God had answered Fullerton’s prayers and ignited a deep spiritual hunger in the hearts of the Chinese. In a short time, more than 6000 people had accepted the Gospel and turned from idols to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. One night, Fullerton felt the Holy Spirit impress on him to pray for New Zealand. And God revealed His desire to greatly pour out His Spirit there. A little later, Fullerton visited his home country Denmark on furlough, and it was here that he met a British evangelist named Smith Wigglesworth. Fullerton shared his vision of revival in New Zealand with the evangelist and asked him if God might lead him to go there. After much serious prayer, Wigglesworth confirmed that God wanted him to go.

Plans were made. The evangelist was scheduled to arrive in April 1922 and meet up with Fullerton. As it turned out, Wigglesworth missed his scheduled steamship and arrived in New Zealand at the end of May. Because Fullerton could not wait that long, he asked his pastor friend Henry Roberts to take care of the evangelist. Roberts knew that Wigglesworth was a direct answer to the prayer circles crying out for a Spirit outpouring.

Now Smith Wigglesworth had been born into a very poor family. He never had opportunity to receive schooling, and he had worked as a plumber for many years. He didn’t even know how to read or to write until after he was married at the age of 23 years old. Yet somehow God called him and raised him up to preach the Gospel in America and many countries around the world. When he arrived in New Zealand, though, he was a complete unknown to most folks. He had paid his own fare. He had the backing of almost no churches. One church, the Vivian Street Baptist Church, offered the use of their Sunday school room in the mornings. And by faith, several local Christian leaders put down a deposit to reserve for the evenings the large 3000 seat capacity Town Hall of Wellington.

Wigglesworth started speaking in the mornings to a small group in a Sunday school room. He spoke of the person of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s power to set people free from their sins. The listeners found their hearts moved deeply by God, and many would weep for hours upon returning home. Soon the audience outgrew this room, and they moved into the main chapel. People started responding to the Gospel with declarations of repentance and faith. Miracles and healings began to regularly occur. One man, stricken with tuberculosis, was carried in while in a coma. After prayer, he awoke, found new divinely-given strength, and walked around the sanctuary, completely healed.

At the first evening service at the huge city Town Hall, over 800 people came out. On the 2nd night, the numbers had swelled to 1600 in attendance. By the third night, the Hall was packed with over 3000 in the audience. Over the next 3 weeks, every single night, crowds would have to be turned away at the door. On one night, over 1000 were turned away. Yet, God used many Christians in that crowd to share the Gospel with those stuck outside. Once again, many salvations and healings would take place.

Inside the Hall, God used Wigglesworth to jar their hearts and challenge them to “only believe” in Jesus. The power of the Spirit moved mightily through this humble and heavy-set man as he spoke on the Scriptures, weaving in the stories of God’s handiwork, and shared passionately the things on God’s heart. The lame would walk. The deaf would hear. And even the local newspapers chimed in on the amazing things that God was doing. Wigglesworth would continue to preach across New Zealand for several months, and the Church was filled with joy as they saw how the Lord had powerfully answered their prayers for revival.


QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:

  1. When have you wondered if your prayers truly mattered? How did prayer play a significant role in the New Zealand revival?
  2. Who were the key players in this revival? What was not that important to God in order to be used by God?
  3. Where do you see faith being exercised? Where do you see God’s sovereign hand at work throughout the revival?
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