Introduction
My question is inspired by the fascinating phenomenon of revivals and all the testimonies of dramatic conversions, manifestations, supernatural healings and all the movement of the power of God that usually accompany them.
Just to give you an idea, the Wikipedia article on the Brownsville Revival says:
And regarding healings:
But then we see an interesting connection. Evangelist Steve Hill was the main preacher during the Brownsville Revival, and if we investigate Steve Hill's past, we find that Hill "imported" this "revivalist fire" from Argentina, when he was exposed to the Argentine Revival and the ministry of Carlos Annacondia. According to Evangelist Steve Hill, by Sharon Wissemann:
This is the true story of Carlos Annacondia, whose faithfulness, devotion, and faith in signs and miracles brought about an awakening in Argentina that has spread throughout the world and continues to this day. Annacondia's ministry is marked by the same signs and wonders of the early church—sick bodies are healed, bondages are broken, the demonized are set free, oppression is lifted—and he knows these subjects as very few people do.
Question
I mentioned the Brownsville Revival and the Argentine Revival as two notable examples I'm aware of which were intimately connected to each other, in which millions were reached by the gospel and where probably thousands of people claimed to have received supernatural healing, among other extraordinary experiences and manifestations.
But speaking of all modern revivals in general from any part of the world (Africa, Asia, etc.), what is the secret? How do spirit-filled revivals start? How to become agents of revival ourselves?
My question is inspired by the fascinating phenomenon of revivals and all the testimonies of dramatic conversions, manifestations, supernatural healings and all the movement of the power of God that usually accompany them.
Just to give you an idea, the Wikipedia article on the Brownsville Revival says:
The Brownsville Revival (also known as the Pensacola Outpouring) was a widely reported Christian revival within the Pentecostal movement that began on Father's Day June 18, 1995, at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida.[1] Characteristics of the Brownsville Revival movement, as with other Christian religious revivals, included acts of repentance by parishioners and a call to holiness, inspired by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Some of the occurrences in this revival fit the description of moments of religious ecstasy. More than four million people are reported to have attended the revival meetings from its beginnings in 1995 to around 2000.[2]
One writer offered this description of the revival in 1998:
All told, more than 2.5 million people have visited the church's Monday prayer and Tues-through-Saturday evening revival services, where they sang rousing worship music and heard old-fashioned sermons on sin and salvation. After the sermons were over, hundreds of thousands accepted the invitation to leave their seats and rush forward to a large area in front of the stage-like altar. Here, they "get right with God." . . . Untold thousands have hit the carpet in repentance. After the altar call, pastors and leaders would pray for anyone who desired to be prayed over some fell to the ground some shook under the power of God's presence some lay in a state resembling a coma, sometimes remaining flat on the floor for hours at a time. Some participants call the experience being "slain in the Spirit." Others simply refer to receiving the touch of God. Regardless of what they call it, these people are putting the "roll" back in "holy roller."
— Steve Rabey[3]
All told, more than 2.5 million people have visited the church's Monday prayer and Tues-through-Saturday evening revival services, where they sang rousing worship music and heard old-fashioned sermons on sin and salvation. After the sermons were over, hundreds of thousands accepted the invitation to leave their seats and rush forward to a large area in front of the stage-like altar. Here, they "get right with God." . . . Untold thousands have hit the carpet in repentance. After the altar call, pastors and leaders would pray for anyone who desired to be prayed over some fell to the ground some shook under the power of God's presence some lay in a state resembling a coma, sometimes remaining flat on the floor for hours at a time. Some participants call the experience being "slain in the Spirit." Others simply refer to receiving the touch of God. Regardless of what they call it, these people are putting the "roll" back in "holy roller."
— Steve Rabey[3]
And regarding healings:
By 1997, it was common to have lengthy and rapturous periods of singing and dancing and altars packed with hundreds of writhing or dead-still bodies from a variety of ages, races and socioeconomic conditions.[2] As the revival progressed, the testimonies of people receiving salvation were joined by testimonies of supernatural healings. In Steve Hill's words, "We're seeing miraculous healings, cancerous tumors disappear and drug addicts immediately delivered."[5] However, the church told local news reporters that it did not keep records of the healings. In 1997, the leaders of the revival—Hill, Kilpatrick, and Lindell Cooley (Brownsville's worship director)—went to several cities (Anaheim, Dallas, St. Louis, Lake Charles (Louisiana), Toledo, and Birmingham) and held like meetings. They named this ministry "Awake America".[6]
But then we see an interesting connection. Evangelist Steve Hill was the main preacher during the Brownsville Revival, and if we investigate Steve Hill's past, we find that Hill "imported" this "revivalist fire" from Argentina, when he was exposed to the Argentine Revival and the ministry of Carlos Annacondia. According to Evangelist Steve Hill, by Sharon Wissemann:
Since Sunday 18th June, 1995 hundreds of thousands of lives have been changed as a direct result of the Pensacola Revival in Florida, USA. The spark that ignited the revival was an evangelist named Steve Hill.
[...]
In Argentina that Hill first saw Carlos Annacondia minister to tens of thousands of people. In his first Annacondia meeting out in the middle of a soccer field he witnessed fifteen to twenty thousand people ‘craving God’. Although he always had the desire for evangelism, Hill believes that he received the evangelistic anointing from Annacondia, who has lead over two million people to Jesus, when he laid hands on him.
Hill was involved in the Argentine Revival, seeing multitudes saved and healed. For seven years he helped plant seven churches in Buenos Aires and Southern Argentina during this revival. He also planted churches and conducted church crusades in several other countries such as Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Spain, Russia and Belarus.
And when we investigate the Argentine Revival, we find books such as Listen to Me, Satan! that makes very similar claims about signs and wonders and the power of God moving:[...]
In Argentina that Hill first saw Carlos Annacondia minister to tens of thousands of people. In his first Annacondia meeting out in the middle of a soccer field he witnessed fifteen to twenty thousand people ‘craving God’. Although he always had the desire for evangelism, Hill believes that he received the evangelistic anointing from Annacondia, who has lead over two million people to Jesus, when he laid hands on him.
Hill was involved in the Argentine Revival, seeing multitudes saved and healed. For seven years he helped plant seven churches in Buenos Aires and Southern Argentina during this revival. He also planted churches and conducted church crusades in several other countries such as Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Spain, Russia and Belarus.
This is the true story of Carlos Annacondia, whose faithfulness, devotion, and faith in signs and miracles brought about an awakening in Argentina that has spread throughout the world and continues to this day. Annacondia's ministry is marked by the same signs and wonders of the early church—sick bodies are healed, bondages are broken, the demonized are set free, oppression is lifted—and he knows these subjects as very few people do.
Listen to Me, Satan! is full of amazing testimonies that will renew, inspire, and charge your faith. It's the story of how one man confronted the devil, in the authority of the name of Jesus, and experienced extraordinary results. Join him on his journey from the poor villages of Buenos Aires to a global ministry, and find victory and freedom in your own life as well.
Question
I mentioned the Brownsville Revival and the Argentine Revival as two notable examples I'm aware of which were intimately connected to each other, in which millions were reached by the gospel and where probably thousands of people claimed to have received supernatural healing, among other extraordinary experiences and manifestations.
But speaking of all modern revivals in general from any part of the world (Africa, Asia, etc.), what is the secret? How do spirit-filled revivals start? How to become agents of revival ourselves?
