Other Names for this Revival

• Evangelical Revival in England
• Methodist Revival
• Wesleyan Revival

Conditions Prior to the Revival
►The spiritual condition in England was said to have been deplorable, decadent, a cesspool.

►The formal and ritualistic Church of England at the time was referred to as being spiritually dead, and the evangelical gospel of salvation by grace through faith was not preached, nor believed by the majority of the Anglican priests, as the majority of them embraced deism. From listening to sermons, it was impossible to determine if the priests were followers of Confucius, Mohammed, or Jesus.

►Alcohol abuse was rampant, with every sixth house being a grogshop (a cheap bar where customers could get drunk on the equivalent of one penny).

►Gangs roamed the streets terrorizing anybody out after dark. They would disfigure people’s faces with knives, stab people in the legs with swords, sexually assault women, and even commit murder.

►Law enforcement was failing, and criminals multiplied.

►The slave trade was widespread.

►Tickets were sold to watch public executions, as if it were a theater.

Extraordinary Prayer – Fetter Lane Watch Night Prayer Meeting
The Moravians in England (Peter Boehler) had established the Fetter Lane Society at No. 33 Fetter Lane in London. This society’s purpose was to provide discipleship and accountability. It was with this group that John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and a number of other young men joined to conduct a Watch Night Service on December 31, 1738.

The Moravians in Germany, following the early church, had a custom of fellowshipping at a common meal, or a “love feast,” prior to taking communion. On this New Year’s Eve, this meal and communion service was conducted.

Following the meal and communion, and as the new year arrived, the 60 young men that had gathered continued with their praying and worshipping the Lord when, according to the journal of John Wesley, dated January 1, 1739:

Mr. Hall, Hinching, Ingham, Whitefield, Hutching, and my brother Charles were present at our love feast in Fetter Lane with about 60 of our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.’

The renowned evangelist George Whitefield, who was present at the love feast, said the following concerning the days that followed;

It was a Pentecostal season indeed, sometimes whole nights were spent in prayer. Often we have been filled as with new wine, and often I have seen them overwhelmed with the Divine Presence, and cry out, “Will God, indeed, dwell with men on earth? How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven!”

The Holy Club: 1729 – The twenty-two-year-old Charles Wesley, who was attending the University of Oxford, started a Bible study. This group were extremely regimental in Christian disciplines, and the student body mockingly called their Bible study “The Holy Club.” Charles’ brother John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church) later became the leader of the Holy Club. The members of the Holy Club were some of those that attended the Watch Night Prayer Meeting on December 31, 1738 – January 1, 1739.

What Happened
►The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Fetter Lane was so powerful, and what those young men experienced so real, that it set an anchor in their souls—they had experienced something they would never forget.

►Within a few months of that Watch Night service, George Whitefield and the Wesleys were preaching in the fields and moving the hearts of tens of thousands toward Christ.

►These young men eventually became pillars of the Church. Their ministries gave moral stability, guidance, and direction to England for many years to come.

George Whitefield preaching in an open field

Results
►Between 1738 and 1791, 1.25 million people were converted to Christ.

►The outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Fetter Lane Watch Night Service on December 31, 1738 – January 1, 1739, was the spiritual inauguration for the public ministry of the Wesleys and the beginning of the Methodist Church.

►The subsequent spreading revival cut across denominational lines and involved every segment of society. In 1928 Archbishop Randall T. Davidson wrote that

Wesley practically changed the outlook and even the character of the English nation.

►Historians believe that with the prayer meeting at Fetter Lane, and the subsequent spiritual awakening throughout England, the nation was saved from being sucked into something like the French Revolution and its bloody “Reign of Terror.”

►John Wesley was greatly blessed with administrative skills. He was able to organize the widespread planting of churches and the installation of pastors, and at the same time keep up an itinerary—on horseback—that staggers the mind. He traveled over 4,000 miles annually and preached around 40,000 sermons during his lifetime.

►At the time of his death, Wesley’s followers in England were 294 preachers, 71,668 members, and 19 missionaries. His followers in the United States numbered 198 preachers and 43,265 members.

John Wesley – Founder of the Methodist Church

Sources
A History of the Moravian Church by J.E. Hutton
Centenary of Wesleyan Methodism by Thomas Jackson
Evangelical Revival in England by Diane Severance
John Wesley by Christianity Today
John Wesley the Methodist by J. F. Hurst
Revival Fires and Awakenings by Mathew Backholer
The Evangelical Revival in the Eighteenth Century by John Henry Overton
The Journal of John Wesley by John Wesley
The Journal of Rev. John Wesley by John Wesley
The Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley by John Telford
The Life of John Wesley by John Telford
The Life of the Rev. John Wesley by Richard Watson
The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley; Volume I by Luke Tyerman
The Prayer Meeting that Saved England by Stephen Flick
The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever by Elmer Towns
1783: Wesley and the Moravians Reunite by Moravian Church Archives

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