Introduction
This revival began on Sunday morning, January 19, 1997, at Rock City Church in Baltimore, Maryland, and it continued for three years.
Extraordinary Prayer
Beginning in 1987, Rock City Church initiated daily prayer, following the prayer pattern found in the “Lord’s Prayer.” Among other things, the congregation was praying for revival in the United States, as well as for God to touch the streets of Baltimore.
Bart Pierce
What Happened
At this time, Rock City Church’s senior pastor, Bart Pierce, began to develop a deep and desperate hunger for more of God. In January 1997 Pierce and his wife, Coralee, attended a pastor’s conference in St. Augustine, Florida, believing that this conference would take him one step closer to having his desire fulfilled.
While at the conference, Pierce heard Evangelist Tommy Tenney tell of the 1996 Houston, Texas Revival which began on Sunday morning, October 20, 1996, at the Christian Tabernacle (since renamed Inspire Church).
Attendees at that conference were so overcome with what Tenney reported that many fell prostrate on the floor weeping due to the presence of God. Pierce himself was one of those overcome, and he laid on the floor the entire night and didn’t rise till the next morning.
As the St. Augustine conference drew to a close, Pierce asked Tenney if he would speak at Rock City Church in Baltimore the following Sunday morning, and Tenney agreed.
Tommy Tenney
When Pierce and Tenney arrived at the church on Sunday morning, January 19, they were greeted by several ushers who were “bawling as if someone had just lost their child.”
Pierce asked them what was wrong, and they responded, “you have to go into the sanctuary.”
As they made their way into the sanctuary they were met with the noise, which Pierce described as “deafening and eerie.” They saw people lying over the pews and on the floor, rolling, crying, and some even screaming. This was people expressing deep repentance.
Even those in the hallways of the church were being affected. Pierce said,
We never really got to preach. We were supposed to be leading the service but were too overcome by the intense presence of God to do anything but cry.
As time when on, it was reported that even the children were being affected. The 6- to 11-year-old class, about 100 students, were also prostrated on the floors, weeping in repentance. When Pierce was asked what should be done, he replied,
I don’t want to do anything. Don’t anybody do anything. Don’t touch this.
Pierce simply directed the pianist to play whatever came to her mind, and that atmosphere remained all day and night.
In the afternoon Pierce and Tenney went home to change clothes, and when they arrived back at the church at 6 p.m. people were still there, and more were coming. That “first morning service” continued until 2 a.m. Monday.
Bart Pierce and Tommy Tenney
The Revival Continues
On Monday night people returned to the church and the same thing happened. And then the same on Tuesday, and this continued until the spring of 2000.
Characteristics of the Revival
Weekly Services
► Every Monday and Tuesday night, starting January 20, 1997, there were nightly services. The church also continued their regular Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Thursday night services.
► The worship would often last for 3 hours, with only a brief exhortation on how to continue the pursuit of God. At times the same song may have been sung for 20-30 minutes or longer. It was all dependent upon what was pleasing to the Lord, not what was pleasing to those present.
► This revival was all about entertaining God’s presence—what He wanted to hear and see.
► The presence of God was overwhelmingly obvious. When His presence would lift, it was as noticeable as if the temperature in the room would change 20 degrees.
Tommy Tenney and Bart Pierce
Physical Manifestations
► The prominent feature of this revival was the overwhelming sense of God’s presence. It drew people to deep repentance and transformation of their lives.
► People reported that they were hit by waves of His glory and presence. At times it was as if someone punched them in the chest as they entered the sanctuary, sometimes making it hard to breathe.
► At times an unearthly quiet would settle into the building. It was as if the Lord kept filling the place—as if there wasn’t room for anything else. His presence would surround individuals and occupy all the space around them. If they were humble, broken, and repentant worshippers, He would also begin to fill the empty space inside of them until they felt they might burst. As people were being filled, there was much weeping and crying, and even, at times, screams of mercy, as people were touched by His holiness.
► Many people simply crawled under the pews to hide and weep. At times the crying was so loud, it was eerie.
- If one didn’t know what was happening, the sound of the weeping, moaning and groaning, screaming, and crying could be scary. This was weeping and agonizing in repentance, as well as praying for lost souls.
- Some well-known preachers were seen rolling back and forth on the floor, groaning and travailing in prayer. They were saying, “God, don’t come any closer, you will kill me!”
► This was not a place for believers to be entertained. It was a place for God to be entertained.
► Powerful prophetic words were common.
► There were times when it was as if heaven was resting on earth.
► People were often so overcome by the presence of God that it was common for them to be prostrated on the floor. It was often during these prostrations that “other-worldly” experiences would occur, and those coming under the weight of that divine glory would be oblivious to those around them.
► Visions were experienced:
…1. Of Jesus
…2. Of Heaven
…3. Of shafts of light
…4. Of fountains of water
…5. Of the throne of God
► Some reported seeing angels.
► Some said they smelled smoke, as if it was coming from an acceptable sacrifice of praise.
► Some smelled a heavenly perfume.
Rock City Church, Baltimore, Maryland
Music
► Some heard heavenly music and angelic voices singing. On one occasion that music was heard for over two hours.
► On one particular evening the presence of God became so strong that all of the musicians could not play any longer and they fell, prostrated on the floor. Yet the music kept playing for 45 minutes. This was not through the use of tape recordings or CDs. Nobody knew how it kept playing.
Worship and Songs Written
► The worship team’s focus was on entertaining God and not those assembled.
► The worship took the worshippers directly into the holy of holies.
► The worship was so powerful that the worshippers became part of it.
► As happens in every revival, many new songs were written after the revival started, and these songs spread throughout the world. Bart Pierce’s wife, Coralee, wrote over 100 of those songs. It was these songs that were used during extended periods of worship. Some songs were even written by children.
► There were three CDs made.
…1. Songs in His Presence
…2. Entertaining His Presence
…3. Ministering to an Audience of One
Visitors
► The services were not advertised, yet visitors from across Baltimore, the region, and the world came.
► On one night there were over 40 that had arrived from Korea. When asked why they came, they said that they were in a meeting and the Lord said He had just opened up a portal over Baltimore.
► Famous politicians, athletes, and musical artists would often visit, just wanting to be in God’s presence.
► Visiting pastors were not encouraged to come for the “Baltimore Blessing,” but were directed to seek for a blessing from God Himself. These pastors were often prayed for to receive an impartation, and when they returned to their congregations, they often carried that blessing with them.
► On any given night there were 12 to 20 pastors present from the Baltimore area.
The Revival’s Endurance
► The congregation believed that through repentance and worship they had been able to hold open a heavenly door throughout the revival.
► Repentance, brokenness, and humility caused the continual move of the Holy Spirit.
► The continual hunger for more of God caused the contagious atmosphere to spread.
Sanctuary at Rock City Church, Baltimore, Maryland
Order of Services
► The church continued their two Sunday morning services, their Sunday night service, and their Thursday evening service. In addition to that were the Monday and Tuesday night services, specifically designed to entertain the presence of God.
► On Mondays and Tuesdays there was rarely any preaching or teaching. The time was spent with exhortations, testimonies, facilitation for repentance, and guidance on how to enter His presence.
► Evangelist Tommy Tenney, who was present most every Monday and Tuesday night, was not there to preach but to encourage and facilitate a place where the people could have an encounter with the manifest presence of God.
► There was a singular focus, and it was God. There were no popular singers who would sing solos–no displays of human talents. There were no announcements or sermons. It was all about being in God’s presence.
► First-time visitors were often shocked by the format of the meetings. There were no introductions of speakers or important visitors. There was no agenda for the meetings, no announcements, no distractions to stop you from going deeper and deeper into His presence.
Healing
► There were often dramatic healings and restorative laughter.
► Some people that were crippled for as long as 25 years would come into the building, and they would not even get prayed for, but they would immediately get healed and stand up out of the wheelchairs and begin walking, and even running, around the building.
► Marriages were restored, and entire families were healed.
► Reconciliation among relationships took place.
Impacting the City of Baltimore
► Reduction in Crime: The Baltimore Sun reported on January 1, 1998, that the crime rate had dropped 11 percent when compared to 1996.
► Rock City Church was highly engaged in various outreach ministries, in which thousands of salvations and deliverance from demonic oppression occurred. Some of those ministries were:
…1. Prison Ministry
…2. Homeless shelters for men and women.
…3. Ministry to unwed mothers
...4. Ministry to drug addicts
…5. Feeding programs
...6. Working with police to conduct Block Parties.
Unity among Community Pastors
► Baltimore pastors were uniting in unity services, preaching in each other’s churches, and even signing a covenant of unity among themselves.
► Local pastors were joining the police and fire departments as chaplains to help the community.
► Pastors were sharing and pooling resources.
► One pastor said that because of the unity, a greater anointing came upon him, with his congregation asking him what had happened.
► Other pastors said that following their visit to the revival services, God’s presence had come into their church in a new and powerful way.
► Other pastors reported that intercessory prayer had gripped their congregation with deep weeping for the city. The sense was that God was visiting churches across Baltimore in new and more powerful ways each week.
► Burned-out pastors and others in Christian ministries received fresh power to continue. 
Salvation
► Evangelism was taking place on the streets and in bars.
► The church didn’t keep records on the numbers of those saved.
► The Easter play, “From Here to Eternity” resulted in over 1,600 people making a profession of their faith in Christ, with their names and contact information being given to various churches for follow-up. Almost all the 1,600 were 18 years old and younger.
► The final performance of the play forced police to shut down two exits on I-695, as well as other intersections leading to the church. The church building holds 3,000 people, but with over 3,300 people in the church sanctuary, and another 200 in an overflow room, 3,000 more were turned away.
Ending of the Monday and Tuesday Services
By April 2000, the powerful manifest presence of God had been noticeably decreasing. Recognizing that the “Ark of God was moving,” Rock City Church made the decision to bring the Monday and Tuesday evening services to an end, and with that the Lord opened the next chapter for that congregation’s ministry to the city of Baltimore.
Sources
► A Story of Revival: Interview given by Bishop Bart Pierce
► Lord, We Are Desperate for You by Elizabeth Moll Stalcup
► Pentecostal Sensation by John Rivera
► Personal interview by Chet Swearingen of David T. and Gina Jehl on November 16, 2020
► Resting in His Presence email reports by David T. Jehl
Return to List of Revival Stories
Chet & Phyllis Swearingen:
Office: (260) 920-8248
romans1015@outlook.com
Beautiful Feet
P.O. Box 915
Auburn, IN 46706
