Provinces where the revivals occurred
Jonathan Goforth (1887)
Introduction
The initiator, or spark for the revival, was Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936), a Canadian Presbyterian missionary. Having arrived in China in March of 1888 to pioneer a mission in the Honan Province (now Henan), Goforth went on to become the foremost missionary revivalist in early 20th century China. Goforth and his wife, Rosalind, served in China 46 years. Their success in ministry came at a cost, for they lost 5 of their 11 children to sickness, and Goforth was even a survivor of an attack with a sword during the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901).
Extraordinary Prayer
Beginning in 1900, a significant prayer movement had developed. Many Chinese Christians (32,000) involved in that prayer movement lost their lives during the Boxer Rebellion, along with 188 foreign missionaries and their children. During the years of 1906-1907, the prayers and blood of the saints began to produce fruit, as many Chinese began responding to the Gospel.
After having finished powerful revival meetings throughout Manchuria (1908 Manchurian Revival), Goforth travelled to 6 other provinces, conducting 30 evangelistic events in a two-year time period. He held one highly successful event in Shanshi, which can be read here: 1908 Shansi China Revival.
Revival at Changte
In the city of Changte (now Changde) of the Hunan Province, a series of meetings were held by Goforth, which were described by one missionary as being spectacular, with few, if any, of the missionaries ever having witnessed such a powerful move of the Holy Spirit.
Double suspension bridge
A Missionary’s Account
The account of Goforth’s weeklong series of meetings in Changte was written by the Presbyterian missionary, Margaret King.
King began her narrative of what she witnessed with these two sentences:
Such a week I have never known in my life.
Day after day we have seen men and women prostrated because of sin, crying out for mercy.
Goforth’s services were said to follow this pattern:
► There was an opening address.
► Prayer meeting followed, lasting approximately 1 hour, with people standing wherever they were, in rapid succession offering prayers.
► Sermon was preached.
The conviction power of the Holy Spirit would then become evident.
► By the dozens, people would begin praying all at the same time.
► Hundreds would then, for a long period of time, verbally confess their own sins, amid wailing and anguish.
► People lost all sense of those around them as they came face-to-face with God.
Margaret King herself said that she was one of those hundreds that was standing, confessing their sins to God.
Female missionary giving a Bible lesson
The Holy Spirit Visits the Girls’ School
On the third day of Goforth’s meetings, King was sitting on the verandah of the home she was staying in, and at 8 a.m. she heard a strange sound coming from the girls’ school. It was the weeping and wailing of the young girls as they were overcome by the Holy Spirit’s conviction power. This occurred when a female missionary went in to conduct morning prayers with the girls, and at that time:
Girl after girl broke into cries and prayers for mercy, telling God their sin.
This lasted an hour or more, and it then led to the girls, individually, informing the missionary of what sinful thing they had done. They also went and confessed to their teacher and to the principal of the school.
The Meeting Continued All Day Long
Except for meals and private prayer, the meetings ran from early morning till late every night. The Holy Spirit’s presence became so powerful, that Goforth was no longer preaching sermons.
After the opening hymn and prayer was complete, a
Procession of men and women began to walk up to the platform to confess their sin to God and to men.
Those that came to the front to confess sins were:
► Missionaries
► National preachers
► Men and women
► Boys and girls
And as they stood in the front of that “great crowd” that was assembled, there were tears and cries for mercy.
Some were so desperate to unload their burden of sin that they would not wait their turn and interrupted those who were before them in line, as they yelled out:
I must confess, I cannot wait, please let me confess.
Results of the Changte Revival
► Previous disputes among church board members, which had been long-standing, were put right within moments.
► Stolen articles were given back.
► Many financial donations of large amounts were made.
► An awareness was received that the Holy Spirit had never been given the priority in their life and service as He should have.
Revival at Nanking
For 10 days Goforth held meetings in Nanking, a prominent city in the Jiangsu Province (February 27 – March 7, 1909). For several months before his arrival, Nanking believers were intently praying that the blessings that accompanied Goforth’s ministry in other locations would come to them.
In preparation for the meetings, a large tent was erected out of mats. Assembled were over 100 missionaries and about 1,300 Chinese Christians, all of them coming from the provinces of Anhwei, Kiangsu, and Chekiang (today, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang).
There were two meetings per day, and the Holy Spirit’s presence was powerfully manifested, bringing a tremendous conviction of sin.
The line of people feeling the burden to publicly confess sin wasn’t only filled with Chinese, because missionaries were also burdened with the need to publicly confess their sins and shortcomings.
Results of the Revival
► Sins unrepented of had the light of God shined on them.
► Forgotten sins were brought to remembrance.
► Hardened hearts were transformed.
► Many backsliders came back to the Lord.
► A renewed zeal for souls became evident.
► The 5 churches in Nanking were said to be “afire.”
Typical Bridge
Foundation for Revival at Yungkang
A missionary wrote that after a conference was held in Kinhwa (now Jinhua), the presence of God resulted in them giving greater attention to prayer. This enhanced prayer effort led to the revival that later occurred in the town of Yungkan, (Yongkang) of the Chekiang Province (now Zhejiang).
The missionary that documented this revival, wrote:
And now I have to tell you of the answer to our many prayers. We have had a great blessing. We have not experienced the like of it throughout all our time of service in China. What happened was beyond all our anticipations. When we were in the midst of it, it was difficult to realize whether we were dreaming, or whether the whole thing was a reality.
The Revival Commenced with Prayer
The series of meetings at Yungkang began on a Saturday night, focusing on prayer. The prayers offered were said to have been “quite unusual,” giving all the indication that something extraordinary was about to occur.
The next morning (Sunday), the meeting opened with prayer, and before the time allotted for prayer was halfway through, “the break” was said to have occurred, with the Lord:
Suddenly coming into His Temple.
This presence of God led many to begin a pattern that was witnessed in other revivals throughout China at this same time:
► Public confession of sin
► Crying, sobbing, and extreme agony due to the weight of sins committed
This intense conviction of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by public confession of sin, continued for two days. All present were struck with amazement at the sins confessed, with these confessions also coming from Chinese church leaders and preachers. Sins such as:
► Murderous intentions
► Adultery
► Using opium
► Stealing
► Deceiving, lying
► Pride
► Hatred
► Jealousy
► Covetousness
► Laziness
► Hypocrisy
Houseboat being pulled through a lock
Revivals at Tsingkiangpu and Antung
The features of the revivals in the cities of Tsingkiangpu (now Qingjiangpu, of the Jiangsu Province) and Antung (now Dandong, in Liaoning Province) were similar to what occurred at Nanking and other locations in China during this era.
A striking feature of the revivals in this area was not only that believers were being renewed and revived in their relationships with God, but there were also striking instances of conversion of outsiders. Some of these confessed to
► Murder
► Attempted murder
► Highway robbery
Houseboat in Jiangsu, China
Revival in Hancheng
The revival that took place in the city of Hancheng, of the province of Shensi (now Shaanxi), started out a little discouraging, because:
Several of the leaders, men of much natural ability and force of character, appeared to be resisting the work by taking up much time praying for others or explaining the Gospel to God in their prayers.
It wasn’t until the third day, during the pre-breakfast prayer meeting, that the breakthrough came. A Chinese leader was leading this time of prayer, and when the Holy Spirit took control:
Many heart-broken confessions of sin followed one another for about an hour.
That early morning prayer meeting lasted for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The assembly then broke for breakfast, and at 11 a.m. they came together again and heard a message on “Be Filled with the Spirit.” Following that message:
The stream of prayers and confessions broke forth.
This service lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes, and right when it was to be closed, prayer broke out by people in different parts of the building.
An invitation was then given for anyone who knew they needed to take steps toward reconciliation with others who were present.
Almost immediately several men and women rose and confessed to not being at peace with others or being envious of them, and offered apology and sought forgiveness. The most touching scene, however, was when a bible woman [teacher] rose up and went to another woman and with tears confessed that she had offended her and begged her forgiveness. The two women then fell upon one another’s neck, each confessing that the fault was hers, weeping bitterly.
Evening Service
During this evening service, which continued for 4 hours, there were still more that were compelled to publicly confess sins. There was also an opportunity given for special congregational prayer. These prayers were for:
► The blessings of God on the mission stations that were in rural areas.
► The conversion of family members and backsliders, etc.
It was revivals like these, that were spread throughout China during these few years, that laid a solid foundation for the rapid expansion of the Church in the decades to come.
Sources
► By My Spirit by Jonathan Goforth
► News of Revival from Various Parts of China by various writers (China’s Millions—1909)
► The Revival in Changte by Margaret King (China’s Millions—1909)
► When the Spirit Came to Nanking by J. C. Garritt (The Chinese Recorder: Volume XL, 1909)
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