Location of the Revival: Toronto, Canada

Toronto, Canada, location of the Toronto Blessing 

Introduction

The revival we are reporting on with this post has been labeled the Toronto Blessing, a title coined by British newspapers. The revival began at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church in Toronto, Canada. (In 1996, the church’s name was changed to Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship.)

Similar to the start of many other revivals, this one was “sparked” by a revival that was taking place in Argentina and in many other locations around the globe in the early 1990s.

NOTE: The church’s preferred labeling of the revival is the “Father’s Blessing”, versus the label given by the British newspapers. The church preferred to place emphasis on the Father, rather than on Toronto.

Extraordinary Prayer

John Arnott, who was then pastoring the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church, was very burned-out, but still had a very deep hunger for God. This hunger led him, in 1992, to begin seriously seeking the Lord for renewal for himself and for his congregation.

While Arnott was praying for revival, he sensed the Lord speaking to him:

If you’re serious, I want you to do two things: commit your mornings to prayer, and interact with others who are anointed.

Having received that leading from the Lord, Arnott cancelled all his engagements in October 1992 and began giving his mornings to prayer with his wife Carol. They continued this for well over one year.

What Happened

John & Carol Arnott

In the fall of 1993, the Arnotts traveled to Argentina, which had been experiencing revival since 1984. Arnott was prayed for by two influential men that were involved in the Argentine Revival, Claudio Freidzon and Carlos Annacondia. Following the laying-on of hands and prayer by those two men, the Arnotts returned to Canada, and within a few months the revival there started.

Randy Clark
Randy Clark, who was pastoring a Vineyard church in St. Louis, Missouri, experienced a dramatic renewal in his own life and in the church he was pastoring. This renewal was highly influenced by the ministry of Rodney Howard-Browne, a South African preacher.

Arnott had recently heard the testimony of Randy Clark, and about his personal renewal. This inspired Arnott to invite Clark to preach at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church on January 20-23, 1994.

At the end of the service on January 20, with about 120 people in attendance, virtually the entire congregation responded to the invitation for prayer. What took place after that was a wide range of manifestations including laughter, falling, prostration, and what was later referred to as being “drunk in the Spirit.” There were also those who had experienced seeing visions and undergone intense conviction of sin and spiritual transformation.

Randy Clark

Arnott then persuaded Clark to stay and continue preaching, which he did for 60 days. He finally returned to his own congregation mid-March. The meetings themselves continued six days each week (Mondays off) for the next 12 ½ years.

During this period, testimonies of conversions and healings among family and friends of the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church become commonplace.

During that first year, the church’s regular attendance tripled to 1,000 members as the revival’s influence continued to spread. Reports of similar revivals emerged in various other locations around the globe, having been sparked by this revival in Toronto. It became common for visitors from other cities and nations to carry the influence of the revival back to their home congregations, where the revival would then continue within their own churches.

Eleanor Mumford, used by God to spread the revival
to the prestigious Anglican church, Holy Trinity Brompton.

Eleanor Mumford—South West London Vineyard Church
By May of 1994 the revival had spread to England through Eleanor Mumford of the South West London Vineyard Church. Mumford had visited the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church and was dramatically influenced by the Holy Spirit during the services she participated in.

Holy Trinity Brompton
Church leadership from the prestigious Anglican church, Holy Trinity Brompton, invited Eleanor Mumford to speak during their morning and evening services on May 29, 1994. After sharing her testimony of what she had experienced in Toronto, similar manifestations occurred at Holy Trinity Brompton.

Brownsville Revival
Steve Hill, an Assemblies of God evangelist who was recorded as being powerfully impacted when he attended Holy Trinity Brompton, was asked to preach at the Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, Florida. With Hill preaching during the morning service at Brownsville, a revival lasting about 5 years was started on Father’s Day, June 18, 1995.

Typical Service at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church
► Services were conducted every night of the week except Mondays.
► There was an hour or more of singing.
► Testimonies of people were allowed, as they shared what God had been doing in their lives. The testimony time was often the most dramatic part of the evenings, as people would retell powerful stories of renewal, healing, and conversion.
► Preaching would last from twenty minutes to an hour.
► Invitation was offered for personal salvation.
► Invitation was made to receive individual prayer.

Manifestations
► Profound Consciousness of God—One of the most significant manifestations was a sense of the awesome presence of God. The Baptist author, Henry Blackaby, states that this is common in most genuine revivals, as it severely convicts of sin and leads people to genuine repentance. In addition to God’s presence convicting of sin, it also brought joy, peace, and an awareness of His nearness.

This presence of God was reported as having been sensed for days by those who had attended, even after they had left Toronto.

► Joy—Uncontrollable and contagious laughter was not uncommon.

► Teeth Filled with Silver or Gold—More than 300 of the visitors claimed that they supernaturally received gold or silver fillings in their teeth during the meetings.

► Trembling of the Body—As has been commonly reported in many historic revivals, there were the physical spasms of the bodies, which involved trembling or shaking. Revivals of previous generations referred to this trembling or shaking as paroxysms, or “The Jerks.”

► Loss of Physical Strength—Many people would lose physical strength due to the presence of God (Daniel 10). People so overcome were unable to get up off of the ground, sometimes for hours.

► Spiritual “Drunkenness”—Some were unable to walk in a straight line or even stand.

► Weeping—Many would weep inconsolably, due to their grief over sins committed, due to grace and mercy received, and even out of concern for their unsaved family and friends.

► Spiritual Power—Many testified that at times when they were prayed for, it would be as if an electrical power would surge through their bodies, and they would experience weakness or even fall to the ground, being unable to maintain physical strength.

Results of the Revival

► International Visits—By the end of 1995, at least 600,000 people had visited Toronto from almost every nation on the planet.

► Conversions—There were over 900 first-time conversions in the renewal’s first year.

► Evangelism—With the revival came a new and fresh compulsion to share one’s faith with those who had no relationship with Jesus Christ.

► Boldness—Due to the revival’s influence, many received a fresh boldness to challenge unrighteousness, injustice, and corruption in society.

► Demonic Strongholds Broken—Many testified to having had demonic influence broken off their lives.

► Transformed Lives—Testimonies of God’s healing and transforming power seemed to have no end.

► Global Momentum—This revival had tremendous global impact in sparking revivals throughout the world.

By September 1994 over 4,000 pastors, spouses, and leaders had visited from North America, Great Britain, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and more.

By October 1994 it was estimated that as many as 3000 churches had been affected. Some churches had lines of people waiting two hours for the Sunday evening service.

By 1995, Charisma Magazine reported that an estimated 4,000 churches in England and another 7,000 churches in North America had been impacted by this new revival movement.

Churches and ministries across the earth trace some of their “roots in revival” to the Toronto Blessing. These include Holy Trinity Brompton in the U.K.; Bethel Church in Redding, California; and Rolland and Heidi Baker of Iris Global Ministries.

► More in Love with Jesus (and their spouse)—A study was conducted in 1995 that surveyed 1,000 people who visited the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church.

• Approximately half of them reported that they felt spiritually refreshed after having attended the meetings.
• Close to 90% said they were more in love with Jesus than they had been at any other point in their lives.
• Many marriages were restored and strengthened, as 88% of married respondents stated that they were more in love with their spouse following their visit to the revival services.
• A follow-up study conducted in 1997 also yielded similar figures to those of the original survey.

► The Bible—Thousands reported having a new and fresh passion to read the Scriptures.

► Increased Faith—The revival instilled a greater sense of expectancy in people for God to fulfill the promises in His Word.

► Unity—People attending the services didn’t care about each other’s denominational backgrounds. Everyone became equal and united, with Jesus being described as “The Great Leveler.”

► Teens—Thousands of teens had a deeper and more experiential encounter with Jesus Christ.

► Moral and Ethical Change—Many people’s lives were dramatically altered as it pertained to living more godly lives.

► Healings—

• Many physical healings were verifiably documented.
• Mental Illnesses—Those who had been undergoing counseling for years were changed overnight, specifically in the area of mental illnesses.
• Emotions—Many gave testimony to having their emotions healed, with a new ability to extend forgiveness to those whom they had struggled for years to forgive.
• Relationships—Many testified to healing that came to damaged and strained relationships.

► Increased Prayer—The number of people joining in prayer meetings quadrupled.

Sources
► A History of the Worldwide Awakening of 1992-1995 by Richard M. Riss
► From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire by Michael L. Brown
► Fruits of the Father’s Blessing: A Sociological Report by Margaret M. Poloma
► Go Inside the Toronto Blessing by Lavin Company, Inc. (1-Hour Documentary)
► Holy Laughter and the Toronto Blessing: An Investigative Report: by James A. Beverley
► The Father’s Blessing by John Arnott
► The Rising Revival by Peter C. Wagner
► The Toronto Blessing, or is it?: by Stanley E. Porter and Philip J. Richter
► The Toronto Blessing: What Is It? by John Arnott
► Toronto Blessing by Wikipedia
► Toronto Blessing: ‘The Greatest Thing that’s Happened in the Church in the Last 100 Years’ by Paul Strand

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