Finally, a revival in the Dutch colony of Cape Town, South Africa, touched that city of 30,000 people, producing missionaries who took the gospel to the native peoples of South Africa. That development was followed by similar revival in 1809 among British army regiments. These Methodist “soldier-evangelists” preached the gospel widely in South Africa.
Cornwall’s Christmas Revival (1781) In 1781, the faithful prayer warriors in Cornwall, England, chose to begin their Christmas celebration in prayer. They gathered as early as 3:00 A.M. at St. Just Church to sing hymns and pray to God. Then, as one account puts it, “the Lord of the universe stepped in and took over.” The Christmas prayer meeting continued for six hours. Even then, the intercessors ended the meeting only temporarily to be with their families on Christmas Day. Later that evening, they gathered once again at the church, and the revival continued. Cornwall’s Christmas Revival extended into January and February. By March, prayer meetings were continuing until midnight. This awakening by the Holy Spirit was largely a prayer movement. A Prayer Revival No significant preachers were involved in this revival. In fact, most of the gatherings were simply assemblies for prayer rather than evangelistic meetings. In 1784, eighty-threeyear-old John Wesley visited the area and immediately recognized the unique movement of God in the community. His journal entry includes the note: “This country is all on fire and the flame is spreading from village to village.” The revival spread from Cornwall, crossing denominational lines. Whitefield’s chapel on Tottenham Court Road was enlarged to seat 5,000 people, making it the largest church in the world at the time. Baptists in North Hampton, in Leicester, and throughout the Midlands set aside regular nights to pray for revival. Both Methodists and Anglicans joined the Baptists in such gatherings; soon converts were coming to Christ in these prayer meetings. Why would the unsaved attend a prayer meeting for revival? Different people had different reasons. Some reported being drawn to the churches by dreams and visions. Others actually came intending to disrupt the meetings or to have a good laugh at Christians engaged in prayer. Regardless of why they came, God worked in their hearts when they arrived. Many came under intense conviction of sin and found themselves “thrown to the ground under the power of the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes the conviction experienced by those attending services resulted in noise and confusion. More often, the meetings were overcome with a sense of stillness and solemnity. The revival that began on Christmas morning in Cornwall, England, was among the first expressions of revival in the Second Great Awakening. It actually preceded the larger