A PHENOMENAL REVIVAL occurred in Jamaica in 1860, ignited by the great North American prayer-revival of 1857-58, which affected a great portion of the Western World.
It was during September 1860, that this unprecedented evangelical awakening began among the Moravians in the parish of St. Elizabeth, in the southwest. It soon spread like wild fire, first to the three parishes of St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland, causing a sensation in local congregations, regardless of denomination. Eastwards the movement quickened to Mandeville and spread along the coast to villages and hamlets, eventually affecting the entire island - from Montego Bay to St. Thomas, from St. Ann's Bay to Savanna-la-Mar.
The most notable feature of this awakening was prayer. People whose lips seemed solely accustomed to curse and to swear now prayed as fluently as if such petition had been the daily employment of their lives. The prayer meetings seemed to generate a supernatural force which carried the multitudes along on a wave of irresistible power which, in turn, produced passionate repentance, astonishing moral reformation and fervent longing to know and love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
There remains one very exciting private journal of the period, penned by a Moravian missionary, the Rev. Theodore Sonderman, which gives us a glimpse into the beginnings of the revival movement. When he visited Clifton he was told that a strange meeting was going on, so he rode on until he met a crowd of people, some weeping for joy, others under deep conviction, and others bewildered by the strange events. He tried to allay excitement, but while he engaged in prayer, his own feelings overpowered him, so he felt it wise 'to leave them to the direction of the Holy Spirit.'
MEETING
On Friday, September 28, a typical meeting there commenced at 9 o'clock. One verse of a hymn was sung and an opening prayer was offered. (Diary, 28th Sept., 1860) There was no need to call on anyone to pray for no sooner had one finished than another began. Even the little children took part in the intercession. When one little boy began to pour out his soul before the Lord, trembling seized upon the company. Tears were shed and cries for mercy heard, while groans were torn from the hearts of hardened sinners. One little girl lifted up her voice in prayer in earnestness, fervency, and fluency. And then the Spirit came 'like a rushing mighty wind,' to quote the German missionary. Strong men trembled upon their knees as though shaken by some invisible power. Weeping was so general and so incessant the missionary feared it would get out of order. The meeting ended at 12, but many reassembled at the school house to continue while the missionary talked to those distressed.
One day later, Sonderman reflected, he might as well have attempted to stop the river in its course as to stem the streams of the outpouring of hearts, yet on that day quiet order and utter decorum prevailed in the church.
In a prayer meeting held in one notoriously wicked place, two younger women were struck down as though by lightning, whereupon one confessed her life of sin. Then two younger men were struck dumb, one of them writhing in agony. (Diary, 4th Oct., 1860) The work in St. Elizabeth had awakened very many from their sleep of religious formality, and also prostrated many ungodly persons. In four weeks, the Moravian pastor had conversed with 315 inquirers.
GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS
In early November another minister travelled to Montego Bay to preach a Sunday sermon. To his great surprise, from 5 o'clock on Saturday evening onwards, there came a stream of inquirers. God was visiting the town and a God-consciousness seemed to settle upon the people. God was the topic of conversation everywhere - in the market-place and shops, amongst merchant planters and field-hands alike.
The whole town was in a state of excitement, although as is usual during authentic revivals, some were mocking and some praising God. (Letter, 20th Nov., 1860)
After delivering his messages in Bethel Town, the missionary proposed a prayer gathering at dawn to be held on Monday morning. Five hundred people attended. Another meeting was then announced for Monday evening, presided over by a local preacher. At the conclusion of the service, and just as the final petition was presented, "the Spirit was poured out, and the mighty revival movement had commenced in real earnest," it was said. The people would not leave the chapel. The missionary was notified and he hastened back on Wednesday evening to witness unforgettable scenes, with as many as 100 hardened sinners prostrated at once. A dozen couples 'living in sin' published 'the banns' for legal marriage in a Christian ceremony.
SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
At Mount Carey chapel a crowd of 1,200 people gathered by 11:00 a.m. with many standing outside. A sensation was caused when about seven hearers were prostrated, much to the alarm of the local leadership. In these three places, 3,000 sinners were spiritually "awakened." They were typical of scenes throughout the island.
Great crowds were awe-struck. The few scoffers were besieged by the prayers of their friends until they saw the light of the Gospel. Conversions of the most depraved characters were followed by their untiring ministry on behalf of others. New converts by hundreds went from house to house all day and often at night, entreating sinners to repent. Private homes became holy meeting places for public prayer and Bible reading, with 50 or 100 crammed together in each place. Sales of Scriptures from the Kingston depot had averaged 4,700 a year but 20,700 copies were issued during the extraordinary awakening of the years 1860 and 1861.
Convicted sinners were sometimes smitten "deaf and dumb" or gnashed their teeth, or screamed, or tore their clothes. Some were unconscious for a day or more, others speechless for a week or so. It was not "the fear of hell, but a sense of sin" which brought about distress, they said. Often people told of seeing special visions. "Unaccountable" prostrations were sometimes followed by terrific bodily contortions or by jumping, by shouting, and by wild actions.
The Baptists announced more than 6,000 baptized or restored to membership with another 6,000 applying for baptism and fellowship.
So great was the Congregationalist growth that the London Missionary Society, by 1867, considered the field sufficiently evangelized and withdrew its missionaries completely.
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland announced, "the most remarkable and encouraging (news) that have ever come from Jamaica." Their church membership grew by almost 25 per cent and by the close of 1860 there were 1,928 candidates awaiting admission to membership, and one year later another 1,703.
The Wesleyan Methodist Circuit at Montego Bay experienced an exceptional reviving, marked by "strong crying with tears," with sinners wailing aloud for mercy and many of these people prostrated by conviction. Some 800 in regular membership welcomed 547 professed converts. There were vigorous movements in Lucea and Brown's Town circuit. Around St. Ann's Bay the Wesleyan congregation had 150 on trial in a regular membership of 500 or so. This was typical of the north coast circuits.
On the south coast, Clarendon circuit churches were crowded to excess, with 400 on trial and a membership of 800. Daily meetings for prayer were conducted also in Spanish Town, with 120 converts "on trial," the regular membership being 650.
Several people were prostrated for days on end. By early 1862 Methodists in Kingston had added 708 to membership, with another eighty-two still "on trial;" Montego Bay (807) had added 708, with 220 "on trial;" Spanish Town (655) had admitted 210 with 126 "on trial.'
EARNEST CHRISTIAN PROFESSION
It was acknowledged that the larger number of people awakened continued in their earnest Christian profession, but a few lapsed into a state of backsliding. One sample taken in Brown's Town indicated that two-thirds of the converts remained faithful.
J. Edwin Orr, author of Event of the Century states, "The awakenings in Jamaica and in the other Caribbean islands resembled the much greater movement in the United States, in their emphasis on prayer, conviction of sin, repentance, and on outreach, but differed very significantly in their stranger manifestations, the prostrations, trembling, and displays of emotion, and the resurgence of paganism and counterfeit Christianity among a minority."
Tony Cauchi is the librarian at the Revival Library, Kings Centre,(Bishop's Waltham, Hants, UK). His article is an adaptation of J. Edwin Orr's 'Event of the Century.' More information of global revivals may be found at www.revival-library.org. Mr. Cauchi may be reached via email at [email protected]