Across generations, Christians have witnessed seasons of renewed prayer, repentance, faith, and missionary service. This selection traces significant awakenings from the seventeenth century through Azusa Street in 1906, alongside missionary milestones that helped carry the Gospel across nations. It is a starting point for exploration, rather than a complete record of every revival.
Early awakenings: 1625–1727
1625 — Sixmilewater Revival, Ulster. An early awakening among the Protestant congregations of County Antrim became an important chapter in Irish Presbyterian history. Historical source.
1630 — Kirk of Shotts, Scotland. John Livingstone preached after a communion gathering in June. His later account remembered the occasion as an exceptional experience of God’s presence in preaching. Historical source.
1727 — Moravian renewal, Herrnhut, Germany. Reconciliation and spiritual renewal at the August 13 communion service in nearby Berthelsdorf helped form a community marked by sustained prayer and international mission. Read the story. Historical source.
The evangelical awakening: 1734–1742
1734–1735 — Northampton awakening, Massachusetts. Jonathan Edwards’s congregation experienced a revival that spread to neighboring communities and became an early landmark of the Great Awakening. Historical source.
1735 onward — Welsh Methodist awakening. The ministries of Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland helped shape a revival movement in Wales, with preaching, religious societies, and later generations of Welsh awakenings. Historical source.
1738–1739 — Wesley and the British evangelical awakening. John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience in May 1738 was followed by open-air preaching in Bristol in April 1739, encouraged by George Whitefield. Charles Wesley’s preaching and hymns also helped nurture the growing movement. Read the story.
1739–1741 — Whitefield and the American Great Awakening. George Whitefield’s preaching tours brought large outdoor gatherings and linked local awakenings across the colonies. Read the story.
1742 — Cambuslang and Kilsyth, Scotland. Local ministries associated with William McCulloch and James Robe saw awakenings during the wider evangelical revival. Whitefield also preached at the celebrated Cambuslang gatherings. Historical source.
Frontier revivals and missionary service: 1799–1841
1799 — Missionary milestone: Johannes Theodorus van der Kemp arrives in South Africa with the London Missionary Society. In 1803 he helps establish Bethelsdorp in the Cape Colony.
1800 — Red River Revival, Kentucky. Meetings under James McGready helped set the stage for the frontier camp-meeting movement that followed. Historical source.
1801 — Cane Ridge Revival, Kentucky. A large communion gathering associated with Barton W. Stone became a defining event in the frontier phase of the Second Great Awakening. Read the story.
1817 — Missionary milestone: Robert Moffat arrives in South Africa. His later work at Kuruman helped establish a lasting center of Christian mission in southern Africa. Read the story.
1820s–1830s — Finney’s revival ministry, United States. Charles Grandison Finney became a prominent evangelist during the Second Great Awakening; the Rochester revival of 1830–1831 was a particularly influential episode. Historical source.
1839 — Kilsyth and Dundee awakenings, Scotland. William Chalmers Burns’s preaching was associated with revival at Kilsyth and at Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s congregation in Dundee. Historical source.
1841 — Missionary milestone: David Livingstone arrives in South Africa, after sailing from Britain in 1840. His missionary journeys later carry him farther into southern and central Africa. Read the story. Historical source.
Prayer revivals and evangelism: 1857–1875
1857–1858 — New York Prayer Revival. Jeremiah Lanphier’s weekday prayer meeting on Fulton Street grew into a wider movement of prayer among laypeople and churches in the United States. Read the story.
1858–1859 — Welsh revival. Humphrey Jones returned from America in 1858 and preached in Wales. Dafydd Morgan joined the work, and the awakening spread widely across Wales in 1859. Historical source.
1859 — Ulster Revival. Prayer and Bible study near Kells and Connor preceded an awakening that spread through County Antrim and across Ulster, drawing communities into prayer and renewed Christian faith. Historical source.
1859–1860 — Scottish awakening. Prayer meetings and evangelistic preaching accompanied revival in numerous Scottish communities, with local developments continuing beyond these central years. Historical source.
1860–1861 — South African revival, Cape Colony. Prayer and awakening touched several congregations, including Worcester, where Andrew Murray was minister. This belongs to the wider international revival era of the late 1850s and early 1860s. Read the story. Historical source.
1873–1875 — Moody and Sankey in Britain and Ireland. Dwight L. Moody’s preaching and Ira D. Sankey’s singing brought large evangelistic gatherings and encouraged renewed Christian service across churches. Historical source.
Toward Azusa Street: 1901–1906
1901 — Topeka, Kansas. Students at Charles Parham’s Bethel Bible School reported speaking in tongues during prayer at the beginning of January. This became an important precursor of the emerging Pentecostal movement. Historical source.
1904–1905 — Welsh Revival. Evan Roberts became a prominent figure in an awakening characterized by prayer, repentance, congregational singing, and renewed commitment to Christ. Historical source.
1905 — Mukti Revival, Kedgaon, India. Prayer and spiritual awakening among the girls and women of Pandita Ramabai’s mission formed an important Indian revival before Azusa Street. Ramabai published her own account of the movement. Historical source.
1906 — Azusa Street Revival, Los Angeles. William J. Seymour’s ministry brought a diverse gathering into sustained prayer and worship. Visitors and missionaries carried its Pentecostal message internationally. Read the story. Historical source.
Later milestones already in the collection
These later entries remain as a bridge to the next chapters of the story.
1908 onward — John G. Lake. His work in South Africa and later in the United States became part of the developing Pentecostal and healing movements. Read the story.
1949–1952 — Hebrides Revival, Scotland. Prayer and awakening on the Isle of Lewis are associated with local believers and the ministry of Duncan Campbell. Some accounts include the continuing work in 1953. Historical source.
Reading the historical record
The links beside selected entries lead to historical accounts, church archives, and scholarly resources. Participant accounts help us hear how people understood the events they witnessed; dates and descriptions may differ between sources. The summaries here use original wording and avoid treating reported conversion totals as exact counts.