Revival

In Christianity, and specifically within American Christianity, the term revival has two separate, yet sometimes inter-related, meanings, both of which involved spiritual awakening among Christians and evangelistic activity among non-Christians.

The first, and most commonly used, refers to a planned service or series of services. The services usually feature a guest speaker (evangelist) and last from 1/2 week to a full week, but may be extended if significant spiritual activity takes place (see the second meaning below). The services may be held at a church's facility, or at a larger facility if multiple congregations are involved. Notable evangelists who conducted large services of this type include Billy Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts. Revivals are still popular within fundamentalist circles; however, they have generally fallen out of favor elsewhere, especially with the passing of Graham.

The second meaning, most common within Pentecostal and Charismatic circles, refers to a spontaneous "move of the Holy Spirit". The move can and has taken place within the context of a planned event, which may or may not have been labeled a "revival". For example, a planned event (that being, a regular chapel service at Asbury University) led to a spontaneous revival (which in its history has happened on several occasions, most notably in 1970 and again in 2023). Under this meaning, the move may result in similar moves taking place outside of the immediate vicinity of the first move, commonly when people who were part of the initial move share their experiences with other groups.

## See also[edit]

* Historical examples of the exponential growth of Christianity
* Growth of Christianity in China
* Growth of evangelical Christianity
* Growth of religious fundamentalism
* First Great Awakening
* Second Great Awakening
* Welsh Revival of 1904-1905
* Atheism vs. Christian revival and Christian apologetics