Today was our last full day in London, we’re off to York tomorrow afternoon. We have enjoyed our time in the “Big Smoke” (as my friend James Gray calls it) immensely. I wrote about the Wesley sites previously, but there’s a lot to catch up on. We’ve spent the last couple of days doing many of the standard tourist things, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Churchill War Rooms, walking by the Thames and that sort of thing it’s been fun. But in the midst of this we’ve also tried to track down some sites associated with revival.

On Sunday, we attended morning worship at Westminster Chapel which was established in 1842 on Buckingham Gate in what was then one of London’s poorest slums. Beginning with a small band of 22, Westminster Chapel combined clear gospel teaching with an active ministry to the poor, the orphans and unemployed. The chapel began to make a difference in the neighborhood and by 1860 they outgrew their building, so the 1,500 seat auditorium which is still used today was constructed.

Westminster Chapel (not to be confused with the Abbey) has had a succession of powerful preachers. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan arrived in 1904. Influenced by a visit to Wales where he experienced the revival breaking out there, Morgan returned to the Chapel full of passion for London to experience its own visitation by God. He was not disappointed. The church made massive inroads into the lives of the local populace – poor and rich alike. Overseas missions, social action, the training of young men and women, and a well-attended Bible School, all flourished as the church grew in its impact and reputation.

Dr. Morgan was followed by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones who carried the same passion for scriptural exposition and spiritual revival for over 40 years. His book, Revival, was influential in my own understanding of the subject. Interestingly enough, I met the pastor who followed Dr. Lloyd-Jones in Enfield about ten years ago when he was doing a tour of revival sites in New England. He stopped by Calvary to ask if someone had information on Edwards famous sermon. I shared a paper I had written on the subject with him – small world.

Westminster Chapel is smaller than in its glory days (I’d guess that there were around 300 – 400 in attendance), but continues to be faithful in bringing a clear presentation of the Gospel and seeking to make a difference in the community.

On Sunday evening, we attended Hill Song Church which meets in the Dominion Theater on Oxford Circus. They apparently take the place over on Sundays with services at 10:30, 1:00, 3:00 & 6:00pm. They also have a satellite location in another community. We arrived at 5:45 for the 6:00pm service and found the theater nearly full with exhuberant (primarily young) people. The worship was powerful and the visiting speaker was extremely energetic – I was worn out just listening to him. Not sure I would want this as a steady diet, but the church is making an impact. There had to be at least 1,000 mostly twenty something young people at that one service. Speaking with one of the hosts before the service I found out that Hill Song Church is 10 years old. They have outgrown several venues and are pretty much at the limit with this one. Could this be a manifestation of God’s reviving Spirit in our day?

In the midst of our sight-seeing on Monday, we also came across Metropolitan Tabernacle, another significant place in which God has moved. This church dates back to the 17th Century, but is best known as the congregation of C.H. Spurgeon from 1853 to 1888. Spurgeon was known for his powerful Biblical exposition (tens of thousand were converted through his ministry), but the ministry of the Tabernacle included a pastor’s college, and orphanage, a Christian literature society and starting over 200 churches.

Spurgeon was a tremendously gifted man – he was known in his day as the “prince of preachers”, but it was not preaching that made him great. Spurgeon repeatedly acknowledged his success as the direct result of his congregation’s faithful prayers. When visitors would come to Spurgeon’s church he would take them to the basement prayer-room where people were always on their knees interceding. Spurgeon would declare, “Here is the powerhouse of this church.”

The final person whose past we tried to track down was George Whitefield. It’sironic that it is very difficult to find places associated with his ministry. Though Whitefield was a contemporary of (and partner with) John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards, he was the far more influential in his day. During his lifetime, Whitefield delivered over 18,000 sermons to ten million people, averaging roughly ten sermons a week. It has been estimated that something like 8 out of 10 people alive in the American colonies in his era heard him preach at least once. This was at a time when there was no television or mass communication. It was Whitefield who, when denied opportunities to preach in established pulpits, went and proclaimed the gospel to crowds in the fields and street. On one visit to Boston, some 30,000 people gathered to hear him on the common. It was Whitfield who sought to take the Gospel to the laborers and poor, who were largely ignored by the church in their rapidly industrializing society. It was told that when he preached to thousands of miners in Bristol, you could see the tracks of tears running down the coal-blackened faces.

Although God used Whitefield powerfully from 1738 until his death in 1770, unlike Wesley or Edwards, he never began a movement or wrote extensively. In London, the center of his ministry, there are only a few markers noting the work of such an influential man of God. Whitefield died in Newburyport, MA where he is buried under the pulpit of Old South Presbyterian Church.

What did all of these ministries have in common? Though they spanned several centuries, involved some very personalities, reached a variety of people, each combined a commitment to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ with actively seeking to make a difference in the lives of people – especially those who were in need. Most importantly each was built upon the foundation of trust in God’s Word and empowered by prayer.