Modern Church

Six: The Modern Church (AD 1678–c. 1950)

From the end of the Thirty Year War of 1678 to the 1950's.

The Great Awakening (1700's)

The Great Awakening refers to a mighty revival in both England and America.

George Whitefield (1714–1770)

Mr. Whitefield was a powerful orator of the simple Gospel who at the age of 24 was forbidden to preach in the Church of England. He made the fields his chapel and preached to thousands of people in the open air. This was the beginning of revival in the western part of England. He preached in both England and America.

John Wesley (1703–1791)

The world was his parish. He preached to thousands of people in the open air. He preached throughout England and America starting many churches. He is the founder of the Methodist Church.

Jonathan Edwards (1703—1758)

He became a pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts at the age of 17. In 1741 he read his famous sermon entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to his congregation. Great conviction fell on the congregation while they were preaching and revival spread throughout New England.

The Second Great Awakening (1820's)

This was another mighty move of God revival fires spread also into England.

Charles Finney

Charles Finney was in the forefront of a great American revival. In the early 1820's Finney preached Gospel meetings in NY that stirred a second flame of revival fires. Finney was a man of faith and a fiery evangelist of the Gospel. Finney has been referred to as "America's foremost evangelist."

D. L. Moody

Moody shook America and England for God. He preached the simple Gospel in the common language of the people. It has been estimated that one million souls were saved in his ministry. He founded Moody Bible Institute which is still in existence today.

Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon was a "Prince of Preachers" who was the Pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in London. He preached to more than 5,000 people weekly for 40 years.

God was restoring the preaching of the cross to the church

The Modern Missionary Movement

This was a period of great revival and concentrated missionary efforts. The world was an open door for missions.

Mark 16:15—And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Matthew 28:19–20)

William Carey (India)

William Carey (1761–1834) was the father of the modern missionary movement. He was a poor Englishman. For a time, he walked 8 miles each Sunday to preach to a church. He tried to convince people to go preach in other countries, but they said, "If God wants to save the heathen, He will do so, without your help or mine."

He sailed for India in 1793. He was the first modern missionary to India. There, he saw no converts for seven years. He did not spend much time condemning the Hindu religion, but instead spent his time speaking about Jesus, His death, and His Resurrection. He also formed the first missionary society. A famous saying of his is, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."

Adoniram Judson (Burma)

He got married on February 5, 1812, and within two weeks they were sailing for India from the United States. They started the trip working under the Congregationalists, but because Adoniram thought that the Congregationalists were wrong about baptism, he convinced his wife and another partner that was with them to become Baptists. He sent a letter of resignation when they arrived in India. The partner took the letter back, and went to try to raise money from the Baptists.

The government of India would not let them stay, and William Carey suggested that they should go to Burma. When they arrived in Burma, they started learning the language, opened a school for girls, and translated the New Testament. It was six years before they had their first convert. Adoniram spent two years in prison. Adoniram's wife, Ann, died at age 36. Judson established 63 churches, mostly among the Karen tribe.

David Livingstone (Africa)

He is referred to as the pathfinder of Africa. He pioneered the interior of Africa were white man had never gone before. He ministered among the Tswana people for ten years, but he saw only one convert. He established missionary stations and did much to promote the Gospel in Africa.

Hudson Taylor (China)

He founded China Inland Mission, which was a Missionary group that concentrated on spreading the Gospel far into the interior of China. He grew a beard and wore his hair long in a ponytail, which was the style of men in China at the time. He also wore the clothes of the native people of China. He said that, "It is not their denationalization, but their Christianization that we seek." He planted 849 missionaries, started 205 mission stations, and his missionary society had 125,000 converts to Christianity.

Discussion: Are missionaries helpful or harmful to local people?

The Azusa Street Revival (1906)

The Azusa Street Revival was a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost in Los Angeles California at the turn of the 20th century. God was restoring Pentecost to the Church.

The other notable preachers

Billy Sunday

Billy Sunday stood strong against alcohol and was a dynamic preacher of the Gospel.

Smith Wigglesworth

Smith Wigglesworth was an Apostle of Faith who had a tremendous healing ministry.

The Tent Revivals of the 1950's

Oral Roberts, A. A. Alan, Jack Coe, and William Branham travelled across America with large tents and preached. Jack Coe was a man with reckless faith. He would break crutches and throw canes when he prayed for the sick.