A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir

by Collin Hansen, John D. Woodbridge

Can God stir revival by his Holy Spirit, even in our culture today? Do we really believe he can? In a day of diminished expectations, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Accounts That Stretch and Stir recounts global examples of prior revivals, beginning with the Reformation and the Great Awakenings. It continues with the Welsh and Azusa Street revivals and those that occurred simultaneously in Asia, followed by the East Africa Revival of the 1930s. More recent revivals in North America that instigated parachurch or evangelistic ministries like those of Billy Graham and the revivals in China, particularly in Henan Province over the last forty years, give further evidence of church renewal.
These stories enlarge our hearts, expand our minds, and empower our witness to the power of God at work in human history. Christians with a deep evangelistic commitment who realize that there is more to church growth than field-tested techniques will expand their vision by remembering God's vision, as it has been revealed throughout history. Hansen and Woodbridge mine these stories of renewal to suggest how to get ready for revival today.

Genres: Church History, History, Christian, Nonfiction, Evangelism, Biography, Christianity

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2010

About the author

Collin Hansen is editorial director for The Gospel Coalition and was previously an associate editor for Christianity Today. He has written for Books & Culture, Leadership, and Christian History & Biography, and is the author of Young, Restless, and Reformed.

Reviews

[John Botkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an exhaustive study of revival, but excellent at what it was out to do: provide a brief history and analysis of God’s reviving work along his people in history. Along the way, the authors make observations and subtle analysis. Not every “revival” is really revival and we come away with some help discerning what is happening around us today. Especially if one is new to the subject, the reader will likely go away encouraged and expectant for God to do it again.

[Greg Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but reads dispassionately, like a journalistic account. Improves in the latter chapters; here I learned of some works of God in out-of-the way places. Better editing needed.

[Tung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revivals have been an important part of church history. This book provides a historical look at revivals (both famous and less famous) that have occurred over the past 300 years. Hansen and Woodbridge do a great job of highlighting revivals all over the globe (China, Korea, and Ireland, for example) rather than fixating on just American ones. More than simply describing the time and place of each revival, the book provides details about the people involved, including quotes from them where possible. Hansen and Woodbridge also try to highlight the important aspects that led to each revival (primarily fervent prayer) and the resulting spiritual change that resulted (primarily repentance of sin and conversions). While I think the book did a fine job summarizing the major revivals and drawing important lessons from them where possible, I did find it slightly disappointing. I love reading about people’s personal faith testimonies, and generally find them inspiring. I was hoping/expecting to find this book inspiring – and I didn’t. For me, the prose and general tone of the book impacted that. The authors take a fairly historian-esque approach to the telling of these tales, making the descriptions of the revivals a bit too clinical for my liking. In addition, the early chapters felt a bit too dry, primarily due to the inclusion of 17th and 18th century quotes from old books or from the people involved during those time periods. Recommended overall, with the caveat on the dryness.

[Kiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An historical survey and appraisal of modern Christian revivals around the world, with a particular focus on the English speaking world, this book deals with doubts about religious excesses and shows that there are indeed times of legitimate revivals from God and calls the reader to prayer, expectancy, and hope for such events in their contexts. The Korean revival features prominently in this volume as well, and rightfully so. Perhaps the biggest challenge to revivalism is not the lack of them but the eccentricities and abuses that so often occur when they do, or when they are said to have occurred. The Korean revival, as with others, demonstrated what central pastors and theologians have deemed as signs of true revival, like commitments to prayer, Bible reading, and true repentance from wrongdoing. Key among these pastors, and whose assessments of revivals, in their time and through history, serve as a backdrop to this book are Martin Lloyd Jones and Jonathan Edwards. I appreciated the balanced perspective presented here, not too zealous as to overlook the flaws of radical, over-ecstatic and false revivals, nor too cynical as to deny that there are times when the Holy Spirit calls many to Christ and conforms them into his image at rates that confound reason. I listened to this one, 5.5 hours. Otherwise it’s 192 pages of the sensible and sensational kind of stories that occur when broken people set about to see the work of a holy God happen in their time.

[Will Lohnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read on the topic of Revival. Inspirational. Encouraging. Instructional. If your spirit is low or your heart is dry, read this book and rejoice in the work of God in the lives of men, common men, who were used to bring an outpouring of His grace on His people. You will shed tears of joy as you see what God has done and will be pushed to believe He can do it again in the lives of individuals all around us. Thanks so much for the heart-filling passion in writing.

[Lynette Karg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just wasn’t what I expected…. It seemed disjointed and not very engaging, which should not have been the case given the subject matter at hand. I had hoped to see markers of genuine revival traced through various awakenings in various times. It definitely needed some thread to tie it all together better.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to seven major spiritual revivals in modern times from the 1730s to very recent history, in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Throughout the book, the authors point out shared traits of revivals and share fascinating details that inspire, which led me to praise God for His amazing work at various points in history! There is a healthy amount of devotional application that is encouraged and plenty more to find when thinking through the accounts this book contains. There is also an introductory chapter that addresses biblical and theological foundations of a revival. Highly recommended to stir your soul and ask God for a true revival in this day.

[Phil Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was tremendously encouraging, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that I felt the authors could have spoken more critically about some of the movements such as the Asuza Street revival, and particularly the Finney revivalism, in which few of the converts were walking with God in a few years time. If you read this book with that in mind, I think you’ll find your heart “strangely warmed” by these stories of God’s work in these special seasons of revival!

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring overview of historical revivals across the globe, beginning with the First Great Awakening and continuing up until today in Asia and Africa. Fantastic book to give people a vision for revival: What is revival? What does it consist of? Why should we pray for it and long for it and be on the look out for it? Makes me hunger for revival all the more. Highly recommend.

[David Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors do a great job walking through revivals throughout the world that of happened over the last few hundred years. The middle of the book gets slow when I stopped knowing the references of the people and places, but there were many quotes and helpful reminders that encourage me to continue praying, persevering, and persisting and faithfulness in pursuit of revival.

[Amy Jacobsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tour of revivals around thrme world. Broadened my understanding of revival and church history.

[Aaron Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Joyce Jarrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to learn about several of the great revivals.

[Justin Kirksey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concise telling of revival moments in Christian history.

[Gavin Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography of some of the revivals of modern history, as well as a summary of their common characteristics.

[Laura Bazal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book!! Convince, convicting, inspiring. I'd recommend this to anyone who is yearning to see God move in the world.

[Anthony Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

More dense than I was expecting, but encouraging nonetheless

[Matt Kottman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hansen, surveys revivals through the years and looks at what was common among them, while also dispelling certain myths about revivals (for example the myth that you can plan a revival, and that a revival has to do with conversions when it's really an extraordinary move the Spirit where his people walk in joyful surrender). I was encouraged to pray for revival and reminded yet again that revival is both the work of God but also something that we should pray for. I for one am praying for deeper revival in my heart, home, and community.

[Rob]

I read A God-Sized Vision last Sunday in preparation for some meetings this week. What a fantastic read! The book hit me on several levels:

As a history major, I loved the stories of how God has worked in the past. What a joy to hear about the global and historic scope of His work in fanning revival. You leave this book certain that no place, people or timeframe is outside of God's ability to work.

As a staff worker, I loved hearing about the people that God used to advance his purposes on earth. People like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Phinney and Timothy Dwight at Yale. As someone who everyday works to see students transformed, campuses renewed and world changers developed (how's that for a plug for IV?!?), I left inspired that God might bring revival onto my campuses in my day. May it indeed be so!

As a writer, I loved reading about the importance of chronically the work of God. I mean, how incredible that a revival in Whales could directly lead to a revival in India?!? It's not like those countries are neighbors! When God's people experience a fresh work of His Spirit, when they write it down, and then when they share it with others, the work spreads. It was fun to dream about what this could look like on our campuses.

Lastly, as a Jesus follower, I loved being challenged by what revival could mean for me. Where do I need revival in my own heart? Where do I want to see God work in fresh and amazing ways in my character? Where in my personal ministry do I need a rekindling? A God-Sized Vision gives the reader hope that the Spirit has the power to renew our souls and bring us back to life.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A God-Sized Vision offers a balanced view of the history of revivals across the world.This books reminded me that God works in amazing and miraculous ways, and has stretched my vision of what God can do. That God is advancing His Kingdom and has responded in the past when His people pray earnestly for revival. This book showed me that revival is not just a mass emotional experience (though this can accompany it), but that it is so much more than that. It is a wide-scale renewed dedication to God and His purposes by the Church, and a great amount of people being born again into His kingdom. This book showed me that revival is an amazing thing when it is true revival, and that it ought to be prayed for.

[Justin Lonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hansen and Woodbridge shatter the notion that the Western Church is in decline by recounting our shared history of revival. This book encouraged me greatly both in its content–the power of the Spirit to pierce the hearts of men should never cease to amaze us–and in its approach–teaching a new generation of believers to marinate themselves in the history of the Lord’s work among His people.

History of all sorts is a passion of mine, and we undercut so much of our faith and practice by assuming the present somehow supersedes the past and preempts the future.

[Will O'kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a friend. There's some really good stuff here. As far as the book goes, I didn't feel like the writing was particularly compelling, nor did I find the historical narratives to be very in-depth or organized. Perhaps this is just a starting place for those who want to know more about revival. However, the basic message being preached is, I believe, the most important message for the church today. Definitely worth the read.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encouraging, if a bit short and maybe too simplistic at times (Finney and the charismatics get off pretty easy). I can't imagine experiencing a revival like these examples today, but the point of the book is to show you what God has done in the past.

[Shawn Trautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Especially the section on Billy Graham and the modern evangelical movements. I have a tendency to be somewhat critical of much of modern evangelical culture, and it's good for me to see how God has worked through these men and movements.

[Daniel Nelms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic but quick overview of famous worldwide revivals in the past few centuries. It's just a primer, but it's a necessary one for those wanting to dig deeper into understanding the nature and history of revivals. My only criticism: it's too short!

[Andrew Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book!

[Joanne Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather like a good buffet that whets one's appetite for more. Thankful for the legacy and to have met people who are still wonderfully affected by them.

[Bekah Lyts · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredible & will definitely be reading again :)