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There must be very few places on Earth that have experienced as many
significant moves of God as have occurred in Kilsyth, Scotland. In the
past two hundred and fifty years this small town, with a population
of under 10,000, has experienced no less than three major Revivals*
The Revival of 1742
The first occurred in 1742, a period in Scottish history that most
would associate with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Just prior to the outbreak
in Kilsyth, George Whitefied writing in a letter dated 19th July records:
"At mid-day I came to Cambuslang, and preached at 2 p.m. to a
vast body of people; again at 6 p.m. and again at nine at night. Such
commotions surely were never heard of especially at eleven o'clock at
night. For an hour and a half there was much weeping and so many falling
into such deep distress, expressed in various ways as cannot be described.
The people seemed to be slain in score. Their agonies and cries were
exceedingly affecting. Mr. McCulloch preached, after I had done, till
1 a.m. in the morning; and they could not persuade the people to depart.
In the fields all night might be heard the voices of prayer and praise."
He refers to the scene in his writings as likened to a battlefield
in which the wounded were supported by their friends as they were unable
to stand unaided
This Revival was shortly to impact Kilsyth but, for the moment, we
must step back tens years to encounter James Robe the Kilsyth Parish
minister; a man who had preached to his congregation for over thirty
years without any apparent success. During these years of apathy and
lethargy Robe prayed earnestly for a descent of the Holy Spirit and
had set up a seven year concert of prayer for Revival.
In 1732 Kilsyth was stricken by a pleuritic fever which claimed 60
lives in just six weeks. A few months later devastating flooding swept
away houses, drowned livestock and destroyed most of the cornfields.
Eyewitnesses testify to hailstones falling which were three inches in
circumference. Added to this James Robe encountered opposition within
his church and a number of people left. When famine ravaged the town
and left people on the brink of starvation it seemed that Revival could
not have been further away.
Robe however was tenacious and held on to God. His prayers were answered.
Revival fires descended on the town. The impact of the Revival on society
as a whole was soon felt. However, because there were many outward manifestations,
strong wailing and falling down being two examples, Robe was charged
with 'emotionalism'. Despite the fact that hundreds were saved, the
religious establishment, as so often is the case, were unmoved by the
power of God and spoke of the Revival as a "Delusion and work of
the Grand Deceiver.
Robe answered his critics by pointing out that "Satan's works
never yet produced reformation of life and manners and the embracing
of the righteousness of God."
The Revival of 1839
In the first quarter of the nineteenth century Kilsyth had hardened
to the Gospel to the point that it was said that, "The Apostle
Paul would not be able to get the people of Kilsyth out to a full meeting
on three Sabbaths running."
However, this was to change. William Chalmers Burns, a young man twenty
four years of age was led to preach on the subject of Revival. He read
from Acts 2 and then preached from Psalm 110:3, "Thy people shall
be willing in the day of Thy power." As he ministered, people broke
forth in uncontrollable wailing and tears and groans intermingled with
shouts of joy and praise. Some screamed and others fell to the ground
as if dead. The meeting eventually concluded at 3 p.m. having lasted
five hours.
The Revival had begun and, when he preached a few days later, he found
himself preaching to a thousand people on a Saturday afternoon. The
next day he preached for two hours to a crowd of 10,000 people. Another
large service was planned that evening and yet another at 10 p.m. This
meeting lasted till 3 a.m. Some who had been counselled did not leave
until 6 a.m.
One man commenting on the impact of this move of God recorded, "The
web became nothing to the weaver, nor the forge to the blacksmith, nor
his bench to the carpenter, nor his furrow to the ploughman. They forsook
all to crowd the churches and the prayer meetings.". It was common
place for hundreds to meet for early morning prayer in the market square
before going to work.
Once again religious people opposed the move of God and, once again,
the fruits bore eloquent and indisputable testimony to its genuineness.
Burns went as a missionary to China in 1846 and laboured there for
over twenty years. He was a source of encouragement to the young Hudson
Taylor who was later to found the China Inland Mission. A missionary
on furlough was asked if he had ever known William Burns, "Know
him, sir, " he replied, "Every man in China knows him! He
is the holiest man alive."
Once again God had chosen to pour out His Spirit on the small town
of Kilsyth but there were still more remarkable visitations yet to come.
The Revival of 1908
The Kilsyth Chronicle of 12th June 1897 announced meetings that would
be taking place in the Westport Hall which were specifically intended,
"To meet the wants of the non-church goer."
At the turn of the century poverty was rife in town and Kilsyth had
some of the worse housing stock in Britain during that period. Established
churches in the town were having great difficulty in integrating the
largely mining community into church life. To their credit, local ministers
supported the formation of this new Fellowship and in 1902 a committee
of four Elders and four deacons were appointed. The designated name
of the church was, "Church of God, Kilsyth.".
When Revival fell in A.A. Boddy's church in Sunderland in 1908 one
of the people who flocked to witness the Pentecostal outpouring was
Bill Hutchison an Elder of the Kilsyth Church. This visit, together
with the fact that A.A. Body made a timely visit to Scotland, generated
a hunger in the hearts of a number of the Church of God leaders for
an outpouring of God's Spirit. On 1st February 1908 the fire fell.
Between thirty and forty were prostrated on the floor under the power
of the Holy Spirit. Crowds flocked to the hall to see what was happening
and those who could not get inside climbed up to the windows. In the
weeks that followed two hundred people were baptised in the Spirit.
Meetings were conducted every night of the week for four months. On
a Sunday on which Cecil Polhill preached, 28 young people offered themselves
for missionary service. The Church of God, Kilsyth became Scotland's
first Pentecostal congregation.
A ministry Develops
In the first 95 years of its History the church had no salaried ministry.
The church was led by a group of Elders one of whom was considered to
be the presiding Elder or President. Bill Hutchison who had been the
first of the Elders to visit the Sunderland Revival, and who was later
to serve for a number of years as President, emigrated to America in
1922 and was succeeded by Mr Harry Tee, the father of one of Elim's
premiere Evangelists Alex Tee. Harry Tee went home to be with the Lord
in 1959 having been the President of Kilsyth Church of God for thirty
seven years.
It was at this point that Jim Gibson took over the leadership. Jim
and his wife Margaret gave sterling service to the church over very
many years. It was during this period that Kilsyth became particularly
well known for its musical ministry. Its choirs and groups toured the
whole of Britain and on several occasions ministered abroad. Older members
of Elim and Assemblies of God will remember the names of the "Westport
Quartet", "Ross Brothers" and the "Kingsway Singers"
to name but a few. Jim Gibson retired in 1986 having served as President
for twenty-six years. He had held office, in one position or another
for a total of sixty years. Jim and Margaret have a strong testimony
in the town. They are two of the churches most fervent supporters and
are totally committed to everything God is doing in this generation.
Jim Gibson was succeeded by his brother-in-law John Stark who ably led
the church for the following six years.
Throughout its history, while there have always been warm links with
both Elim and Assemblies of God, the Church of God always retained its
independence and was never aligned to a Denomination.
A New Year Convention in the late 1980's was about to signpost a watershed
for the church. The speakers were Warwick Shenton, who was then General
Superintendent of the Assemblies of God and Paul Weaver who currently
holds that office. John Stark, the then President, was about to retire
and he, together with the other Elders, had already been feeling that
there was a number of areas in which change was necessary. The ministry
during the Convention confirmed this and, shortly after it concluded,
a special Business meeting was called to see how what God had spoken
into the Fellowship could be put into practice.
A period of radical change
Two fundamental decisions were made. The first was to come under Denominational
covering and the second to appoint a minister, from outside the church,
who would implement whatever it was felt was God's heart for the Fellowship.
As far as Denominational covering was concerned, the ideal solution
would have been to link with both the Denominations to which Kilsyth
had strong ties. Whilst Elim was happy to accommodate through ECI the
Assemblies of God constitution, at that time, could not facilitate that
option.
It was eventually decided that the first priority was to seek God
about a Pastor and, that done, the church would affiliate to which ever
of the two Denominations the minister himself was linked. The Elders
decided to approach John Glass, Regional Superintendent for Elim in
Scotland, to be their first full time minister.
The church has undergone major change during the past four and a half
years in terms of structure, direction and, most of all in worship-style.
Today, Kilsyth Church of God is at the cutting edge of the work that
God is doing throughout Scotland. How has this been achieved with so
little disturbance and upheaval? John Glass is in no doubt at all about
the answer. He puts it down to the, "High calibre of people that
he has working alongside him in leadership combined with the openness
of the vast majority of the church to change." He believes that
the church is currently experiencing the favour of God to such a degree
that within a matter of months the church may well experience another
spectacular outpouring of the Spirit of God.
Can revival really strike four times in the same place?
Shortly after John Glass became the senior minister of the church,
Roberts Liardon (USA) when preaching at Kilsyth prophesied for twenty
minutes over the Fellowship. John Glass recalls, "I don't think
I have ever witnessed such a powerful prophecy. What is even more remarkable
is that in the subsequent three years, visiting ministry from afar apart
as California, Africa and Australia have all brought the same word.
I believe that when God's sovereignty is harnessed to our obedience
the result is inevitable."
Last February when Pastor John Glass and one of the Elders of the
church were travelling back from visiting the Revival in Pensacola,
Florida they visited Benny Hinn's church in Orlando. At the close of
the service Pastor Steve Hill, one of the senior ministers, came over
and said God had given him a message for them - He prophesied an impending
outpouring of the Spirit of God on the church.
* The author is indebted
to James Hutchison author of the definitive work on the History of Kilsyth,
"Weavers, Miners and the Open Book" for much of the historical
detail mentioned in this article. James'Hutchison's grandfather was
one of the early leaders of the Church of God in Kilsyth.
