The Old Dutch North Church
In the mid-1800s, the United States was becoming more worldly. The California Gold Rush Era, the continued Western migrations in search of prosperity, the building of railroads, the questions concerning slavery, the imminent approach of the Civil War, and many other factors were influencing American society.
In the midst of this, a tall, unassuming middle-aged merchant named Jeremiah Lanphier, had a spiritual hunger not only for himself, but also for the world. He was a member of the Old Dutch North Church on Fulton and Williams streets in lower Manhattan in New York City. Church attendance was declining, and Lanphier was appointed by the church to engage in door-to-door visitation. After three months of knocking on doors, he saw little results.
He determined to start a prayer meeting, so at noon on September 23, 1857, he climbed the stairs to the third story of the 88-year-old church and began a prayer meeting. He had passed out flyers in the neighborhood to announce this hour of prayer, but he was the only one in attendance. But after about 30 minutes, he heard footsteps on the stairs. Six men joined him to pray for the rest of that hour. It was not a big prayer meeting, but it was a start.
Prayer meetings were held on the following two Wednesdays at noon, and additional people came. On the third Wednesday, there was a financial panic or stock market crash. Banks closed. Factories shut down, and thousands were unemployed. The nation was on edge and ripe for revival. People soon began to flock to the prayer meetings. Within six months the attendance at the prayer meetings on Fulton Street and other locations in New York City had grown to 10,000 with similar meetings taking place in other communities across the U.S.
Newspapers everywhere carried stories of what became known as the Prayer Meeting Revival, which ushered in the Third Great Awakening in America. Tens of thousands came to Christ as a result of the meetings. Churches saw new life, marriages were restored, crime was reduced, and overseas missionary outreaches were started. The revival blossomed for two years, ending just before the start of the Civil War, but its influence continued for several more decades through the preaching of evangelists such as Dwight L. Moody, William Booth, A. B. Simpson, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Sunday.
Grave marker for Jeremiah Lanphier
A coalition of New York pastors and Christian organizations is sponsoring a meeting to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the revival. The anniversary will take place in three locations in downtown New York. Hilton New York Hotel, Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, and the John Street United Methodist Church, The program includes speakers such as Dr. Henry Blackaby, Dr. Jack Hayford, Dr. Doug Stringer, and Dr. Timothy J. Keller. On Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m, September 22nd, there will be a Citywide Prayer Meeting at Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. Sunday afternoon the conference will conclude with an inspirational talk from Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook. See this web page:
Anniversary of the Fulton Street Noon Prayer Meeting
http://fultonstreetrevival.googlepages.com/
In conjunction with the anniversary, a special Concert of Prayer dedicated to the Fulton Street Revival will be held on September 21, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, in downtown New York. See this page:
Fulton Street Concert of Prayer
http://www.copgny.org/234829.ihtml
For the last few months, CBN has been working on a story on the Sesquicentennial (150 years) anniversary of the Fulton Street Revival (1857-2007). The anniversary of this event officially starts at noon on Sunday, September 23, 2007. A concerted effort to pray is scheduled for that day. I pray that we can have another Great Awakening in America. And I urge you to join with others on September 23rd at noon to pray for another Great Awakening.
Paul Strand of CBN News interviewed my good friend Ted Lavigne concerning the Fulton Street Revival. Ted has a web page and a blog telling the significance of this wonderful prayer revival and has also been documenting and collecting artifacts relating to this revival. According to CBN, Ted “owns the world’s largest collection of memorabilia from the revival — including rare photos and portraits of Lanphier.”
Visit Ted’s website at:
http://www.childandteenpreachers.com/FultonStreetRevival.html
Visit His Blog at:
http://fultonstreetprayermeeting.blogspot.com/
CBN has completed the documentary, and the story is called “Fulton Street.” The program airs today, September 18, 2007 on the 700 Club at 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. (Eastern time) on the ABC Family channel. The show can also be viewed nationally at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on TBN.. It is also expected to run on Wednesday on another program called “CBN Newswatch.”
Click on these additional sites which tell about the Fulton Street Revival:
Fulton Street Revival Anniversary Video (produced by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Church)
http://www.namb.net/fultonstreet
Fulton Street Revival sesquicentennial: celebrating an awakening born of prayer
Click Here
Prayer Revival
Click Here
Spiritual Rally on Wall Street (includes 3.39 minute video with interviews of Ted Lavigne and Bruce Berliner)
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/232933.aspx
Rally on Wall Street (video download of same interviews)
http://www.cbn.com/vod/results.aspx?search=fulton#”
Wall Street Revival in progress (web page of Rev. Bruce Berliner who is holding prayer meetings near the site of the original revival and has written a book on the subject)
http://www.wallstreetrevival.com/
Rumblings of Revival in New York City (video with Rev. Bruce Berliner)
http://www.wallstreetrevival.com/VIEW700TVPROGRAM.html
Fulton Street Revival Sesquicentennial: Celebrating an Awakening Born of Prayer
http://prayer.ag.org/news/fulton_street.cfm
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