Church Initiative to Mark Centenary of 1904 Welsh Revival
To mark the centenary of the 1904 Welsh Revival, UK-based United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) will broadcast a series of special events at the Cardiff International Arena live this weekend Oct 29-31
To mark the centenary of the 1904 Welsh Revival, UK-based United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) will broadcast a series of special events at the Cardiff International Arena live this weekend Oct 29-31.
One hundred years ago this weekend, Wales experienced a dramatic Christian revival that transformed the life and landscape of the nation. The extraordinary events of 1904, which had an unprecedented impact on the country, were broadcasted around the world helping Wales to become known as a land of revivals.
"God visited Wales in His power 100 years ago and the prayers of our people are that He will visit again and pour out His righteousness and holiness across our nations to this generation,” UCB's Chief Executive Ian Mackie told Assist News.
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This weekend’s celebrations, which collectively are a part of an initiative by churches in Cardiff known as “O4 the city,” starts Friday night at 7:30 pm with the Ignite youth event. Beginning with the Ignite youth event, UCBTV viewers in England and Ireland will be able to watch each revival celebration live on Sky Channel 677.
Speakers for the opening night will include Andy Hawthorne of the Message Trust, along with Luis Palau, the noted world evangelist and author who has spoken in over 70 countries to more than 20 million people, and whose radio broadcasts have been heard by hundreds of millions of listeners in 100+ nations on 6 continents.
"It is going to be one of the privileges of my life and I'm extremely pleased to be involved," Palau commented after being invited by churches across Cardiff to speak at the gathering.
On Saturday night at 7:30 pm there will be “Revive - Life in the 21st Century,” an evangelistic meeting with Palau featuring music from Nia and Mal Pope, and performances by actor Rob Lacey, author of the Street Bible.
Sunday night's meeting, the Welsh Revival Centenary Celebration, will mark 100 years exactly to the day that this movement of God first began.
The main speaker will be author and preacher Selwyn Hughes, whose family was greatly affected by the 1904 revival, which in turn influenced the course of his life both as preacher and author.
As stated on their website, the “O4 the city” initiative has a two-fold purpose:
“First it's to celebrate the centenary of the 1904 Welsh Revival. 2004 will be a time to stop and thank God for what he has done in the past. To thank Him for the way that He not only touched thousands of lives but also transformed communities. We also want to celebrate with people from around the world who look to the Welsh Revival as the foundation from which God touched their country.
“Second, we want to use this opportunity to demonstrate that the God of the revival of 1904 is still the same God today We want to use this celebration as a springboard to proclaim and demonstrate the love of God to the people of Cardiff. This is a rare opportunity where we can use an event that had major spiritual and social impact in Wales and say God is still into transforming and changing communities."
After the 1904 revival, crime levels reportedly plummeted and courts were closed because there were no cases to hear, families were reunited and marriages were restored, epidemic levels of drunkenness and violence in towns were dramatically reduced, prayer meetings broke out throughout the region, and more than 100,000 people became Christians in a year.
“We want to invite churches in Cardiff to come together and be a large visible presence of Jesus in the city. Working together we can make a difference to our city.”
UCBTV will be producing a set of DVD's on the entire 04theCity weekend of events, which will be available through their website - www.ucbdirect.com.
