Church History · 1904 to 1916

The Welsh Revival and the Apostolic Church

The Welsh Revival of 1904 and 1905, led by young Evan Roberts, saw about 100,000 people come to faith in less than a year. One of its converts, Daniel Powell Williams, went on to found the Apostolic Church in Penygroes, Wales, which formally organized in 1916 and believes God still gives apostles and prophets.

Read it in the Bible: Ephesians 4:11-13 Ephesians 2:20 Habakkuk 3:2 1 Corinthians 12:28

The Welsh Revival was a sudden and powerful wave of revival that swept Wales in 1904 and 1905. It began with a 26 year old named Evan Roberts and a prayer meeting of 17 people, and within about nine months some 100,000 people had come to faith. Reports from the time describe emptier pubs, quieter streets and coal miners singing hymns. One young convert, Daniel Powell Williams, later led a Pentecostal group in the village of Penygroes. In 1916 it organized as the Apostolic Church, which teaches that Jesus still gives apostles and prophets to lead His church. Today the Apostolic Church has congregations around the world, with large churches in Africa.

Who Was Evan Roberts?

Evan Roberts was born in 1878 in Loughor, near Swansea. He went to work in the coal mines as a boy, and he carried his Bible into the pit. For years he prayed for revival in Wales. In 1904 he began training for the ministry.

That September, at a meeting in the village of Blaenannerch, Roberts had a deep experience of God. He is often quoted as praying, "Bend me, O Lord." He felt called to go home and preach to the young people of his church.

What Happened in the Welsh Revival of 1904?

On October 31, 1904, Roberts held a prayer meeting in the schoolroom of Moriah Chapel in Loughor. Only 17 people came. He asked them to do four simple things: confess every known sin, put away anything doubtful, obey the Spirit promptly, and confess Christ publicly.

The meetings grew night after night. Soon chapels across South Wales were packed late into the night with prayer, weeping and singing. Roberts often did not preach at all. People simply prayed aloud and sang, sometimes for hours. The hymn "Here Is Love, Vast as the Ocean" became so beloved that it was called the love song of the revival.

Newspapers reported lower crime, less swearing and less drunkenness. A famous story says that pit ponies in the mines were confused because the miners stopped cursing at them, and the ponies had only ever learned commands that came with bad words. That story may be more legend than fact, but it shows how people remembered the revival. About 100,000 conversions were reported within nine months.

O Yahweh, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O Yahweh, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy! Habakkuk 3:2

The revival faded by 1906. Roberts, worn out, withdrew from public ministry and lived quietly until his death in 1951. News of Wales traveled far, though. Christians in Los Angeles who prayed for revival read about it, and many saw the Azusa Street Revival of 1906 as part of the same move of God.

Who Was D. P. Williams?

Daniel Powell Williams, known as Pastor Dan, was born in 1882 near Penygroes in the Amman Valley. On Christmas Day 1904, he went to Loughor and was converted under Evan Roberts. He became a preacher with the Welsh Independents.

In 1909 Williams spoke in tongues, and he became part of the young Pentecostal movement. His group in Penygroes met in a hall and later in a tin tabernacle after they were turned away. In 1911 his brother, William Jones Williams, became convinced he was called as a prophet to work alongside him. For a time the brothers were part of a Pentecostal network called the Apostolic Faith Church, based in Bournemouth, England. They separated in 1915 over how the church should be organized.

When Was the Apostolic Church Founded?

Some timelines date the Apostolic Church to 1911, when the Penygroes group's leadership took shape. Its formal beginning came in 1916, when it drew up its constitution and began publishing its journal. In 1917 it started an annual August convention in Penygroes that drew thousands of people. Groups in Scotland, England and Ireland joined in the following years, and in 1933 the church opened the Apostolic Temple in Penygroes, a building that could hold thousands. A Bible school followed in 1934.

What Does the Apostolic Church Believe?

The Apostolic Church holds the main beliefs of evangelical Pentecostals: the Trinity, salvation through faith in Jesus, the authority of the Bible, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. What makes it different is its belief that the offices of apostle and prophet continue today.

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:11 to 13

The church ordains apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and deacons. It is governed by groups of ministers working together, with apostles seen as first among equals rather than rulers. In its early years, the church gave a large role to prophecy in guiding decisions, which drew both admiration and concern from other Pentecostals.

Other Christians see this differently. Many believe the apostles were a one time office, since an apostle in the New Testament had seen the risen Jesus, and that the church is now built on their foundation and their writings. They point to Ephesians 2:20.

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20

Apostolic Church members answer that Ephesians 4 says these gifts last "until we all reach unity in the faith," which has not happened yet.

The Apostolic Church Today

Missionaries from the Apostolic Church went to Nigeria, Ghana and many other countries in the 1930s. Today the church is far larger in Africa than in Wales. The Church of Pentecost in Ghana, one of Africa's largest churches, also grew out of the Apostolic Church's mission work. The idea of modern apostles has spread well beyond this one church and is common in many charismatic and independent churches today. You can read about an earlier version of the idea on the Edward Irving page on this site.

Why It Matters for You Today

The Welsh Revival started with a young man who prayed for years and 17 people in a schoolroom. Revival rarely starts big. It starts with people who are hungry for God, honest about their sin and willing to obey. Those four steps Evan Roberts gave still work for anyone.

Get Nate's Highlighting Guide Free

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Questions People Ask

What was the Welsh Revival?

It was a revival in Wales in 1904 and 1905, led mainly by a young former coal miner named Evan Roberts. It began at a prayer meeting in Loughor on October 31, 1904. About 100,000 people were reported converted within nine months.

Who was Evan Roberts?

Evan Roberts was a Welsh coal miner turned ministry student who lived from 1878 to 1951. He led the Welsh Revival of 1904 and 1905. Afterward he withdrew from public life and spent his later years mostly in prayer.

When was the Apostolic Church founded?

The Apostolic Church grew from a Pentecostal group in Penygroes, Wales, led by D. P. Williams from about 1910 and 1911. It formally organized with a constitution in 1916. Its headquarters were in Penygroes.

Does the Apostolic Church believe in modern apostles?

Yes. The Apostolic Church teaches that Jesus still gives apostles and prophets to the church, based on Ephesians 4:11 to 13. It ordains apostles and prophets along with pastors, teachers and evangelists.

Sources

← The Churches of Christ The Nag Hammadi Library Is Found →

See the whole Church History