I have been reading about the 1971 Canadian Prairie Revival recently. A pastor by the name of Bill McLeod was a key figure. He was the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Saskatoon, Canada. The church talked about evangelism and missions but showed little interest in actually following through. Pastor McLeod recognized the problem was a spiritual one.
The church began to focus on prayer and their prayer gatherings grew steadily. Extended prayer was organized with a focus on confession, reconciliation and getting right with God. This continued for a number of years before there was any real movement.
On October 13, 1971 twin evangelists Ralpha and Lou Sutera began what was supposed to be a short evangelistic effort at Ebenezer. In the midst of it, God moved in the hearts of the people. Christians began to confess their sins and seek reconciliation with one another. They had to move repeatedly into larger places to gather as it spread to multiple areas.
There was no sensationalism but some recognizable themes came to the forefront. These themes include extraordinary prayer, deep conviction of sin, reconciliation, restitution, renewed evangelistic concern, and unity among the body of Christ. Before the church could change the world, God had to change the church. Evangelistic activity would follow.
Several lessons can be drawn for churches today. Revival begins with the people of God. Prayer is preparation to be used by God not programming for something to do. Genuine revival always produces repentance. Revival renews evangelistic fervor. One of the greatest enemies against revival is a church that is content with where they are. We can believe all the right things and at the same time lack the fire of revival.
I long to see God move in this way again! Pastor McCleod stated that the smell of revival was still on him: “If you ever go through revival fire, you have the smell of revival smoke on your clothes until the day you die.”
If you would like to read more about this revival the following are some resources:
Seth Polk 