God Sent Revival

Book excerpt: Following the Great Awakening under the leadership of such men as jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, the close of the eighteenth century in America saw a second period of revival which was to last longer than the first, and was brought about through the labours of many preachers, less well known than their predecessors, but following faithfully in their footsteps. 'The outpouring of the Spirit of God upon virtually all evangelical denominations could be called "waves of glory" which rolled across hundreds of churches and communities...Whole communities were transformed by the gospel virtually overnight.' One of the evangelists to emerge from this second period of revival was Asahel Nettleton. There can be little doubt that he was one of the greatest evangelists in the history of the church. Literally thousands were converted under his ministry-and spurious converts were the exception rather than the rule! This well-written and well-documented book tells the story of Mettleton's life. He made mistakes, and the author does not cover these up, but he was a powerful preacher who sought to glorify God, and God blessed his ministry. John Thornbury is pastor of Winfield Baptist Church, Pennyslvania where he has ministered for the past twenty-three years. In recent years he has attained a doctorate at Drew University, Madison, New Jersy, and his articles have been published in Eternity and other periodicals. He is married with three children.