Remembering Pastor John Vickery and the Welsh Revival
Photos by Tom Price
Richard Mulder (middle), a top skater in the British Isles in the early 2000s, is encouraged by Pastor John Vickery of Calvary Chapel Cardiff, Wales.
Pastor John Vickery of Calvary Chapel Cardiff, Wales, went home to be with the Lord in late February. His influence on me was dramatic, as he opened my eyes to what happened in the Welsh Revival.
I first met Pastor John Vickery on a mission trip to Wales in 2003 with a team from CC Moreno Valley and CC Upland, both in California. John Milhouse, then the pastor of CC Moreno Valley, had invited me to come along and document the ministry in Wales.
John was the pastor of Calvary Chapel Cardiff, Wales. He took me to the town library, and what he showed me that day completely transformed my vision of possibilities. Only God knows what He can do through a small, dedicated group of believers who are open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are praying for revival.
From the yellowed pages of the library’s newspaper archives from 1904–1905, John introduced me to the remarkable story of the Welsh Revival. The articles captured the extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit sweeping across the nation. Churches were packed to overflowing. People stood outside listening through the windows. Town drunks sobered up and became community leaders. Jails and courtrooms sat empty as lives were transformed and people gave their hearts to Christ. Mules carrying coal no longer understood the commands of the miners as the miners refused to curse anymore. Company warehouses overflowed with tools workers returned that had been previously stolen. Taverns sat empty.
Pastor John leads a skate outreach in Cardiff, giving away several skateboards to area youth. Calvary Chapel Moreno Valley and Calvary Chapel Upland, CA, partnered with CC Cardiff in this outreach to the country’s teens.
Newspapers sent reporters to count the number of people saved at each church, reporting the totals almost like baseball box scores. In those days, they simply called it being “converted.”
From that moment on, John Vickery became to me a living reminder of what revival can look like—and what it could look like again. As a devoted student of the Welsh Revival, John prayed and preached with a deep longing to see another awakening sweep across the world.
John was the consummate encourager. In his letters and messages, he constantly reminded me never to give up the mission for the magazine. “The Lord might use Calvary Chapel Magazine to help stoke the flames of revival,” John would share excitedly. He believed there would be one more great awakening that would sweep across the nations before the Lord Jesus returned for His Church. His monthly notes of encouragement always brightened my week.
Then the letters stopped. I later learned that John’s memory had begun to fail and that he was battling Alzheimer’s disease.
But I will always be grateful to John for giving me a glimpse of revival—and of the possibilities that remain when God moves among His people.
From Calvary Chapel Magazine in 2003.
The Welsh Evening Express newspaper reported at the end of 1904:
The local magistrate sat alone in his courtroom except for the court clerk. Normally the room would be filled with drunkards, thieves, domestic combatants, prostitutes, and an occasional murder suspect. Looking around, the judge asked the clerk why there were not any cases to bring his judgment upon.
The court clerk stood, looked around the empty room and straightened himself to answer “His Honor” in his most proper English.
“Revival, Sir,” the clerk replied and promptly sat back down.
The team from CC Moreno Valley does street outreach as John enjoys the interaction.
The Christian revival of 1904-05 that swept first through Wales and then throughout the world was like none that was ever seen before or since. Newspaper accounts from that day offer a staggering glimpse of what the Lord will do when people pray for His Holy Spirit to descend upon their lives.
On October 31, 1904, a young pastor, Evan Roberts, encouraged his youth group to stay at the church with him throughout the evening and pray. The 26-year-old Welshman led the group as they sought Pentecost. His name became synonymous with the revival, even though Evan always prayed for Jesus Christ to reveal Himself and not for revival. What followed touched the entire world.
Like box scores from baseball highlights, the news accounts numbered the “converts” from each town and village every Monday evening:
November 8, 1904—REVIVAL HARVEST—10,000 Converts—Fire Spreads—More Localities Swept Into Line
February 4, 1905—70,000 Converts—Pubs Shut Down—Courtrooms Empty—Joy, Joy, Joy—Rescue Work of Revival
May 6, 1905—91,508 Converts—Champion Boxer of Devon Latest Convert—Football Matches Cancelled—Gospel Spreads to Philippines, India, America
In the same spring, the newspaper reported of a young man sitting with friends at one of the few pubs not closed due to lack of clientele. Laughing at the perceived idiocy that surrounded them, the young man went to reach for his drink. He found that his arm was unable to move. Struck with fear, the young man ran to the church where Evan Roberts was teaching. The crowd parted, and the young fellow saw his father on his knees at the front of the church. Walking to the altar, the young man knelt beside his father, who had been praying for his son’s salvation. The young man accepted Christ and became another convert.
“Bend me, bend us, O Lord,” Evan would pray. He had felt that the Holy Spirit was ready to do a great work, if only God’s people would pray for it. The prophet Isaiah’s words became his battle cry:
Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence.Isaiah 64:1
John and his wife, Julie, enjoy worship at CC Cardiff.
John readies to deliver a message of hope through a relationship with Jesus Christ at CC Cardiff. His son, Steven, moves the microphone before the teaching. Steven is now the CCA lead throughout the British Isles and the senior pastor of CC Oxford, England.
Smokeless Coal
Coal mining was at the heart of the Welsh economy at the beginning of the 20th century. The product harvested below the surface of Wales was renowned for its lack of smoke as it burned, a rarity in the world. A newspaper reporter from the early days of the revival claimed that he had found the flame of Welsh religious enthusiasm as smokeless as its coal.
He found the meetings void of normal human conditions—pride, ceremony, showmanship, pomp, or even religious hysteria. The congregations were soberly sane, orderly, and reverent. At the same time, the revival leaders kept a loose rein on the order; anyone could speak as led by the Spirit. “It was never unruly or out of order,” claimed the reporter.
“Thousands thronged the streets or crammed into space built for hundreds, and no one seemed to mind. Everyone gleamed with holiness and praised their Lord.” A well-known, tough police officer came to Evan Roberts to protest that everyone had gone mad with this religious fervor. The man also complained that there was no police work left to do. Invited to come to the meeting, the officer burst into tears, confessed the error of his ways, and repented.
As those yellowed pages reminded me that afternoon, revival has never depended on large numbers or famous leaders. It begins when ordinary believers humble themselves before God and allow the Holy Spirit to move freely through lives fully surrendered to Jesus Christ.
Left: John Vickery, Joel Milhouse, and Greg Griffith look over a site. Greg, his family, and Reggie Gradia (not pictured) and his family had been sent to Cardiff to serve alongside John Vickery. Both were assistant pastors from CC Moreno Valley, CA.
Right: John and his son, Steve, serve together at Calvary Chapel Cardiff.
Nearly 70 years later, a similar awakening would emerge in Southern California as the Lord used the ministry of Chuck Smith during the Jesus Movement. The Welsh Revival depended heavily on emotion and the leading of the Holy Spirit, as did the Jesus Movement. The Welsh Revival eventually subsided. The difference was that Pastor Chuck encouraged followers, and soon-to-be pastors, to be anchored and grow in the Word of God. That is why, over 50 years later, there are over 2,000 Calvary Chapels around the world still simply teaching God’s Word simply. People are still being “converted,” as it was called, repenting of their sins, and growing in their relationship with and giving their lives to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Joel Milhouse, son of Pastor John Milhouse of CC Moreno Valley, shares the Gospel with a Welsh lad who sported an interesting hairstyle. Joel took over leadership of CC Moreno Valley five years ago.
Pastor Randy Walls of CC Upland, CA, shares the hope of Christ with Welsh teens.
Left: Pastor Randy tosses an easy pitch as they introduce baseball to the Welsh children.
Center: John Milhouse shares Jesus Christ with a young lad.
Right: Reggie Gradia was one of two assistant pastors sent over from CC Moreno Valley to help launch CC Cardiff. Sadly, Reggie passed away several years ago.
Thank you for reading! If this story inspired you, we invite you to partner with us in continuing the ministry God started over 27 years ago. We appreciate your prayerful consideration in joining us to reach more souls for Jesus.
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