In 1734, a small congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts was rocked for all eternity by the outpouring of the Spirit of God resulting in the stunning salvation of many hundreds of souls from a “formal, cold, and careless profession of Christianity to the lively exercise of every Christian grace, and the powerful practice of our holy religion.”[1] This was the morning star event of the greatest revival of Christianity in history, the First Great Awakening. The pastor who led the ministry of this revival was Jonathan Edwards, and in 1737, he sent an account of it to England to be published. The editors’ Preface of that narrative included the description of the transformation I just quoted. The editors spoke of the challenges of ministry in New England in general, where “the work of conversion goes on very slowly” and “the Spirit of God in his saving influences is much withdrawn from the ministrations of his word” with very few reporting any notable success among the people.[2] The Preface went on to state that the account of these surprising conversions out of the blue, with no signal disaster (like an earthquake or hurricane or Indian attack) and its lasting effects on the souls and lives of the converted gave robust hope to ministers of the gospel all over “both Englands” (New and Old). And why not be filled with hope? The Preface asserted that “the gospel is the same instrument of divine grace as it ever was in the days of the apostles,” and the same Savior pours out the same Spirit to turn sinners into saints in an instant as he has ever done, even in a place as stony hard as New England.[3]
Dear twenty-first century friends of the gospel in New England, all of that is still true today! And it would be powerfully beneficial for ministers of the gospel in small-town churches all over New England to believe that passionately, and to trust God for the revitalization of their churches by his Word and his Spirit, for his glory. I have a strong sense of the challenges facing such a stunning transformation. I was born in Boston, and raised in Framingham, Massachusetts, in a religious Roman Catholic family. I went to Mass in Sudbury until I graduated and went to M.I.T. to study Mechanical Engineering. There I was converted to evangelical faith through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. I am well aware of the religious coldness of the average unconverted New Englander to the gospel, because I was one myself, and so were my entire family. I am aware of the idolatrous love of human learning and technology perpetuated in the institutions of higher learning in Boston, Cambridge, and other cities of Massachusetts. I am aware that nominal Roman Catholicism holds the overwhelming majority of the residents of New England in invisible chains of heritage, skepticism, and hostile unbelief. I am aware that Barna has located the top eight most ardently “Post-Christian” cities in New England, with “post-Christian” meaning aggressively hostile to biblical Christianity.[4] I am therefore very aware that evangelism in New England is extremely challenging, with very little to show for a high level of sacrificial service on the part of church members who step out to win their lost neighbors.
Beyond these basic challenges, I feel acutely the specific nature of small New England congregations, because I pastored one in Topsfield, MA. I know that everything moves a lot more slowly in a New England church. New Englanders in general are more suspicious of outsiders and take a long time to grow to trust a pastor. One pastor, David Jackson, who is a veteran of many years of ministry in New England, wrote me in an email that the pace of change in a local church is 2.5 times slower than other regions in the US. In many small congregations, there may be a sense of family heritage that causes their descendants who are still in the church to resist any changes at all. If a pastor wants to make significant changes in the worship style, he may well be opposed by the elderly granddaughter of the man who decades ago bought the church organ that will now sit unused. Beyond this, the members of the church are extremely reticent to rock the boat in their community by bold evangelism with so little prospect of success. This inherently makes the church insular and inward-focused, leading to significant decline. Finally, revitalization in small New England congregations is hindered by the fact that a significant influx of transfer growth (as happened for me in Durham, NC) is not very likely to happen. These ready-made mature Christians came into my church like cavalry over the hill and made all the difference in the world, because in a congregationally-governed church like our Baptist church, votes at members’ meetings make history and chart the direction of the church. So, the hand you’re dealt as a small-church pastor is often the hand you’ll be playing with for many years.
But church revitalization all over the world is essentially the same, despite these challenging factors. I opened this article with an appeal to one of the greatest revivals in history, the First Great Awakening, which started in 1734 in a small New England congregation in Northampton. You may say, “That was a revival! We’re talking only about a revitalization!” But in the end, aren’t they essentially the same? Look at the people whose lives were transformed by the gospel preached by Jonathan Edwards—they were cold, mechanical, unconverted church members who were regular attenders at church. That has always been the focus of church revitalization—the unconverted church members, or drifting, backslidden church members, or discouraged and anemic genuine believers in the church. That is true all over the world. And what is essentially happening with a true church revitalization? The same Christ sends the same Spirit to bless the proclamation of the same Word of God, transforming human hearts that are essentially the same before he works on them. The Preface to Edwards’ work showed the kind of confidence Bible-believing, Bible-living, Bible-preaching pastors can have, because it says the same work that God did in Northampton, he can do again and again all over the world.
And yes, he can do it in your small congregation in New England. Yes, you have to use “great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2) Yes, you have to proclaim the full counsel of God’s Word with great boldness in a long-term preaching ministry. Yes, you have to pour out your heart in effectual, fervent prayer for the transformation of your church. (James 5:16) Yes, you have to do careful shepherding of the flock, strengthening their feeble arms and weak knees. (Hebrews 12:12) Yes, you have to cast a bold vision for what Almighty God can do in your hardened New England town. But God is mighty to save! And just as he moved powerfully in Northampton 287 years ago, he is no less capable of moving today!
So begin by carrying your burden to the Lord in prayer. Ask him to strengthen your faith for the long journey ahead. Give your faith a massive feast in the Word of God by studying the miracles of Jesus, his effortless power in healing every disease and sickness among the people, driving out demons, stilling the storm with a word… effortless! “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8) It is his church, he bought it with his blood, and he loves it in ways that you cannot begin to fathom. So be his instrument to revitalize your dying church, to see new life coursing through the spiritual veins of its members. Heaven will include an eternal review of what God did through his Word, through his Spirit, and through his servants. Won’t it be glorious to spend eternity celebrating not just what God did in Northampton in 1734, but what he did in your church over the next ten years!
[1] Jonathan Edwards, “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton and the Neighboring Towns and Villages of New Hampshire in New England” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000), 344.
[2] Edwards, 344.
[3] Edwards, 344.
[4] https://www.barna.com/research/post-christian-cities-2019.
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Andrew M. Davis
Dr. Andrew M. Davis, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, is the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina, and is a Council Member of The Gospel Coalition. Andy is the author of numerous books, one of which is Revitalize: Biblical Keys to Helping Your Church Come Alive Again. For more resources from Andy, please visit his website Two Journeys.