Did you know a Welsh Calvinist Minister by the name of Evan Roberts led the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival?

Who Was He?

Roberts was born in Casllwchwr (Loughor in English), a small town within Abertawe (Swansea) in 1878, meaning that he grew up in Cymru during a time when the industrial revolution’s roaring coincided with the rapid changes sweeping all walks of life, from the industrial, to the societal and, most importantly to Roberts, the religious.

From the age of 11 to around 23, Roberts worked with his father, Henry, down the coalmine. By the age of just 26, he was to lead the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 after gaining a following during the preaching of his own message, which included these four points:

Confess all known sin, receiving forgiveness through Jesus Christ

Remove anything in your life that you are in doubt or feel unsure about

Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly

Publicly confess the Lord Jesus Christ

– Evan Roberts’ Message

Though the revival (for those unaware, a revival is “a period of unusual blessing and activity in the life of the Christian Church”) was short-lived, during this time, approximately 100,000 people within Cymru were converted to Calvinist Methodism. Across the whole of Britain, it is believed around 1,000,000 people were converted either directly or indirectly by Roberts, who spoke to large gathered crowds about his visions of the holy spirit.

The pressure of fame, which led to him questioning both himself (feeling that he was becoming too focused on, rather than the message) and his faith and he suffered a collapse in 1909 and subsequently moved to Brighton. His fame within south Wales coincided with the rise of the Labour Party and it is arguable that the more humanistic and secular message of the party at the time played a part in Roberts becoming forgotten within Cymru. He only returned in the latter part of his life, dying in Caerdydd in relative obscurity.

Despite this, he is still remembered as a Prophet by those of the Calvinist tradition.

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Niklas George

Niklas is the founder, owner, manager, editor, writer, video creator, voice over artist, and so forth, of Welsh Histories. He is passionate about the preservation of Welsh culture; the rejuvenation of the Welsh language and the promotion of Welsh history. Niklas currently resides in Pune, Maharashtra, with his beloved wife.