EDITORIAL
From the Editor | Ed Stetzer
God changes the world through Spirit-led movements, but movements are paradoxical. On the one hand, movements come from God: We can’t manufacture them or simply declare something a movement and make it one. That’s why Jonathan Edwards called the Great Awakening “a surprising work of God.” On the other hand, movements don’t just happen: historical accounts show that movements happen through human intentionality, prayer, and action. God births movements in moments when people recognize a need and step forward in faith.
In fact, movements typically arise in moments of social unrest, cultural shifts and spiritual disconnection—moments just like our current one. Understanding the nature and formation of movements can renew our hope that God might turn our moment into a true movement, a fresh wave of gospel transformation.
Movements in History
Let’s start to understand movements by clarifying what a movement is not. A movement is not simply a new and exciting situation with growing activity or enthusiasm. Momentum is good, but momentum alone cannot spark a movement.
Instead, a movement is a collective and organized effort that endures over time, generally operating outside of mainstream institutions and organizations, bringing new life and birthing new ministries. In church history we see a few ingredients for movements. They are generally driven by laypeople, in times of social disruption, requiring personal sacrifice, and devoted leadership as they multiply organically.
In other words, in the church, a true movement might be happening when ordinary laypeople, rather than established pastors or leaders, are empowered to make a difference. Such empowerment signals real change.
Movements emerge when God’s Spirit works through his people in profound and transformational ways. Let me share a few historical examples. Pentecostalism is a movement that has reshaped Christianity globally. Life magazine even named it one of the 100 events that shaped the second millennium after Christ. The Pentecostal moment grew into a sustained, grassroots awakening. It wasn’t built by one person or one church. Instead, communities of believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit in an enduring way.
Looking back a generation before that, the Fulton Street Revival of 1857 was a Spirit-led movement, sparked by Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman in New York City. Lanphier started a lunchtime prayer meeting with just six people that grew to thousands within months. Over the next two years, more than a million people came to faith in Christ—3% of the U.S. population at the time.
What made it work? Simplicity and accessibility. Lanphier’s meetings were short, focused, and open to everyone. He wasn’t a famous preacher or a theologian. He was an “average” Christian, who saw a need and acted on it. That’s what movements look like: ordinary people responding to God’s extraordinary call.
Remember the paradoxical nature of movements. This revival didn’t start because someone had a strategic plan or a marketing budget. God’s grace fueled a movement of prayer. People believed God could move, and they sought him earnestly. That’s a lesson we can’t ignore.
Going even further back to 1727, the Moravian refugees in Herrnhut, Germany were on the brink of collapse. Their leader Count Zinzendorf called them to prayer. A prayer meeting started … and continued for over 100 years. You read that correctly: 24/7 prayer for over a century.
That prayer movement fueled one of the most effective missionary movements in history. The Moravians sent missionaries to the farthest corners of the globe, long before the modern Protestant missions movement began. Their story reminds us of a critical truth: Movements are birthed in prayer but sustained by action. Prayer sparks a movement, but obedience fans that spark into a flame.