There must be very few places on Earth that have experienced as many significant moves of God as have occurred in Kilsyth, Scotland. In the past two hundred and fifty years this small town, with a population of under 10,000, has experienced no less than three major Revivals*

The first occurred in 1742, a period in Scottish history that most would associate with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Just prior to the outbreak in Kilsyth, George Whitefied writing in a letter dated 19th July records:

"At mid-day I came to Cambuslang, and preached at 2 p.m. to a vast body of people; again at 6 p.m. and again at nine at night. Such commotions surely were never heard of especially at eleven o'clock at night. For an hour and a half there was much weeping and so many falling into such deep distress, expressed in various ways as cannot be described. The people seemed to be slain in score. Their agonies and cries were exceedingly affecting. Mr. McCulloch preached, after I had done, till 1 a.m. in the morning; and they could not persuade the people to depart. In the fields all night might be heard the voices of prayer and praise."

He refers to the scene in his writings as likened to a battlefield in which the wounded were supported by their friends as they were unable to stand unaided

This Revival was shortly to impact Kilsyth but, for the moment, we must step back tens years to encounter James Robe the Kilsyth Parish minister; a man who had preached to his congregation for over thirty years without any apparent success. During these years of apathy and lethargy Robe prayed earnestly for a descent of the Holy Spirit and had set up a seven year concert of prayer for Revival.

In 1732 Kilsyth was stricken by a pleuritic fever which claimed 60 lives in just six weeks. A few months later devastating flooding swept away houses, drowned livestock and destroyed most of the cornfields. Eyewitnesses testify to hailstones falling which were three inches in circumference. Added to this James Robe encountered opposition within his church and a number of people left. When famine ravaged the town and left people on the brink of starvation it seemed that Revival could not have been further away.

Robe however was tenacious and held on to God. His prayers were answered. Revival fires descended on the town. The impact of the Revival on society as a whole was soon felt. However, because there were many outward manifestations, strong wailing and falling down being two examples, Robe was charged with 'emotionalism'. Despite the fact that hundreds were saved, the religious establishment, as so often is the case, were unmoved by the power of God and spoke of the Revival as a "Delusion and work of the Grand Deceiver.

Robe answered his critics by pointing out that "Satan's works never yet produced reformation of life and manners and the embracing of the righteousness of God."

In the first quarter of the nineteenth century Kilsyth had hardened to the Gospel to the point that it was said that, "The Apostle Paul would not be able to get the people of Kilsyth out to a full meeting on three Sabbaths running."

However, this was to change. William Chalmers Burns, a young man twenty four years of age was led to preach on the subject of Revival. He read from Acts 2 and then preached from Psalm 110:3, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." As he ministered, people broke forth in uncontrollable wailing and tears and groans intermingled with shouts of joy and praise. Some screamed and others fell to the ground as if dead. The meeting eventually concluded at 3 p.m. having lasted five hours.

The Revival had begun and, when he preached a few days later, he found himself preaching to a thousand people on a Saturday afternoon. The next day he preached for two hours to a crowd of 10,000 people. Another large service was planned that evening and yet another at 10 p.m. This meeting lasted till 3 a.m. Some who had been counselled did not leave until 6 a.m.

One man commenting on the impact of this move of God recorded, "The web became nothing to the weaver, nor the forge to the blacksmith, nor his bench to the carpenter, nor his furrow to the ploughman. They forsook all to crowd the churches and the prayer meetings.". It was common place for hundreds to meet for early morning prayer in the market square before going to work.

Once again religious people opposed the move of God and, once again, the fruits bore eloquent and indisputable testimony to its genuineness.

Burns went as a missionary to China in 1846 and laboured there for over twenty years. He was a source of encouragement to the young Hudson Taylor who was later to found the China Inland Mission. A missionary on furlough was asked if he had ever known William Burns, "Know him, sir, " he replied, "Every man in China knows him! He is the holiest man alive."

Once again God had chosen to pour out His Spirit on the small town of Kilsyth but there were still more remarkable visitations yet to come.

The Revival of 1908

The Kilsyth Chronicle of 12th June 1897 announced meetings that would be taking place in the Westport Hall which were specifically intended, "To meet the wants of the non-church goer."

At the turn of the century poverty was rife in town and Kilsyth had some of the worse housing stock in Britain during that period. Established churches in the town were having great difficulty in integrating the largely mining community into church life. To their credit, local ministers supported the formation of this new Fellowship and in 1902 a committee of four Elders and four deacons were appointed. The designated name of the church was, "Church of God, Kilsyth.".

When Revival fell in A.A. Boddy's church in Sunderland in 1908 one of the people who flocked to witness the Pentecostal outpouring was Bill Hutchison an Elder of the Kilsyth Church. This visit, together with the fact that A.A. Body made a timely visit to Scotland, generated a hunger in the hearts of a number of the Church of God leaders for an outpouring of God's Spirit. On 1st February 1908 the fire fell.

Between thirty and forty were prostrated on the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit. Crowds flocked to the hall to see what was happening and those who could not get inside climbed up to the windows. In the weeks that followed two hundred people were baptised in the Spirit. Meetings were conducted every night of the week for four months. On a Sunday on which Cecil Polhill preached, 28 young people offered themselves for missionary service. The Church of God, Kilsyth became Scotland's first Pentecostal congregation.

In the first 95 years of its History the church had no salaried ministry. The church was led by a group of Elders one of whom was considered to be the presiding Elder or President. Bill Hutchison who had been the first of the Elders to visit the Sunderland Revival, and who was later to serve for a number of years as President, emigrated to America in 1922 and was succeeded by Mr Harry Tee, the father of one of Elim's premiere Evangelists Alex Tee. Harry Tee went home to be with the Lord in 1959 having been the President of Kilsyth Church of God for thirty seven years.

It was at this point that Jim Gibson took over the leadership. Jim and his wife Margaret gave sterling service to the church over very many years. It was during this period that Kilsyth became particularly well known for its musical ministry. Its choirs and groups toured the whole of Britain and on several occasions ministered abroad. Older members of Elim and Assemblies of God will remember the names of the "Westport Quartet", "Ross Brothers" and the "Kingsway Singers" to name but a few. Jim Gibson retired in 1986 having served as President for twenty-six years. He had held office, in one position or another for a total of sixty years. Jim and Margaret have a strong testimony in the town. They are two of the churches most fervent supporters and are totally committed to everything God is doing in this generation. Jim Gibson was succeeded by his brother-in-law John Stark who ably led the church for the following six years.

Throughout its history, while there have always been warm links with both Elim and Assemblies of God, the Church of God always retained its independence and was never aligned to a Denomination.

A New Year Convention in the late 1980's was about to signpost a watershed for the church. The speakers were Warwick Shenton, who was then General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God and Paul Weaver who currently holds that office. John Stark, the then President, was about to retire and he, together with the other Elders, had already been feeling that there was a number of areas in which change was necessary. The ministry during the Convention confirmed this and, shortly after it concluded, a special Business meeting was called to see how what God had spoken into the Fellowship could be put into practice.

Two fundamental decisions were made. The first was to come under Denominational covering and the second to appoint a minister, from outside the church, who would implement whatever it was felt was God's heart for the Fellowship.

As far as Denominational covering was concerned, the ideal solution would have been to link with both the Denominations to which Kilsyth had strong ties. Whilst Elim was happy to accommodate through ECI the Assemblies of God constitution, at that time, could not facilitate that option.

It was eventually decided that the first priority was to seek God about a Pastor and, that done, the church would affiliate to which ever of the two Denominations the minister himself was linked. The Elders decided toi approach John Glass, Regional Superintendent for Elim in Scotland, to be their first full time minister.

The church has undergone major change during the past four and a half years in terms of structure, direction and, most of all in worship-style. Today, Kilsyth Church of God is at the cutting edge of the work that God is doing throughout Scotland. How has this been achieved with so little disturbance and upheaval? John Glass is in no doubt at all about the answer. He puts it down to the, "High calibre of people that he has working alongside him in leadership combined with the openness of the vast majority of the church to change." He believes that the church is currently experiencing the favour of God to such a degree that within a matter of months the church may well experience another spectacular outpouring of the Spirit of God.

Shortly after John Glass became the senior minister of the church, Roberts Liardon (USA) when preaching at Kilsyth prophesied for twenty minutes over the Fellowship. John Glass recalls, "I don't think I have ever witnessed such a powerful prophecy. What is even more remarkable is that in the subsequent three years, visiting ministry from afar apart as California, Africa and Australia have all brought the same word. I believe that when God's sovereignty is harnessed to our obedience the result is inevitable."

Last February when Pastor John Glass and one of the Elders of the church were travelling back from visiting the Revival in Pensacola, Florida they visited Benny Hinn's church in Orlando. At the close of the service Pastor Steve Hill, one of the senior ministers, came over and said God had given him a message for them - He prophesied an impending outpouring of the Spirit of God on the church.