Elim Church - Pen-y-Darren (1903-1905)
My church has experienced a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord for at least five months. Indeed there have been unmistakable signs of awakening in some lives for the last fifteen months. There have been repeated testimonies to a deep thirst for a holier life; many confessing that never in their lives had they such a desire to live for God. About six months ago I convened a special Sunday evening service for young people who desired to possess a deeper spiritual life. The Holy Spirit came down and took possession of that meeting and overwhelmed us all with power from on high. On another usual Sunday evening service, the Spirit descended in the same remarkable manner; I could hardly speak, so manifest was the presence of God. There was such power in the words I spoke that strong men were broken in pieces. That night several young men gave themselves to the Lord. The same experience was repeated on several Sunday evenings, but, as yet, the church as a whole was not ready. Then came the missionary prayer week, a week whose every night was spent in praise and prayer. Following this came the week of thanksgiving for the harvest. The Sunday preceding these special weeks, at my invitation, those who were ready to yield entirely to the Lord and to go out seeking the lost, were met together. They were but a few, but they were used for the kindling for the fire. Ever since souls have been saved every day. The church had entered upon the blessing of Pentecost. There is, of course, no doubt that the whole movement has a vital connexion with my own awakening. Now I have a new church with a large number of men and women filled with the Holy Spirit, and who are used to win souls.’
This was in a letter to R. B. Jones dated 3rd December 1904.
Huge thanks to David Pike who has an awesome blog on the Spiritual Heritage of Wales and who translated this from the Welsh.
https://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-welsh-revival-in-merthyr-1-1904.html
ELIM, PENYDARREN.
Minister, Rev. O. M. Owen.
The above church like its sister church Hebron, Dowlais, has experienced a period of spiritual revival which had been going on for some weeks before the Revival broke out in Glamorgan. There had been heavy drops from time to time from the end of the summer onwards, and to those who understood the signs of the times, these frequent droplets were undoubted prophetic signs that a much greater blessing was coming. In response to the request of the Missionary Society, and with the agreement of the whole church, a week of meetings was held in September to praise God for his blessings on the mission fields and to pray for the future success of Mission. When praying for these things, a cloud of blessing broke over the church, and some people were saved every night that week. The following week was spent giving thanks for the harvest, and the Lord continued to add daily to the church of “those who were being saved.”
Since then, the church has spent eleven weeks in prayer. Despite feeling great power, and seeing the mysterious actions of God, the minister insisted that Pentecost had not yet arrived, and said one Monday night about a month ago that the Lord had brought the church to the very edge of the border beyond which was Pentecost, and yet the church had refused to cross it and went back again and again. He urged the church to take the crucial step and cross together that evening to the land of promise. We can easily attest that happening, and by the following Sunday evening, eighty one had been converted that week. Up to now, about a hundred and forty-one have been admitted to the church.
In addition to the evening prayer meeting, there was a series of multiple meetings at 10 in the morning for night-shift workers, and all who could come. The sisters’ prayer meeting was also held every afternoon at 2.30. These are wonderful meetings, and in them, there is an unrivalled feeling of earnestness, originality and positivity. But the meeting that remains in the memory of all who attended it was the at the end of the gathering that Saturday night when they went out at eleven o'clock to bring in the drunkards and the drinkers. About ten came to receive Christ after midnight. Participation in the meetings is by all parties. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, the youngest of the youngest members of the church. Those who have been silent throughout their Christian life in years gone by are heard praising God. In this Revival, it can be said that 'the last are foremost'. No one is asked to take part in the service, but the greatest willingness to do so is to be found, especially when the meeting has reached its full heat. There is also the greatest variety of expression: prayers, verses, testimonies, solos, and hymns of all kinds, in both English and Welsh, as the Spirit inspires. We saw some amazing things one week. Men have responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Young men voluntarily go through all the taverns to share tracts, and to motivate men to come to the prayer meeting. Some people over the age of eighty have surrendered and accepted Christ. The most numerous of the group of converts are men over the age of thirty. At one of the sisters' meetings in the afternoon, one sister prayed for her father, who was about seventy years old, and he came to the meeting that evening (the first time we had ever seen him in a prayer meeting), and he was saved. We also saw a man who is a pure Englishman, who knows no Welsh and has been very vain, completely overwhelmed by the power of one of the meetings.
Perhaps the greatest blessing is what the Revival has done to church life. Tens of the old members have been made new members. Some can certainly be said to be "filled with the Holy Ghost." There are two great areas of potential that have been dormant for years and almost useless to the church, but now of are involved, and of true service, namely, the sisters, and the young people. It was never known before that a single sister ever took part in a prayer meeting in Elim, but now a large force is praying. And even though the Lord has added many converts to us, we believe that we may yet see things greater than these. "God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we give you praise."
'Seren Cymru', 23rd December 1904
Additional Information
Destroyed by a storm 1977, now flats for the aged.