2005 NORTHWEST GATHERING TO REMEMBER,
REPENT, AND REQUEST REVIVAL
John Fortmeyer/Teresa Neumann Reporting : Oct 5, 2005 : Christian News Northwest
Leaders plan assembly to “call on God” asking Him to move powerfully in the area again.
Inspired, in part, by the famed Spring 1905 revival that caused hundreds of businesses to close at midday for prayer, a group of local leaders in Portland, Oregon, don’t want 2005 to conclude without remembering that significant move of God in their city. According to John Fortmeyer, publisher of Christian News Northwest, they want to use that piece of Portland history as an opportunity to come together in prayer for God’s present and future blessing of the city.
A Baptism in 1905 The group’s website says that the gathering is “tentatively scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8 in the ballroom of the Oregon Convention Center. “The general theme is that we are setting aside time to call on God through worship, repentance and prayer and asking Him to visit us again,” said Craig Smith, owner of a Vancouver, Wash., flooring company and a longtime member of Portland’s City Bible Church.
Some of the largest churches in the Portland metro area have given their endorsement, according to Smith. In addition to City Bible, they are Portland Foursquare, East Hill Foursquare, New Hope Community Church, Good Shepherd Community Church, Beaverton Four-square, Portland Christian Center and Mount Olivet Baptist.
The event will focus on “remembrance, repenting and requesting.” and would also focus on young people who are thinking of going into business or leadership locally. “This is about touching that next generation,” noted Smith.
The unprecedented spiritual fervor that hit Portland, Denver, Colo. and other locales in the United States in 1905 can be traced to the Azusa revival in California and to the Wales revival that year which also spread through Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, North America, Australia, Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Chile.
Smith’s interest in revival locally also runs in his family, says Fortmeyer. Smith’s uncle, Dr. Thomas Wyatt, was a key figure in another local move of God — the “Wings of Healing Revival” of 1948 in Portland.
