The North Battleford story

SHARON ORPHANAGE AND SCHOOLS in North Battleford, Saskatchewan was the initial site of revival outbreak in 1948.

There is consensus that the 1948 revival - whatever one calls it: The Move of the Spirit, the Latter Rain Movement, etc. - began in February 1948 at the Sharon Orphanage and Schools in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

George Hawtin

Thereafter, when the leadership from Sharon - particularly George and Ern Hawtin, Percy Hunt, Herrick Holt, and Milford Kirkpatrick - would travel to other cities like: Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Portland, Oregon; revival would break out there, as well.

When the Hawtins traveled to Vancouver in November of 1948, Pastor M. D. Beall of Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit drove across the continent to take in the meetings at Glad Tidings, pastored by Reg Layzell.

Ern Hawtin prophesied over Pastor Beall, confirming a word the Lord had already spoken to her spirit - and that she had already acted upon.

According to Pastor Beall's memoir, A Hand on My Shoulder, Ern prophesied, "They shall come to thee from the ends of the earth and shall go forth from thee as lions equipped from a mighty Armory."

The Lord had already spoken the term "armory" into Pastor Beall's spirit in relation to the sanctuary seating about 1,800 that Bethesda was near completion on when she visited Vancouver. When she returned home revival broke out in her church on December 5, 1948, and when Bethesda dedicated its new sanctuary in February 1949, the revival expanded to meetings six-days-a-week for the next three and one-half years. Indeed, hundreds came from across the globe and were equipped at "the Armory."

With the revival's 70th anniversary approaching next month, the ministry that continues to this day in North Battleford - Global Missions Inc. - is publishing resources to acquaint folks with the mighty outpouring that occurred in 1948. First, in this month's Sharon Star, Andy Snokes, a traveling elder from the United States, has written an article entitled, "This Move of the Spirit: A New Beginning." Next, Global Missions Inc. is publishing a book next month called, This Move of the Spirit: The Revival of 1948 in North Battleford. It is available free of charge by signing up for it at this link.

Finally, an 18-minute video account of the North Battleford story, told by Terry Miller (a traveling deacon from North Battleford), can be seen in the video at the bottom (though the teaching is longer than 18 minutes, I have cued it to the point where he begins talking about the 1948 revival).

Found on Newspapers.com Herrick Holt in Feb 1948 Wed, Feb 25, 1948 – 4 · Richmond Review (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com Holt with Baxter … 1/4 million equipment (Feb 21, 1948) Sat, Feb 21, 1948 – 36 · The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com Hawtins and Kirkpatrick w/Kopp (May 1949) … Detroit mentioned Sat, May 7, 1949 – 19 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com Sharon camp meeting (July 1949) Sat, Jul 23, 1949 – 24 · Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) · Newspapers.com P. G. Hunt (April 1948). Edmonton with Rasmussen. Sat, Apr 24, 1948 – 7 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com