Not only are we celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence in 2026, but we are also celebrating the 225th anniversary of the Cane Ridge Revival – the birth of the Second Great Awakening, and also what some scholars see as the beginning of the American Restoration Movement, both of which took place August 6-12, 1801, near Paris, Kentucky. In his book Christians Only, James DeForest Murch said, “This major phenomenon in American church history prepared the way for the Restoration Movement” (The Great Awakenings and the Restoration Movement, Max Ward Randall, College Press, 1983).
The Cane Ridge Revival of 1801 may have been what I call “America’s Pentecost.” It was not the first revival to sweep the nation, because the Great Awakening took place from 1740-1745, in large part because of the preaching of the British evangelist George Whitefield, who made seven trips to America (see Lincoln’s movie review of A Great Awakening in the Summer issue of One Body). However, the Cane Ridge Revival was certainly one of the most unique revivals to ever take place on American soil.
The Kentucky revival attracted between 20,000 and 30,000 people in only one week. This was no small feat considering the primitive methods of travel and lodging at the turn of the nineteenth century. One historian has estimated that nearly 10 percent of the recorded population of Kentucky in 1801 was at Cane Ridge at one time or another during that week.
The storied revival took place in Bourbon County on the spacious church grounds of the Cane Ridge Meeting House. Some say it was the largest one-room log building on the North American continent. At that time, the congregation was part of the Presbyterian Church and was led by its irenic and unity-minded minister, Barton W. Stone.
Folks began arriving for the scheduled weekend services on Friday, August 6, 1801. They came by horseback and wagons. The 400-seat church was quickly filled. Not even the rain dampened the spirits of the worshipers who came. The next day, the growing crowd, which had swelled to about 20,000 worshippers, included several hundred Negroes, spread into a grove of trees owned by a Methodist. A covered platform was erected where various preachers of differing persuasions could address the audience. Some services were held in the log church while others were conducted from the platform or in other parts of the campground on tree stumps or wagon seats.
A singular event made the Cane Ridge Revival unique in the annals of American revivalism – the amazing unity of those who were doing the preaching. Stone had invited Methodists and Baptists to join the Presbyterians in preaching. At least one participant counted seven ministers, all preaching at the same time, in different parts of the encampment. Hundreds of “exhorters” were also seen and heard at Cane Ridge. In this sense, one is reminded of the Day of Pentecost when the apostle Peter stood up with the eleven (Acts 2:14) and preached and exhorted people to “be saved from this crooked and perverse generation” (v. 40). Incredibly, three thousand converts were reported at Cane Ridge – the same number as at Pentecost (v. 42).
Brother Stone testified: “We all engaged in singing the same songs of praise, all united in prayer, all preached the same thing – free salvation urged upon all by faith and repentance.” Stone also said, “With astonishment did I hear men, women, and children declaring the wonderful works of God, and the glorious mysteries of the gospel.” He further stated that he was amazed at “the knowledge of the gospel displayed.” Critics, of course, summarily dismissed these “religious exercises” of weeping and rejoicing as pure fanaticism, but others believed them to be genuine evidence of the convicting power of God’s Word as on the Day of Pentecost – when they stood, prayed, sang, and preached as one and thousands were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) about their sins.
Note: On September 26, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Kentucky Christian University will sponsor a 225th Anniversary Celebration of the Great Cane Ridge Revival. There will be period reenactors, children’s activities, hymn singing, food trucks, vendors, and a special guest speaker, Barton W. Stone (played by Dr. Richard J. Cherok, Managing Editor of Christian Standard and former director of POEM).
