Retelling the old, old story: a study of six mass evangelistic missions in twentieth-century New Zealand

Abstract

Modern revivalistic evangelism developed from the British Evangelical Revivals and the American Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. The theological and practical foundations were laid for the development of new approaches and techniques to persuade hearers of their sinfulness and need to become converted to the Christian faith. Although they have been employed to some extent in Britain, the refinement and full exploitation of these techniques has been a particularly American phenomenon, exercising substantial theological, social and political influence beyond conservative Christian society. There have been six major revivalistic missions to New Zealand with American style and leadership, those of R.A. Torrey (1902), J.W. Chapman (1912-1913), Billy Graham (1959 and 1969), and Leighton Ford and Luis Palau (1987). Each of these has sought to exert over New Zealand society the same spiritual and moral influence enjoyed in America, and to be a means of raising the membership and public profile of the Protestant churches. This thesis surveys these six missions to determine common themes which run through them, and differences and changes between them. Firstly, the backgrounds of the evangelists reveal the influences these have on the styles and messages of the missions. Then the mechanics of conducting the missions are considered, the different methodologies adopted by the evangelists and how they altered over time. A summary of the theological and social messages promulgated in New Zealand then gives insight into the kind of Christianity the evangelists have presented to their audiences. Fourthly, the variations in the reception given the missions by New Zealanders are noted and conclusions drawn from the thesis illustrating the changing nature of New Zealand Protestant Christianity during the twentieth century. Finally, an assessment is made of the overall impact such missions have had on individuals, churches and the wider society in New Zealand. The case is argued and the conclusion reached that none of these missions seems to have made much long-term impression upon either their supporters, the Protestant churchgoers, or upon the wider society. Such impact as they had tended to be greater in the anticipation than the event and seldom received more than passing attention from those outside existing Christian church life. Even the proportion of Protestants supporting evangelistic missions’ very utilisation fell and the revivalists themselves came to be viewed by many as divisive and morally regressive, rather than as agents of a unifying and morally authoritative Christian faith. Their theology, too, was often critiqued as simplistic, as was the use of psychological pressure inherent in their methods. The major resulting benefits for the churches concerned have not been in large increases in membership, but in the opportunities to unite churches internally and with each other over some common ground, in the provision of a group of laypeople within the churches who have their interest and experience in evangelism heightened, and in the recommitment and dedication of many existing members’ lives to their faith and its practical expression. New Zealand society has been less susceptible to offers of spiritual ‘peace with God’ than that of the United States. There has remained, though, a substantial and strongly committed element of fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals prepared still to promote the use of revivalistic methods of mass evangelism to seek the conversion of non-Christians, to unify existing churches around a great, transdenominational opportunity to do God’s work, and to provide a vast public relations exercise to prove to the public and to themselves that Christianity is still a living and active spiritual and social force.