Pastor and People

One of the most widely circulated contemporary accounts of the Kentucky revival of 1800 was written by the Rev. George Baxter, successor to William Graham in the teaching work in Lexington, Virginia. Baxter described his extended visit to Kentucky in the autumn of 1801, in a letter to Archibald Alexander, dated 1 January 1802:

The power with which this revival has spread, and its influence in moralizing the people, are difficult for you to conceive of, and more difficult for me to describe…On my way to Kentucky, I was told by settlers on the road, that the character of Kentucky travelers was entirely changed, and that they were now as distinguished for sobriety as they had formerly been for dissoluteness; and indeed, I found Kentucky the most moral place I had ever been in; a profane expression was hardly heard; a religious awe seemed to pervade the country; and some deistical characters had confessed that from whatever cause the revival might originate, it certainly made the people better…

Upon the whole, sir, I think the revival in Kentucky among the most extraordinary that have ever visited the Church of Christ, and, all things considered, peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of that country. Infidelity was triumphant, and religion at the point of expiring. Something of an extraordinary nature seemed necessary to arrest the attention of a giddy people, who were ready to conclude that Christianity was a fable, and futurity a dream.

Oh, that the Holy Spirit would visit His church again in Kentucky. It does no good to schedule a revival and advertise popular preachers and singers. For real revival to sweep our land there must be a transformation of the heart and mind by the power of Christ. There is no substitute. We will not see revival again in Kentucky until God sends one. Let us all ardently pray to this end and for Christ to be glorified in the bluegrass state like that of 1800.
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To read more of the 1800 Kentucky revival please see Revival and Revivalism by Iain H. Murray