Some revivals are quiet because we've never heard of them before! Such was the case this week when I heard my friend John Wilthew speak on the European revival that happened before the Second World War through the ministry of James Alexander Stewart. I'll hand over to John - the full audio of the session is linked at the bottom.

The Boy Who Chose God Over Football

James Alexander Stewart was involved in a season of significant spiritual awakening in Europe prior to WW2, but his story is rarely told.

Born in 1910 in Glasgow, James dreamed of playing football for his country. But in his early teens, he faced a crossroads that would define his entire life: it had to be football or God. His crisis moment came on the football field itself - playing in a schoolboy championship match, he cried out to the Lord. From that point on, he was God's man. It was the beginning of a life lived entirely for God and the gospel.

When his father died, James, aged just 15, left school without any qualifications and found work. But something had ignited in his heart. He began studying the Bible intensively and became a boy preacher at open-air meetings - on street corners, outside football stadiums, just about anywhere people would gather.

He became a familiar figure on the streets of Glasgow with banners, text boards and tracts, testifying to any passer-by who would listen. Working in a large clothing factory, he sang hymns and shared the gospel with his colleagues. They nicknamed him "daft Jimmy" - but he was happy to be a fool for Christ's sake.

The Divine Encounter That Changed Everything

At 18, James faced another crossroads: should he continue working in the factory or devote his life to preaching the gospel? He chose to say goodbye to the factory. He wrote to James Bryant of the Open-Air Mission and was taken on full-time, assigned to work in the borders of southern Scotland and the docks at Clydebank, preaching to workers after their day's work.

But it was during a mission in northeast England that Stewart had an encounter that would transform his ministry forever:

"I was spending some time in prayer at bedtime when suddenly the heavens opened and I was given a glorious sense of the divine presence. Waves of divine love filled my soul and I was overwhelmed by a manifestation of the Lord which made me weep for joy. For about three hours I enjoyed sweet communion with my blessed Lord - 'my Beloved had brought me into his banqueting house and his banner over me was love.'"

This experience was a life-changer. He said later: "I had felt some anointing of the Spirit on occasions before, but this was something different."

A Heart for Eastern Europe

It was during his time in East Anglia that James's heart began to be stirred for the peoples of eastern Europe. "I realized that just across the English Channel lay a veritable mission-field for whom nobody seemed to care." He lost no time and soon left for Europe.

Latvia: Where It All Began

At just 24 years old, James arrived in Riga, the Latvian capital, in 1934. He made contact with William and Robert Fetler, who led an evangelistic work in the city. The brothers took him in but weren't sure what to make of this young man who claimed God had sent him, yet didn't know a word of Latvian or Russian - he only spoke his native language with a strong Scottish accent.

They already had a revival prayer meeting in that place, so they allowed him five minutes to share a short testimony. As soon as the prayer meeting finished, William Fetler suggested an immediate evangelistic mission with young James Stewart as the evangelist. God was clearly with this young man!

The results were extraordinary. Over 12,000 people packed the building in Riga each night, and the meetings often continued until the early hours of the next day. There were many conversions, but the most prominent feature was a "sense of the majesty and holiness of God." This continued for five months with over 2,000 attending the meetings every day.

Estonia and Beyond

James moved on to Estonia, where a local pastor arranged meetings to which thousands came. Then he went to the seaside town of Tallinn near the Soviet border. There were no churches in the town, but he found a venue. The challenge was finding a translator.

He found a lady who taught English, but she admitted she wasn't a believer and had never held a Bible in her entire life. Stewart was doubtful about using her, but he recalled how David Brainerd had preached to American Indians through a translator who was drunk, and despite this, much blessing had followed.

He went ahead, announcing "Lectures on the Bible." People were invited to bring pencils and notebooks, and as they arrived, they were presented with a copy of the New Testament. Many came to faith, including his translator.

Poland: Revival Among the Persecuted

In 1935, James moved on to Poland. Wherever he went, revival attended his preaching. One Polish pastor testified: "The meetings in many places gathered thousands of Poles, Russians and Ukrainians, and resulted in many of them trusting Christ."

He received a consignment of scripture portions from the Scripture Gift Mission, which he distributed with the help of his 17-year-old brother Douglas. He also held meetings among the large Jewish communities bordering the Soviet Union, preaching the gospel through an interpreter.

One remarkable story involves a Jewish woman who had set out for the local cinema expecting to see a film starring James Stewart, the famous American movie star - his name was on a poster outside the cinema! Instead, she heard James Stewart the evangelist speaking of things she had never heard before. She returned again and again until she came to faith, soon followed by her husband. Tragically, it wasn't long before the Nazis came and the Jews of Poland were swallowed up.

Czechoslovakia and Hungary: Racing Against Time

James traveled to Brno in Czechoslovakia in 1936, where many young people came to faith - two years before the city fell under German control and Hitler's forces were stationed there.

Then on to Debrecen in Hungary, where six meetings were held each day: the first at seven in the morning and the last at nine-thirty at night. An estimated 4,000 attended the seven o'clock meeting every evening, with one report from Hungary stating that more than 3,000 came to faith.

Stewart returned to Hungary in 1938, 1939, and 1940, just as Hungary was entering WW2. Spiritual hunger was evident wherever he went. One particularly moving account describes him preaching "to thousands in a university courtyard in total darkness, as blackout was complete; though he could not see the people he could hear them weeping profusely."

These visits, which brought in a harvest of souls, can now be understood as divine preparation for the suffering that lay ahead.

The Heart of True Evangelism

Stewart's ministry didn't just win converts - it raised up local evangelists. Many were of limited education, which prompted Stewart to arrange short-term Bible courses. But while recognizing the need for training, James believed that no amount of Bible knowledge was a substitute for vital faith, a love for souls, and the outpouring of the Spirit's power.

One of his favorite sayings was: "Mine the mighty ordination of the nail-pierced hands."

For James Stewart, true evangelism was "working in communion with the Holy Spirit." Whenever possible, his work was linked to local churches, and as a result, these churches were strengthened both spiritually and numerically across many countries. Where there was no church, he established "Prayer houses," often in lonely regions. The distribution of Bibles, New Testaments, and scripture portions was a major feature of his ministry.

A Legacy That Survived the Storm

James Stewart's five years of ministry in Europe up to 1940 resulted in the reviving and awakening of groups of believers, large and small, across many countries. These communities played a crucial part in the survival of faith through the horrors of war in those eastern lands.

Sometimes the most powerful revivals are the ones we've never heard of - quiet movements of God that prepare His people for the storms ahead. James Alexander Stewart's story reminds us that God often uses the most unlikely people - a "daft Jimmy" from Glasgow - to accomplish His extraordinary purposes.

What crossroads are you facing today? What would it look like to choose God over everything else?

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Want to hear more stories like this? Reply and let me know what stirred your heart most about James Stewart's journey.

Simon