This Week in AG History -- Dec. 25, 1937

Early Pentecostals generally viewed the observance of the “church calendar” as remnants of liturgical traditions. Apart from Easter and Christmas, there were few days that Pentecostal churches set aside for special services. One exception was New Year's Eve, when a "Watchnight Service" would be held, typically starting around 7 p.m. and lasting until after midnight. The service featured hours of spirited singing, testimonies, and most importantly, ushering in the New Year with congregational prayer around the altar.

Pentecostal churches had historical reasons for setting aside this night as a time to seek God. On Dec. 31, 1900, a Watchnight Service in Topeka, Kansas, marked the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. Charles Parham, who organized the service at his Bethel Bible College, had a background in the Methodist Episcopal Church. It had long been a tradition in Wesleyan Methodist churches to hold annual services on Dec. 31 for reaffirming commitment to God.

John Wesley, the British founder of Methodism, had experienced conversion in a Moravian church in 1738 and attended a prayer vigil on Dec. 31. He wrote in his journal, “As we continued instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground.”

Under Wesley’s leadership, many in the British Isles underwent life-changing conversions to Christianity. In the town of Kingswood, coal miners, once accustomed to spending their Saturday nights in alehouses, began holding all-night prayer meetings to avoid the temptations of drunkenness. Wesley joined them, preaching between 8 and 9 p.m., continuing the meeting until after midnight, praying and praising God. He later combined these “Watchnight” services with the Moravian tradition of New Year’s Eve prayer vigils.

The first American Methodist Watchnight service was held at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia in 1770. The 1777 Watchnight service, in particular, became famous for its prayers for the provision of funds for General George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. Robert Morris, having left the service before daybreak, raised the necessary $50,000 to supply the troops. Watchnight services eventually became common not only among Methodists, but also in Anglican, Lutheran, Adventist, and Reformed churches in America.

Thus, it was no accident that Charles Parham called for a Watchnight Service on Dec. 31, 1900, to seek God for His power and presence in the coming year, 1901. It was during this service that Agnes Ozman spoke in tongues, marking the beginning of the Pentecostal understanding that speaking in tongues was a sign of the initial infilling, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit.

Watchnight services remained a key part of Pentecostal practice, even after Pentecostals formed their own fellowships, distinct from other denominations. In the Dec. 25, 1937, edition of Pentecostal Evangel, readers were encouraged to consider the following reasons why Watchnight, the last night of the old year, was so significant:

1. Because the need for prayer and spiritual awakening in the church has never been greater. Concern is growing among evangelical leaders, thoughtful laypeople, and far-seeing political leaders about the godless trends of the time.

2. Because infidelity, both doctrinal and practical, has infiltrated many Christian pulpits and churches.

3. Because the entire Church of Jesus Christ is in need of revival, which will come when God’s people unite in prayer for it.

4. Because every evangelical Christian bears a personal responsibility to God, their family, their church, and the world, to do everything in their power to point to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” through prayer, life, and exhortation.

The article admonished readers, “As we wait upon the Lord in our Watchnight services, let us pray for a mighty Holy Ghost revival to sweep over the world, beginning in 1938.”

The cover of this issue of the Evangel featured a picture of General George Washington in prayer with the caption: “In 1777 – Why Not A Watch-Night in 1937?”

In a time when many churches cancel services on Christmas and New Year's, it might be worth reflecting on the call from Pentecostal Evangel editor Stanley Frodsham to the Assemblies of God at the end of 1937: "Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (I Thessalonians 5:6).

Read the article, “Blessed Is He That Watcheth,” on page 2 of the Dec. 25, 1937, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Initial Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Beginning of the Church Age” by J. Narver Gortner

• “Announcing the Christ Ambassador’s Herald”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.