Discovering Revival Seeds

This story unravels a mystery about sowers and seeds, beginning with a small band of prayer warriors in the summer of 2017.  They came  to San Pedro Springs Park to ask God to spark revival across San Antonio. The park’s springs have been long revered for its life giving water, attracting people throughout the ages, including early evangelists who shared the transformative story of a Jew who died by crucifixion, was buried, and resurrected three days later. 

As the prayer group gathered in the park, a curious woman approached, inquiring about their purpose. Upon learning they prayed for spiritual revival in San Antonio, she shared how God had used those very springs for His glory long ago. The woman informed them this park was the site of a significant event, then excused herself briefly, promising to return with something to show them. True to her word, she came back with a panoramic photo - a massive baptism nearly a century old, held in those life giving springs. It marked the beginning of the group's participation in an unfolding move of God.

As the group members delved into the story behind the photo, they uncovered not only its history, but also other stories indirectly connected to it. A few of those prayer warriors now staff UniteSA.

Baptism

The baptism photo, taken in 1925 by renowned photographer Eugene O. Goldbeck, was the result of a First Baptist Church revival that had occurred a year earlier. The church had invited a compelling----- albeit controversial speaker, Dr. Frank J. Norris, to head the services. In the 1920s the theory of evolution was dividing Christians into two camps, those who saw the Word of God through the lens of science, and those who saw the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.  Norris, with great fury, fell into the latter camp. Historian Susan Spoon of the First Baptist Church in San Antonio prefaced that Norris in his zeal to root liberalism out of the church had become a divisive figure.  However, she vividly recalls her father describing the charismatic preacher as being a  “great evangelist” who successfully brought people to Christ. 

"This was the middle of the roaring 1920s," Spoon described in our interview, painting a vivid picture of that turbulent time. "The Great War was over, the stock market was flaming hot, women were shortening their skirts, putting on makeup and cutting their hair. It was all very revolutionary in a way." Indeed, the nation buzzed with worldly excitement during those times. However, amidst that cultural upheaval, a fervent passion for Christ also swept across the country. San Antonians, too, embraced revival's spirit. Spoon's insights underscore the contrasting forces at play - societal changes clashing with an equally potent spiritual awakening. While the Roaring Twenties ushered in modernity, many also yearned for a deeper revival, a return to the transformative power of the gospel. San Antonio was not insulated from either of these tides.

Spoon’s research reveals that during the May 25, 1925 baptism event captured in the panoramic photo, 214 new believers were baptized. Many of these individuals embraced Christ after attending the First Baptist Church revival, led by Norris the year before. He was said to have converted over 2000 people during the 1924 revivals he led in San  Antonio and Houston.

Powerful Prayer Leads to Revival

The emergence of new seeds of revival in the Mission City further demonstrated the city’s thirst for the Way, the Truth and the Life. Researching the photo, we learned of a 1929 revival on the West Side, drawing in people from all walks of life bringing them to Christ. As Spoon noted, "the times were turbulent, but the power of faith was stronger."

When UniteSA reached out to Pastors Joe and Lety Morales from Jubilee Outreach, the couple vividly recalled the spark that ignited San Antonio's revival nearly a century ago. "I think...I'm almost sure," Pastor Morales began, calling out to his wife Lety, busily making sandwiches in the kitchen. "There were three ladies praying in a field on Presa Street - right where that tent revival was going to be. "Those devout women had faithfully met at that very spot for over a decade, interceding for revival to come. Little did they know, their prayers were sowing seeds on hallowed ground. Nearly 10 years later, their petitions blossomed into the historic revival on Presa Street. "There were incredible services in that tent," Morales reminisced, his eyes alight. Though he arrived later in the 1970s, the impact was undeniable. "I hear the stories from people I pastor now - those in their 70s, 80s, even 90s!" Under Pastor H.B. Taylor's leadership in 1929, revival's reach was far and wide.

A clipping from the August 15, 1946 issue of The Taylor Tabernacle Bulletin, a bi-monthly publication by Pastor H.B. Taylor. For just $1 per year, readers gained insights like "When your work becomes burdensome, 'put first things first' - stop and praise the Lord." Advice that still rings true nearly 80 years later.

H.B. Taylor, a prominent religious figure in San Antonio, hosted the 1929 revival in a tent known as the Taylor Tabernacle. In that canvas tent, not only did people receive everlasting life through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but healings were also reported to have taken place. One such account comes from San Antonian H.O. Johnson, who shared his testimony in the October 4, 1945 Taylor Tabernacle Bulletin. Born with a club foot, Johnson recalled listening to another revival participant's testimony about her crippled toes being healed. He thought to himself, "I wonder if the Lord could straighten my crooked foot." Following the revival, Johnson not only testified to the healing of his foot but said God healed him of everything.  Johnson added that he was also delivered from his smoking addiction and a 15-year bout of tuberculosis. 

Fred Olson went to the tabernacle seeking hope. A friend had invited him to go to services where he heard H.O. Johnson testify about God healing his club foot. For over two years Olson had been suffering from tuberculosis that spread through his lungs and gastrointestinal tract. In his testimony, Olson remarked, “through the preaching this night faith gripped my heart, the spirit of God touched me so that during the entire service I inwardly cried out ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ I left the meeting a new Creature in Christ." In his testimony published in the Taylor Tabernacle Bulletin, Olson recounted, "Shortly after praying, as I read my Bible, a voice clearly told me, 'You were healed when you prayed.'" He then visited his doctor, who, after taking x-rays, proclaimed Olson in perfect health. 

Numerous accounts of miraculous recoveries can be found in the Taylor Tabernacle Bulletin archives, with believers sharing their experiences of healing from near-death situations and debilitating illnesses. 

Pastor Morales mentioned that people still share stories about ambulances dropping off patients at the revival, as they were reportedly being healed more quickly at the Tabernacle than at the hospital. 

 Over time, the church moved to different locations and the building changed from a tent to a series of buildings, before eventually becoming Jubilee Outreach. 

Those seeds and so many more that we do not know about has led to visions and prophecies calling believers to spiritually prepare for the movement God is bringing to San Antonio. 

We have barely dipped into the full bucket of seeds that God has sown in this city. UniteSA wants to hear your revival stories. Will you share them with us?

Written by Ingrid Wilgen | Original Source Article