Fathers of Faith
Heroes of the Great Awakenings

Fathers of Faith

The men God raised up to preach repentance and revival across two continents — from the camp meetings of the American frontier to the slums of Victorian London and the healing rooms of the early Pentecostal awakening.

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” Hebrews 13:7 · KJV

Click any title marked “Read here” to open the complete book right on this page in a built-in reader. Every text is a public-domain edition preserved by the Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, and partner libraries. A few works that have no scanned edition open at their source in a new tab, and writings still under copyright are not reproduced.

American Revivalists
CF
Charles G. Finney
1792 – 1875 · United States
Father of Modern Revivalism

A practicing lawyer until his dramatic conversion in 1821, Finney became the central figure of the Second Great Awakening. His “new measures” reshaped American evangelism. He later served as president of Oberlin College.

Read Their Works
Complete Works, Sermons & Memoirsgospeltruth.net · opens in new tab Full Study Page — Charles G. FinneyDedicated biography · same tab
DM
D. L. Moody
1837 – 1899 · United States
The Great Soul-Winner

The most famous evangelist of his age — a Chicago shoe-salesman turned preacher who, with singer Ira D. Sankey, drew enormous crowds across Britain and America. He founded the Moody Bible Institute.

JC
James Caughey
1810 – 1891 · Ireland / U.S.
King of Revivalist Preachers

An Irish-American Methodist revivalist whose campaigns in England and Canada earned him his royal nickname. The young William and Catherine Booth were deeply stirred by his ministry.

Read Their Works
Full Study Page — James CaugheyDedicated biography · same tab
JK
Jacob Knapp
1799 – 1874 · United States
Fearless Baptist Evangelist

One of the most influential Baptist evangelists of the northern United States, known for blunt, fearless preaching. His meetings in Baltimore, Boston, and New York drew crowds so vast that civil protection was sometimes required.

British & International Evangelists
WB
William Booth
1829 – 1912 · England
Founder of The Salvation Army

Beginning as an independent Methodist evangelist, Booth carried the gospel into the poorest streets of London — founding the East London Christian Mission in 1865, renamed The Salvation Army in 1878. With his wife Catherine, he built a worldwide movement of evangelism and social rescue.

Read Their Works
Also at Project Gutenbergplain-text & e-reader formats Full Study Page — William BoothDedicated biography · same tab
RW
Richard Weaver
1833 – 1896 · England
The Converted Collier

A working-class English coal-miner whose conversion turned him into one of the most magnetic evangelists of his day. His plain, passionate appeals to ordinary laboring people drew tens of thousands during the 1859–60 revival.

Read Their Works

Weaver left no books of his own. His life, conversion, and sermons survive in a biography compiled by R. C. Morgan:

The Life of Richard Weaver, the Converted CollierInternet Archive · new tab Full Study Page — Richard WeaverDedicated biography · same tab
RR
Reginald Radcliffe
1822 – 1895 · England
Solicitor Turned Evangelist

A prominent English solicitor who left his profession to give himself to the gospel as a lay evangelist, leading bold open-air and public-hall revival meetings across the United Kingdom during and after the awakening of 1859.

Read Their Works

Radcliffe published little under his own name. He is remembered chiefly through the memoir gathered by his wife, Jane Radcliffe:

Recollections of Reginald RadcliffeInternet Archive · new tab Full Study Page — Reginald RadcliffeDedicated biography · same tab
SW
Smith Wigglesworth
1859 – 1947 · England
The Apostle of Faith

An uneducated Yorkshire plumber converted as a boy in a Wesleyan Methodist meeting, who began with the Salvation Army and became the most famous evangelist of the early Pentecostal movement. His worldwide healing ministry made his name a byword for bold, unwavering faith.

Read Their Works

His later books (e.g. Faith That Prevails, 1938) remain under copyright and are not reproduced here.

Full Study Page — Smith WigglesworthDedicated biography · same tab

“He that winneth souls is wise… and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.”

Proverbs 11:30 · Daniel 12:3 · KJV
In His Hands Bible · KJV · Free · Ad-Free
Return to the Holy Bible · In His Hands Ministries
Reader
Open Full Page ↗
Reverence Library