George Jeffreys: How a Boy Overcame a Speech Impediment to Become a Prominent British Pentecostal Evangelist

This Week in AG History — October 30, 1920

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 02 November 2023

George Jeffreys (1889-1962) was possibly the most gifted preacher that the British Pentecostal Movement ever produced. He had a bold resonant voice and a magnetic personality. He had a solid background in the Bible and loved to share the gospel message. But this was not always the case.

George was the son of a miner, Thomas Jeffreys, of Nantyffylon, Maesteg, Wales. His family belonged to the Welsh Independent (Congregational) church. In his youth, George suffered from a speech impediment and showed the beginnings of facial paralysis. His life was about to change. Together with his older brother, Stephen, George was converted in the revival at Shiloh Independent Chapel in Nantyfyllon, Wales on Nov. 20, 1904, under the evangelistic ministry of Glassnant Jones. This was during the Welsh Revival.

When the Pentecostal movement was introduced to Wales early in 1908, George and Stephen were both opposed to the new revival. But after Stephen’s son, Edward, was baptized in the Spirit, the two Jeffreys brothers sought this experience for themselves. In 1911, George was baptized in the Spirit and received healing of his speech.

George was mentored by Cecil Polhill, who helped him to receive specialized Bible training under Thomas Myerscough at the Pentecostal Missionary Union Bible School at Preston, England, and then he went into evangelistic work. He held crusades in Northern Ireland during World War I and started the Elim Evangelistic Band, which later became the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance in Great Britain.

George and Stephen began traveling together and were known as the Jeffreys Brothers. Soon they gained the reputation of being England’s greatest evangelists since Wesley and Whitefield. From the 1920s to the 1940s, the Jeffreys Brothers conducted revival meetings throughout England and Europe, with thousands converted and others receiving healing.

As one of England’s premier evangelists, George Jeffreys’ views on revival are worth reading. The Oct. 30, 1920, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel published a message titled, “How to Get a Revival.” Using the story of King Ahaz and his son, King Hezekiah, as background, Jeffreys described a spiritual revival in Israel. He outlined these points when seeking for revival: 1) recognize the need of a revival, 2) pray and ask God for revival, 3) turn from sin and pray for forgiveness, and 4) let Christ be exalted.

According to Jeffreys, repentance and turning from sin are key factors of revival. Jeffreys referred to the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905: He said that when the “mighty power of God began to sweep through the church” that all sin had to leave, for “God cannot live where sin is.”

How long should revival last? Jeffreys responded to that question: “Thank God, a revival started in my heart 30 years ago, and it has never stopped; it will never end.” He continued by saying, “As long as Jesus is kept in the front, and made the center of fellowship and blessing and unity, the revival will never end.”

Jeffreys also pointed out that the revival under King Hezekiah included a missionary spirit as letters were written to neighboring parts of Israel for people to repent and return to the ways of God. Jeffreys closed his address with this statement: “If you want a revival, ask God to give you a vision of this old world, with its sin like a troubled sea …” Then after seeing the lost around us, he said we need to pray and ask God for revival, and then confess Jesus as Lord. These simple acts of faith can lay the foundation for revival in our personal lives, in the church, and in our communities.

Read George Jeffreys’ address, “How to Get a Revival,” on pages 6-8 of the Oct. 30, 1920, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Back to Pentecost”

• “Politics from the Pentecostal Perspective,” by Stanley H. Frodsham

• “Greatest Missionary Opportunity in All North Africa”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

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

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