The Revival Centres International is a Pentecostal church with its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. It has approximately 300 centres in 22 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji, Italy, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Malawi, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Revival Centres was formed as a separate identity from the Commonwealth Revival Crusade in 1958, and at a short time later became a registered denomination pursuant to the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), as Revival Centres of Australia.
The Church has a strong emphasis on the need to show evidence of glossolalia or "speaking in tongues" to demonstrate receiving the Holy Spirit to be considered a full member of the Church and a saved Christian. Revival Centres International bases its glossolalia teaching on a literal interpretation of Acts 2, a trait with some other Pentecostal groups. Revival Centres does not affiliate with any other religious organisation and are not a member of the World Council of Churches.
Church genealogy
Early history
The predecessor of the Revival Centres was the Commonwealth Revival Crusade, which began in 1945 and was itself a conjunction of Assembly of God (Leo Harris) and British-Israel-World Federation (Tom Foster) elements. In 1958, The Revival Centres of Australia (as they were then known), led by Noel Hollins and Lloyd Longfield, was formed as a schism from the Commonwealth Revival Crusade (a group which later became Christian Revival Crusade and then CRC Churches International). In 1972, the group founders split into two separate organisations – with Lloyd Longfield's group remaining officially the 'Revival Centres of Australia' and Noel Hollins leaving to form the 'Geelong Revival Centres' based in Geelong, Victoria.
Carn Brae
One of the earliest Revival Centre purchases was in March 1966, when the Revival Centres paid almost $100,000 for a property in Harcourt Street, Auburn in Melbourne to develop as a church meeting place. The land included a large seventeen-roomed mansion which had formerly been the residence of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, known as Carn Brae. Nearby residents feared that the building of a hall on the property would spoil the previously quiet character of the area, and their protests made newspaper headlines both in Victoria and interstate. Permission to build a hall on the property was ultimately denied. Lloyd Longfield lived in the property for several years, and used the property for various church related functions.
Forum Theatre
The Forum Theatre (formerly known as the "State Theatre") is a famous "Moorish Revival" style theatre located on the corner of Flinders Street and Russell Street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. When the theatre was first built by Bohringer, Taylor & Johnson in 1929, the theatre had the largest seating capacity in Australia, holding 3371 people. In 1985 it was purchased by the Revival Centres International and was used as its International headquarters. In 1995 it was sold to Staged Developments Australia, who redeveloped it for use as a film and concert venue.
General meeting format
The Revival Centres normally holds a midweek meeting (a small scale house meeting) and then at least one Sunday assembly meeting. Both meeting types are expected to contain most of the following aspects:
Community singing or "choruses" led by a song leader based on Christian themes. Welcome and opening prayer. Personal Testimonies, given by church members. Sermon or "talk" given by a pastor or a male leader using Bible references. Sharing of the Communion "elements" (bread and grape juice) representing Body and Blood of Christ. Normally once a week at the Sunday meeting. Operation of the Spirituals Gifts or "Voice Gifts" of the Holy Spirit by church members. i.e. containing speaking in tongues, interpretation of that tongue and prophecy (i.e. meaning professing the word of God). Prayer line or "laying on of hands" for people with needs, by church leaders. Donations or "tithing". Church Activities Announcements. Closing prayer. Social time after meeting.