Tent revival

A tent revival is a gathering of Christian worshipers in a tent erected specifically for revival meetings, healing crusades, and church rallies. Tent revivals have had both local and national ministries.

The tent revival is a development of the old camp meetings in which religious people gathered to hear a preacher. In the continental United States, tent revivals have ranged from small, locally based tents holding perhaps a hundred to large organizations with a fleet of trucks and tents able to hold thousands.

Most tent revivals in the U.S. have been held by Pentecostal or Holiness Christians who not only adhered to evangelicalism but believed in speaking in tongues (glossolalia), healing the chronically ill, and in some cases resurrecting the dead. As radio and television began to play an increasingly important part in American culture, some preachers such as Oral Roberts, a very successful tent revivalist, made the transition to these media. Such pioneers were the early televangelists. Other evangelists who have been noted for their continued use of tents in crusades include David Terrell,R.W. Schambach, Reinhard Bonnke and J. A. Pérez.