Saturday, July 18, 2026
On September 23, 1857, Jeremiah C. Lanphier climbed the steps of the North Dutch Reformed Church and entered the room that had been designated for noonday prayer. For the first thirty minutes, no one else showed up.
At the time, changes in the neighborhood around the North Dutch Reformed Church left the ministry sitting in an area that was largely unchurched and uninteresting in becoming so. Immigrants were moving in, the middle class was moving out, and even some area churches were pulling up their tent pegs to settle down in other parts of the city. The church needed a new way to engage the community, so it decided to bring on a lay missionary. It was a decision that wasn’t only going to transform their church, but was also going to alter the nation.
The Businessmen’s revival was a laymen’s revival. It wasn’t led by a prominent minister. It wasn’t marked by impressive preaching. It was regular people, committing to prayer and the gathering of the saints.
It was regular people, committing to prayer...
You Don’t Have to Be a Theologian to Be Used by God.
Its catalyst on Fulton Street in New York City wasn’t a theologian. Jeremiah C. Lanphier had been a career businessman in the area of textiles. When he converted to Christianity in 1842, he remained in business but showed a passion for reaching the lost. He regularly shared the gospel and distributed tracts. On July 1, 1857, after more than two decades in business, he transitioned into a new role as a lay missionary.
Tasked with evangelizing the surrounding communities, Lanphier committed himself to the ministry of visitation. He went door to door inviting families to church. He invited children to Sunday school. He even went to local hotels, encouraging them to refer their guests to the church for religious services. As he went, he was continually praying, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
One Instruction From God Can Change Everything.
What happened next is best explained in Lanphier’s own words. One day the Lord answered in an idea that occurred to Lanphier: “Going my rounds in the performance of my duty one day, as I was walking along the streets, the idea was suggested to my mind that an hour of prayer, from twelve to one o'clock, would be beneficial to business men, who usually in great numbers take that hour for rest and refreshment.” (Prime, The Power of Prayer, 22)
Lanphier heeded the idea. A space was prepared in the church, fliers were printed and distributed, and the missionary spread the word about this new venture.
How You View Success May Be Why You Keep “Failing.”
When the day came, Lanphier began promptly. After placing the sign outside, he entered the lecture room on the third floor of the church and began to pray. At 12:30, one person joined him. Then another and another. Six people in total joined in the meeting that day. Lanphier rejoiced in the modest turnout. That was all it took for Lanphier to keep his prayer meeting going.
After printing and distributing thousands of fliers, the businessman-turned-missionary wasn’t deterred by what many would call a small turnout. He didn’t walk away from that prayer meeting with the mindset to cancel. On the contrary, he was encouraged and took the turnout to mean that there was, in fact, a real need for the meeting. He also wasn’t deterred in the time that he spent praying alone.
By the standards of modern organizers, an event that was advertised to thousands but had a turnout of six may have been canceled moving forward due to low enrollment. But Lanphier did not despise that day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). It was decided that another meeting would happen at the same time the following Wednesday.
Consistency Positions Us For God’s “Suddenlies.”
The following week, 20 men came to prayer. The week after that, 40 came to prayer. This particular meeting was so impactful that it was decided another meeting should take place the following day, “at which a large number attended; and from this day dates the business-men's union daily prayer-meeting.” (Prime, The Power of Prayer, 22)
Lanphier’s private journal records those next few meetings as increasing in attendance and intensity. By October 14th, less than one month after the first meeting, there were over 100 people present, including many who were seeking salvation.
Soon the meeting overtook the building, and crowds reached as high as 3,000 people. It is said The New York Times attempted to count the crowd at one of these meetings, but could not finish before the meeting concluded.
Fire Spreads and God Brings the Increase.
It is recorded that within six months of the start of the meeting, 10,000 businessmen were meeting throughout New York City to pray daily. Revival was headlining across the country, and news outlets were sending reporters to cover the prayer meetings.
As news of the prayer meetings spread, so did the prayer meetings. People were gathering in Canada, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis.
One of the men who attended the original meetings was moved to bring the experience back to his hometown in Philadelphia. The first meeting had 40 people; the next had 60; and in March of 1858, the meeting exploded to the degree that no less than 3,000 people were attending daily. By May, a tent was put up to accommodate the crowds. That year, an estimated 10,000 conversions took place in Philadelphia.
It is believed that one million souls were reconciled in their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the prayer meeting. Around the world, meetings connected to what happened on Fulton Street popped up in Europe, Africa, and Australia. Involvement in the revival began to dwindle with the start of the American Civil War—an event that many believe was fruit of the revival.
The businessmen’s revival is a powerful reminder that the Lord can use anyone and that the smallest God idea can reap results beyond anything that we can imagine. Jeremiah Lanphier wanted to know how to reach the souls in his neglected lower ward of Manhattan. The Lord gave him a strategy that reaped souls across America. What has the Holy Spirit been asking you to do? What small beginning is He inviting you to steward?
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