Few preached with greater conviction than Stephen Jeffreys

Stephen Jeffreys’ healing ministry was one of the most powerful since the apostles of Christ, writes David Littlewood.

In the spring of 1927 a handful of Pentecostal believers in Bishop Aukland, County Durham, had planned a campaign at the local town hall with the noted evangelist, Stephen Jeffreys. Despite much prayer being made beforehand, there appeared little interest, with only a handful of people attending during the first few days.

Then one evening a sensational miracle took place – Jeffreys prayed for a girl who had been born without eyes and after his prayer a pair of blue eyes appeared in the once-empty eye sockets.

The girl – Celia Brown – was well known locally and, as news of the miracle spread, a flame of revival swept the district. The campaign lasted for six weeks with people queuing for hours to get a seat and police having to control the crowds. During the first two weeks alone, 964 people decided to become Christians.

Notable miracles were frequent if not commonplace in the heyday of the ministry of Stephen Jeffreys. After leaving a flourishing church behind at Bishop Auckland, he moved to Sunderland, where the Victoria Hall – which seated around 3,000 people – soon proved too small to contain the crowds.

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