(The below extract was taken from “God’s Generals”, by Roberts Liardon)
“By 1830, Rochester had almost quadrupled to 10 000 residents... During the months when Charles spoke there, nearly the entire population was converted. Roughly 100 000 people in the region came to the Lord. The revival touched communities as far as one hundred miles away. Lyman Beecher, Charles’s harsh critic in his early years would eventually call Charles’s work in Rochester “The greatest work of God, and the greatest revival of religion, that the world has ever seen, in so short a time. One hundred thousand…were reported as having connected themselves with churches… This… is unparalleled in the history of the church, and the progress of religion.”
"Between September 1830 and March 1831, Charles preached several nights each week and three times each Sunday. It was a revival that touched all social classes-from Civic and business leaders to school teachers, from Physicians and shop keepers to farmers and migrant workers. Many businesses closed so that employees could attend the meetings, and the women from the church went door to door, praying for people and inviting them to come to the evening service. Bars closed for lack of patrons. Crime rates dropped dramatically and stayed low for years, even as the population grew. At one point, the teenagers in the local high school were so distraught about the condition of their souls that they paid no attention to their lessons, so the director invited Charles to come and speak. Nearly the entire student body was saved, including the director who had originally thought it was a ploy by the students to get out of their work. Forty of the students went on to become ministers. The society in and around Rochester was transformed and became distinctly Christian. One could not go out into the streets or into a bank or shop and not overhear a discussion about religion.