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Marie Monsen
Marie Monsen (1878–1962). Born in 1878 in Sandviken, Norway, to Johannes, a model carpenter, and Karen Monsen, Marie Monsen was a Norwegian missionary and evangelist who catalyzed revivals in China from 1901 to 1932. Raised in a Christian family near a prayer house, she trained as a teacher and nurse before arriving in China on September 1, 1901, with the China Mission Association (later part of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission). Early setbacks—a fall causing a severe concussion and near-fatal malaria—humbled her, deepening her faith. Monsen’s preaching, marked by bold questions like “Have you been born again?”, sparked the Shantung Revival (1929–1931), confronting sin and igniting spiritual awakening among missionaries and Chinese believers in Henan and beyond. Known as the “mother of the Chinese house churches,” she worked closely with Asbjørn Aavik, fostering the house church movement. Her quasi-Pentecostal emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s baptism stirred controversy among Norwegian traditionalists, leading to marginalization at home. Returning to Norway in 1932 to care for her ill parents, she joined a free evangelical congregation in Bergen in 1935 and published books like A Present Help (1945) and The Awakening (1959), chronicling her experiences. Unmarried, she died in 1962 in Bergen, her grave later honored in 2001 at Brother Yun’s request for her Henan legacy. Monsen said, “The Holy Spirit searches hearts when we dare to speak the truth.”
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Marie Monsen preaches about a powerful prayer-revival where missionaries experienced the Spirit of God at work, leading to a deep commitment to united prayer for revival. This revival transformed their daily lives, with prayer becoming a central focus and leading to fellowship in prayer with Chinese fellow-workers. As they prayed in agreement, they witnessed revival not only on mission stations but also in surrounding districts, fulfilling the promise in Matthew 18:19.
Prayer Revival in China
"The Spirit of God was at work among us at this time of refreshing, and we knew it. It was a wonderfully quiet prayer-revival. It grew perfectly natural to see missionaries meet on the paths, stop to talk and then pray together at the side of the pathway; or one saw them at prayer among the bushes and behind rocks. It was said that every cupboard and corner in the little houses was used continually for prayer. All those who experienced this prayer-revival went back to their stations to make united prayer for revival a first priority in the work, and to see that it was not allowed to be pushed out into the sphere of unessentials as it had so often been before. Out of this grew the daily fellowship in prayer with Chinese fellow-workers, which naturally led to revival on mission stations and in surrounding districts, as the promise in Matt. 18:19 assures us: "I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
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Marie Monsen (1878–1962). Born in 1878 in Sandviken, Norway, to Johannes, a model carpenter, and Karen Monsen, Marie Monsen was a Norwegian missionary and evangelist who catalyzed revivals in China from 1901 to 1932. Raised in a Christian family near a prayer house, she trained as a teacher and nurse before arriving in China on September 1, 1901, with the China Mission Association (later part of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission). Early setbacks—a fall causing a severe concussion and near-fatal malaria—humbled her, deepening her faith. Monsen’s preaching, marked by bold questions like “Have you been born again?”, sparked the Shantung Revival (1929–1931), confronting sin and igniting spiritual awakening among missionaries and Chinese believers in Henan and beyond. Known as the “mother of the Chinese house churches,” she worked closely with Asbjørn Aavik, fostering the house church movement. Her quasi-Pentecostal emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s baptism stirred controversy among Norwegian traditionalists, leading to marginalization at home. Returning to Norway in 1932 to care for her ill parents, she joined a free evangelical congregation in Bergen in 1935 and published books like A Present Help (1945) and The Awakening (1959), chronicling her experiences. Unmarried, she died in 1962 in Bergen, her grave later honored in 2001 at Brother Yun’s request for her Henan legacy. Monsen said, “The Holy Spirit searches hearts when we dare to speak the truth.”