- Home
- Speakers
- George R. Brunk II
- Dangers In Revival
George R. Brunk II

George R. Brunk II (November 18, 1911 – April 21, 2002) was an American preacher, evangelist, and educator whose ministry within the Mennonite Church spanned over 65 years, marked by tent revivals and theological leadership. Born in Denbigh, Virginia, to George Reuben Brunk, an evangelist and fruit farmer, and Catherine “Katie” Wenger, he was the sixth of nine children in a devout Mennonite family. Converted as a youth, he graduated from Eastern Mennonite School (1930), earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary (1946), and completed a B.D. (1949), Th.M. (1965), and Th.D. (1967) from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Brunk’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1934 at Warwick River Mennonite Church, where he founded Warwick River Christian School in 1942 while farming peaches and apples. In 1951, he launched the Brunk Brothers Revival Campaign with his brother Lawrence, holding over 100 tent crusades across North America through the early 1980s, seating thousands under canvas to hear his bold, sin-denouncing sermons—preserved on SermonIndex.net. A professor at Eastern Mennonite College (1949–1978) and dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary (1967–1976), he co-edited Sword and Trumpet (1943–2001), advocating conservative doctrine. Married twice—first to Margaret Suter in 1933, with whom he had five children (Gerald, George III, Paul, Conrad, and Barbara), until her death in 1999, then to Rhoda Weber Neer in 2001—he passed away at age 90 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
George R. Brunk II emphasizes the importance of fervent prayers from burdened Christians for revival, acknowledging the dangers and cautions that come with it. He highlights the need to avoid division, excess, and emotionalism in revival, stressing the importance of grounding experiences in the Word of God. Brunk also warns against minimizing the roles of different gifts and offices in the church, urging for unity and a return to biblical doctrine to truly experience revival.
Dangers in Revival
The moving of the Spirit in revival has been preceded by many prayers from burdened Christians across the Church. There are anxious souls who have prayed long for revival in our time. Some of these have revealed in tears how they had hoped almost against hope that they might witness mass revival. May the Lord bless and renew all those prayer warriors who are holding on to God for a mighty revival in our time which will sweep the unsaved into the Kingdom and restore or renew those whose first love has been lost. But there is need also for caution. It has been rightly said that revivals are dangerous. To deny this is an extreme position as also it is to refuse to recognize the good. For example, there is danger that revival will create or intensify division. The revivals of the last two hundred years, though great sources of blessings, were divisive...but who would therefore conclude that revivals like these of the past were not needed? The churches at that time were due a mighty shaking. Some were willing for it. Others were not. Division was the result. We can learn something from the past with respects to this by avoiding any unnecessary occasion for offense, though we dare not compromise truth to satisfy carnal men. There is the danger of excess and extreme, both in word and in act. The evangelized individual, however much he may need to be moved out of his lethargy and indifference, must experience the stabilizing effect of the truth of God’s Word to hold and to deliver him from fanaticism with its unjustified judgments upon others. There is danger too that revivalists may minimize the place and importance of other agencies or offices in the church. We must remember that God has distributed gifts not all of which are alike. Each is important in relation to the other, as are the parts of the human body. For example, the pastor who shepherds and feeds the flock is filling a place in the church which is second to none. Revival may lead out into an emotional stream in which there are no doctrinal moorings. This is not true revival. The experiences of men must be rooted in the Word of God. When we come back to the doctrine of the Word, we have had revival. The biblical revivals confirm this. Perhaps the greatest of all dangers is that of a sleeping church which refuses to be aroused. There is the type of individual that demands that every “i” should be dotted and every “t” crossed. As long as men are connected with revival there will be imperfections. Wisdom and grace are needed from God that pitfalls can be avoided and dangers overcome. We should pray unitedly that God would send us this kind of revival that we need, even if not according to our specifications. It would seem that such a revival would result in uniting the church, not only each to the other but altogether to the Word both written and living. God alone knows what power would be demonstrated among us even yet.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

George R. Brunk II (November 18, 1911 – April 21, 2002) was an American preacher, evangelist, and educator whose ministry within the Mennonite Church spanned over 65 years, marked by tent revivals and theological leadership. Born in Denbigh, Virginia, to George Reuben Brunk, an evangelist and fruit farmer, and Catherine “Katie” Wenger, he was the sixth of nine children in a devout Mennonite family. Converted as a youth, he graduated from Eastern Mennonite School (1930), earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary (1946), and completed a B.D. (1949), Th.M. (1965), and Th.D. (1967) from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Brunk’s preaching career began with his ordination in 1934 at Warwick River Mennonite Church, where he founded Warwick River Christian School in 1942 while farming peaches and apples. In 1951, he launched the Brunk Brothers Revival Campaign with his brother Lawrence, holding over 100 tent crusades across North America through the early 1980s, seating thousands under canvas to hear his bold, sin-denouncing sermons—preserved on SermonIndex.net. A professor at Eastern Mennonite College (1949–1978) and dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary (1967–1976), he co-edited Sword and Trumpet (1943–2001), advocating conservative doctrine. Married twice—first to Margaret Suter in 1933, with whom he had five children (Gerald, George III, Paul, Conrad, and Barbara), until her death in 1999, then to Rhoda Weber Neer in 2001—he passed away at age 90 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.