The Daily Mail reported that the small Rutland town of Oakham was in a “state of panic” earlier this week, with residents terrified to leave their homes.¹ The reason – the staging of a major Christian festival in nearby Rutland Showground.

A surprising connection

The festival in question was a regular gypsy Pentecostal convention, drawing as many as 1,500 travellers from all over the country. Sadly the event attracted only negative publicity, with a number of unacceptable incidents of anti-social behaviour and attempted theft being highlighted.

The event organisers made it clear (though the media often failed to) that the disruptive behaviour was committed by a small number of non-Christian travellers present. Such unsought publicity is particularly disappointing because the overwhelming majority of pilgrims were of course decent, law-abiding citizens who had simply gathered together to worship God and fellowship together. And, of course, to share the gospel – many unsaved travellers find Christ at these conventions (the attendant social disorder being the unfortunate price of such eternal benefits).

A remarkable spiritual revival began among British gypsies some thirty years ago, and since then travelling folk across the UK have been surrendering their lives to Christ in their dozens.

While it was undoubtedly of great surprise to the residents of Oakham that so many travelling folk identify as Pentecostal Christians, such connection is likely to be of equal surprise to many in the Church. For though relatively unnoticed, a remarkable spiritual revival began among British gypsies some thirty years ago, and since then travelling folk across the UK have been surrendering their lives to Christ in their dozens. Termed ‘The Silent Revival’, it has been largely ignored even by Pentecostal and charismatic enthusiasts desperate to see similar growth in their own congregations and neighbourhoods.

European beginnings

The current awakening began in northern France in the early 1950s, being led by a Pentecostal pastor called Clement le Cossec. During one of his services a sick gypsy baby was miraculously healed. The news spread quickly and soon Romani people were turning up in their droves to le Cossec’s small church. Clement resigned as pastor and dedicated his life to the Le Cossec (left) with a gypsy familyRoma people of France.

Many of those converted in Brittany were survivors of concentration and internment camps. Across Europe tens of thousands of Roma had been killed or worked to death by the Nazis – being considered, like the Jews, to be ‘racially inferior’. Le Cossec saw gypsies and Jews as ‘chosen ones’, and there is still a cherished belief among many evangelical Romanis that they are a tribe of Abraham, lost thousands of years ago in the Sinai desert.

From France, the revival movement spread into Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, South America and Scandinavia. Around one third of all French gypsies are now thought to be Pentecostal Christians – with about the same proportion in Spain and Portugal. There are also scores of Romani evangelical churches in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania and Bulgaria.

Britain’s silent revival

The last part of Europe to be evangelised was Britain. In 1981, in Darlington, Davey Jones became the only known born-again gypsy in Britain. Davey immediately began visiting traveller-sites up and down the country, preaching the gospel from the back of his van. 

From his new base in Leatherhead, Surrey, Jones helped establish ‘Light & Life’, a gypsy-Pentecostal affiliation, which now numbers over 8,000 members and has over 30 churches dotted across the country. (In France there are 150,000 L&L members, 800 Roma preachers and 60 places of worship, as well as a Roma Bible school)

‘Light & Life’ in fact developed within the Assemblies of God movement, but became independent in the mid-1990s, partly through disagreement over the Toronto Blessing, which gypsy leaders dismissed as a manifestation of the flesh.² Another factor was the increasing realisation that to preach effectively to gypsies, you need to be one of them, otherwise you won’t be accepted. There are now estimated to be around 20,000 evangelical gypsy believers in Britain, a tenth of the total Romani population. It was later in the 1990s that the gypsy revival spread to Scotland. A movement also developed in Ireland.

Another factor was the increasing realisation that to preach effectively to gypsies, you need to be one of them, otherwise you won’t be accepted.

Christian first, gypsy second

 In ‘Light and Life’, believers are baptised by full immersion, and follow the Bible's teaching literally. They are also encouraged to speak in tongues. Travellers in worship (Daily Mail SWNS)The church discourages alcohol and drugs. More controversially, long-held Romani customs, such as fortune-telling and arranged and teenage marriage, are also challenged.

Equally significantly, in a culture where a fifth of gypsy children in the UK don’t go to secondary school, and of those that do, half drop out, ‘Light and Life’ supports education beyond twelve years old. “After they become Christians they want to learn”, enthused Jones.

“We expect a Christian to live a changed life”, said Jackie Boyd, a fellow ‘Light & Life’ leader. “If they were doing something illegal, they would stop doing that. So you’d expect them to not drink any more, not to smoke any more, to pay taxes and to keep out of immorality”.

Boyd identifies primarily as a Christian rather than a gypsy. For him, it all comes down to the teaching of Christ. “When Jesus said we are born again, there’s no better word for it, because you look at everything through different eyes”, he says. “I’ve built a relationship with the Lord and he leads me through his Word. He’s still changing my life every day.”

Boldness for Jesus

One hero of gypsy believers is the late Rodney ‘Gyspy’ Smith , who was awarded the MBE for his evangelistic efforts around the globe and even to the front-line during the First World War. Unquestionably, the best-known living Pentecostal gypsy is Tyson Fury, twice world heavyweight champion, who became a believer through his uncle, a Pentecostal preacher in Congleton, Cheshire. Tyson is well-known for his boldness in declaring his love for the Lord, to the great irritation of the national media.

Unquestionably, the best-known living Pentecostal gypsy is Tyson Fury, twice world heavyweight champion, who became a believer through his uncle, a Pentecostal preacher in Congleton, Cheshire.

The annual conventions in the UK have become hugely popular as places for Romanis to come together – not only to worship but to meet as families (family ties being particularly strong among gypsies). Such gatherings are regularly held in showgrounds all over Britain, and are generally free of any serious trouble, being relaxed and cheery, and with one primary purpose – that of drawing hearts closer to God.

Let us pray for our Romani brothers and sisters in this nation, that they be encouraged and strengthened in their faith, that any racial prejudice towards them will cease, and that healthy connections with existing evangelical and Pentecostal church groups will be established and maintained. May the glorious revival that Britain’s travelling folk have experienced be replicated the length and breadth of our nation among all people-groups.

Endnotes
1. Daily Mail, 20 June 2021. See also.
2. Sue Locke, ‘Travelling Light: Remarkable story of Gypsy revival’,’ p.91.

Other main sources include Katherine Quarmby, ‘Romani Pilgrims: Europe's New Moral Force’, 2014 and Davey Jones, ‘The Secret Revival: The Story of the Great Gypsy Revival’, 2004. See also Manuela Cantón-Delgado, ‘Evangelical Gypsies in Spain: "The Bible is our Promised Land"’, 2020