The church had prayer meetings in 1858 that were full to overflowing. The pastor, Alexander Somerville had kept in close touch with the revival in the USA and he went to Ulster to experience the revival there.
The revival began around August when a woman became distressed about the state of her soul. The pastor wrote, 'The circumstances had greater effect upon those who stayed near my church than the ringing of my church bell and all the influences connected with it for the last ten years.' From the one case there were several others. 'Indeed these were happening on an almost daily basis, so that the number of prayer meetings was increased still further, with the addition of one every night, including Sundays, from eight until nine o'clock. These meetings attracted between four and five hundred people and at their close, another was commenced to specifically deal with those anxious about their souls.
By this time, the church and its halls were open for meetings every night, and remarkably, these continued for eleven months without intermission... From the centre the movement spread out in various directions through the city and the country and a great number of permanent fruit was reaped. By the beginning of 1860 the number of people 'under concern' and who had been spoken to totalled 234; by March it had risen to 320 with the figure still rising. Nor were the revival's effects quick to subside. The prayer meetings remained as numerous and as strong as ever until 1861. There were 22 altogether, with a total attendance of 500 and all but three were the result of the movement.
With thanks to Tom Lennie, 'Scotland Ablaze', pages 60-1.