It is 7:25 on a Friday night in Mississauga, Ontario. Approximately 200 people gather in the 70,000 square foot building that houses Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF). They scatter throughout the foremost section of the main auditorium, peak capacity: 3,400.

People of all ages come. Some pray, bent over in their chairs. Some flip through Bibles, others visit with friends, chatting quietly.

Two young children play with toy action figures, banging the plastic dolls noisily.

A man, standing alone in one of the side aisles, laughs aloud unself-consciously, throwing his head back in apparent glee at some unknown provocation.

Promptly at 7:30 p.m., a nine-person worship team takes it’s position on the platform and leads those assembled in singing and praise. People dance, raise their arms, clap, shout, groan and sway as they worship. Some remain seated.

Welcome to a revival meeting, circa 2004 at TACF, home of "The Toronto Blessing."

After about 45-minutes of worship, a dark-haired 20-something man named Brian walks forward and picks up a microphone. He asks for a show of hands from first-time visitors. Half a dozen people respond. Two tell him they have come from the United States. One woman says she’s from France. The others are local residents.

Brian invites those present to speak publicly about anything special that God has done for them recently. In between testimonies, he prays, addressing God throughout his prayers as "Dad" and "Papa." He jerks his head down and to the side frequently, as if ducking some invisible force.

Next, it’s time for the sermon. Senior pastor, John Arnott preaches from behind a music stand, not on the platform, but at ground level. It is an appropriately intimate choice given the size of the crowd. He speaks about the importance of "pressing in to God" using 2 Kings 2 as his text. Arnott tells his audience, "God is up to something," "Revival is happening everywhere" and "He’s pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, just like He said [He would]."

It is an encouraging, motivating message. But Arnott also counsels his congregation that some believers should ask the Lord to "get the flakiness" out of them. "A lot of people will come to church and shout and shake and roll around," he says, "but ask their families what they’re like, and, ‘Oh brother-You don’t want to know!’"

At 10 p.m., Arnott transitions to "ministry time," inviting those who wish to receive prayer to stand on the thick, green lines woven into the carpet. Authorized ministry team members make their way down the lines, praying for people in turn. Many of those prayed for fall backwards into the arms of "catchers," who lower them safely to the floor.

A half-hour more, and the meeting is for the most part, over. People rise from the floor. Those still seated, gather their things and head for the doors.

For exactly 10 years, the church has held meetings every Tuesday through Sunday. But current gatherings, though following the same format and structure of revival meetings a decade ago, are conducted in a far different atmosphere than those of earlier years.

"How we were characterized in ’94 was laughter," says TACF associate pastor Steve Long. "And that still does happen in some meetings … [but] not like before where 90 per cent of the people were just on the floor, splitting their guts. The preacher would be preaching to five people out of a thousand. It was just so contagious."

It was on January 20, 1994, that the worldwide "awakening"-coined by British journalists "The Toronto Blessing," and described by insiders as an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit marked by unusual physical manifestations among believers-first ignited in the small Toronto Airport Vineyard church.

Within days, word spread among the local Christian community that Airport Vineyard visitors were experiencing an anointing of the Holy Spirit so powerful, writes Guy Chevreau in his 1994 book Catch The Fire, it left people "drunk in the Spirit." So drunk in fact, designated drivers became a necessity for some of those affected.

Within weeks, people from all denominations were flocking to the church by the hundreds, often lining up outside the building hours in advance of scheduled meetings. Within months, visitors were flying to Toronto from around the globe, hoping to receive a special touch from God.

Soon churches the world over were reporting similar manifestations within their own congregations.

"We were obviously inundated, as a little church of 300 people," says Long.

The Vineyard church purchased their new, larger building, a former convention centre, exactly one year after the "outpouring" began.

To date, Long estimates three to four million people have come through their doors. Thousands still journey from far away, but now, they tend to come in greater numbers for one of the many three-to-five day conferences held at TACF throughout the year.

Last fall, approximately 3,500 people from as far away as Asia, Africa, Australia and South America made the pilgrimage to participate in the 10th annual Catch The Fire conference. More than half of those who attended did so for the first time.

Many went hoping to experience something unusual, and weren’t disappointed. Conference attendees and speakers alike participated enthusiastically in the party-like atmosphere. Countless individuals could be seen laughing, shaking, weaving drunkenly, making strange noises or crumbling to the floor.

Chris Giammarino, 36, from New York, collapsed into his chair after one lengthy worship session. "I came for more of God," he explains, "to be totally different when I go back. And it’s already happening."

Pausing, Giammarino sighs and says, "Oh-I just felt the anointing really strongly." When asked to explain he adds, "It’s like deep calling to deep; going from glory to glory. It’s indescribable."

"When supernatural energy from any source hits humans, there are very frequently physical manifestations," says Dr. Grant Mullen, a mental-health physician long associated with TACF. "The human body, when touched by supernatural energy, will respond," he adds.

But not all Christians accept that energy as originating with God, and since its earliest days, the movement has had its share of sceptics willing to voice their concerns.

Ted Brooks is one of them. A former pastor of what he calls a "hyper-charismatic" church in Westlock, Alberta, Brooks has written a book about his criticisms of the movement called, I Was A Flaky Preacher.

"I think the Toronto Blessing really launched me on my own search," says Brooks. "Because when I saw the manifestations, they were getting wilder and wilder to say the least. And I realized that we were not building these experiences upon biblical pattern. We had built doctrines on partial quotes out of Scripture."

Conflict and growth

Symptomatic of conflicts occurring in many Blessing-touched churches, in December 1995, the Toronto Airport church was formally expelled from the Association of Vineyard Churches, in part, because John Wimber, then leader of the Vineyard, "didn’t like the way we managed [things]," says Arnott.

Wimber may not have appreciated the management style of the airport church, but there can be little argument that under such management the church and its related ministries have grown and flourished.

It takes a full-time, part-time and volunteer staff of about 105 to keep things running smoothly. While average attendance at weeknight meetings varies from 100-500, (down dramatically from a peak of 2,000-3,000 per night in 1995), the church still draws an average of 2,000 adults to their Sunday morning services, and records 20-25 first time conversions and re-commitments to Christ weekly.

"The Holy Spirit has been taking us…on a journey," says Long.

And quite a journey it’s been. Departing from their nightly revival meeting format last summer, TACF now holds weekly "Soaking" and "Seek His Face" nights, which feature quiet ministry by worship and prayer teams, while visitors are encouraged to lie on the floor and "soak" in God’s presence. Speakers are scheduled for Thursday through Sunday meetings only.

Today, TACF runs an on-site bookstore, café and School of Ministry and publishes a bi-monthly magazine. They founded the associations of international churches called Partners In Harvest and Friends In Harvest.

Arnott and his wife Carol began Catch The Fire Ministries in 2002, which produces a daily half-hour television program and has a vision for establishing 10,000 "Soaking Prayer Centres" worldwide.

Where the Holy Spirit will take TACF over the next decade remains to be seen. But John Arnott has some ideas.

"I think that revivals mature-kind of like a child growing up in a way," he says. "We always want to be as in love with Him as we are, but as people get their hearts healed, and learn how to move with the Spirit, then more’s going to happen.

"I want to see the kingdom of God preached, and Jesus exalted," Arnott adds. "And that needs to be accompanied by signs and wonders and miracles. [Because Jesus] said that what He did, we can do. So that’s where I think it’s going."

Hold on to your hats.

Patricia Paddey is a freelance writer from Mississauga, Ontario where she attends Sheridan Park Alliance Church with her husband and three children. One of her favourite things to do is to discover what makes people "tick" and to tell their stories.