The Toronto Blessing was a charismatic Christian revival that began on January 20, 1994, at the Toronto Airport Vineyard, a congregation then meeting in a rented industrial unit near Toronto’s Pearson airport. Visitors came in large numbers from North America and Britain, and the services drew attention for reported physical responses such as laughter, falling to the floor and shaking. The church left the Vineyard movement in a separation decided in December 1995 and effective in January 1996.
The name “Toronto Blessing” was first used by British churches, according to the Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, as cited by the reference entry. This article describes what contemporary sources reported, how the press and church leaders reacted, and how the congregation’s name and affiliation changed. It does not judge whether the events were spiritual in origin, a question on which believers and critics disagree.
How the revival began in January 1994
The Airport Vineyard was led by pastors John and Carol Arnott. They invited Randy Clark, a Vineyard pastor from St. Louis, to speak at meetings scheduled for January 20 to 23, 1994. A report by Maxwell in Christianity Today (October 1994), as summarized in a reference article on the revival, says the first service drew about 120 people and that most attendees fell to the floor “laughing, rolling, and carrying on,” in John Arnott’s words. The meetings were extended and continued nightly.
The same report puts regular attendance at roughly 1,000 during the first year, about triple the earlier figure. The reference entry adds that by mid-1994 visitors were arriving from Britain and North America, and later from Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa. The congregation moved to a converted warehouse near the airport to hold the crowds. Revival services were still running six nights a week after five years, according to the same reference entry.
What people reported happening
Accounts from participants and observers describe crying, twitching, shaking and uncontrollable laughter. Many people reported falling to the floor and remaining there for long periods, a practice supporters called “resting in the Spirit.” Others described dancing, shouting and running during services.
Some attendees were reported to make animal sounds. Christianity Today’s 1994 coverage mentions people roaring like lions. A separate strand of reporting, repeated in the Vineyard’s own debate and in the press, described people barking like dogs, and a video circulated showing a man led on a leash. These are reported phenomena. Supporters regarded them as involuntary responses to a spiritual experience. Critics regarded them as emotional excess or as behavior without a scriptural basis. Neither description can be tested by a historian, so this article records only that they were reported and widely discussed.
Other claims drew sharper objections. The reference entry lists reports of dental fillings turning to gold, gold dust appearing on worshipers and oil on their hands, and notes that critics compared these claims to those of healing revivalists of the 1950s.
Press coverage and spread abroad
The revival was covered in both religious and secular media. Time magazine ran a story in 1994, and Toronto Life named the church the city’s most notable tourist attraction for 1994, as cited in the reference article. In May 1994, Eleanor Mumford of a Vineyard congregation in London visited Holy Trinity Brompton, and similar manifestations reportedly began there. From London the style spread to other British churches.
Figures for the movement’s reach come from supporters and are estimates. Charisma magazine reported in May 1995 that about 4,000 churches in England and 7,000 in North America had been touched by the renewal. John Arnott estimated that about 2.5 million people had attended the Toronto services over the years. Neither figure comes from an independent count.
The 1995 to 1996 break with the Vineyard
The Vineyard Association of Churches, headquartered in Anaheim, California, had 546 member congregations worldwide when Christianity Today reported on the split in its January 8, 1996 issue. The article states that the association’s board and council decided at their annual meeting to cut ties with the Toronto church. On December 5, 1995, the Vineyard’s international director, John Wimber, flew to Toronto with other leaders to tell John Arnott and the senior staff. The meeting lasted almost three hours, and about two hours after it ended Arnott wrote a letter saying the Toronto staff agreed to a formal separation.
Christianity Today reports that Wimber’s main concern was the manifestations, in particular animal-like behavior including barking, and that he wanted such behavior not to be given special attention or prophetic interpretation. Wimber said he believed the Holy Spirit had genuinely visited the church, but that his convictions kept him from defending how the movement was being pastored and explained. He also said the decision might be reviewed. The reference entry notes that about thirty Vineyard congregations left the association in solidarity with Arnott.
Dates differ slightly between sources. The decision and the meeting in Toronto fell in December 1995. The reference entry states that the church continued as an independent congregation from January 1996, which is why the break is commonly dated to 1996.
From Airport Vineyard to Catch the Fire
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| January 20, 1994 | Meetings with Randy Clark begin at the Toronto Airport Vineyard | Reference article citing Burgess (2002) |
| December 5, 1995 | John Wimber informs the Toronto leaders of the Vineyard’s decision | Christianity Today, January 8, 1996 |
| January 1996 | Church continues as an independent congregation | The reference entry |
| 1996 | Renamed Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship | Reference article citing Steingard (2014) |
| 2010 | Renamed Catch the Fire Toronto | Reference article |
Catch the Fire is also the name of a wider ministry led by the Arnotts. The reference article reports that at the twentieth anniversary conference in January 2014, apologies and forgiveness helped close the rift with the Vineyard, as described by Christianity Today.
Criticism and assessment
Critics included theologians who argued that stress on “manifestations” went beyond Scripture, and Hank Hanegraaff, whose book Counterfeit Revival appeared in 2001. The reference entry also records the argument that the movement moved church life away from teaching toward long, emotionally demanding experiences. Supporters pointed to surveys such as one of 1,000 visitors in which about half said they felt spiritually refreshed. A historian can say that the revival was large, widely reported and divisive within the evangelical world, and that it changed the denominational affiliation of the host church.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Toronto Blessing begin?
The meetings that started it began on January 20, 1994, at the Toronto Airport Vineyard, with Randy Clark as the visiting speaker.
Why did people bark like dogs at the services?
Barking and other animal sounds were reported by observers and acknowledged by church critics and by John Wimber. Supporters described them as involuntary responses; critics described them as unscriptural behavior. No independent study explains them.
Why did the Vineyard end its association with the church?
According to Christianity Today, the Vineyard board and council decided in late 1995 to cut ties, with John Wimber citing concern over the manifestations and how they were being interpreted and taught.
What is the church called now?
It became Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in 1996 and Catch the Fire Toronto in 2010, according to the reference sources used here.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Christianity Today, “Vineyard Severs Ties with Toronto Blessing Church,” January 8, 1996
- The reference entry, entry “Toronto Blessing” (secondary reference work)
- Wikipedia, “Toronto Blessing,” used as a secondary guide to cited articles by Maxwell (Christianity Today, 1994), Time (1994) and Charisma (1995)
Related reading
- Overview of Toronto history
- Historic churches of Toronto
- Social movements and civic life in Toronto
- Immigration and communities in Toronto
- Toronto culture, sports and language
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). The Toronto Blessing: The 1994 Revival at Toronto Airport. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-is-the-toronto-blessing-and-when-did-it-begin
MLA: “The Toronto Blessing: The 1994 Revival at Toronto Airport.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-is-the-toronto-blessing-and-when-did-it-begin. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “The Toronto Blessing: The 1994 Revival at Toronto Airport.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/what-is-the-toronto-blessing-and-when-did-it-begin.
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