In his book Revival, Selwyn Hughes makes this observation. Revival ... begins in the most unlikely places. Pentecost, you remember, began not in the majestic atmosphere of Solomon's Temple, but in an Upper Room. For some reason, God seems to delight in bypassing the places where we might expect revival to break out – in a splendid cathedral or at a large Christian conference – and causes His fire to burst out in a small prayer meeting where only a few are present. In fact, no revival has been an official movement of the Church. This is why revival always astonishes the Church - it flares up where it is least expected.
Have you ever heard of the Primitive Methodist Revival in the 1800s? This began not on the historic sites of former Methodist accomplishments, such as in London or Bristol, but in a tiny hamlet on the hillside of Mow Cop near Stoke-on-Trent. Someone described it as the 'least likely place in which a revival has ever broken out.' And why? Because there were only a few grey, roughly built cottages situated there, inhabited by people with little intellectual ability or learning. The area was bleak, rugged and uninteresting. Nevertheless, this is the place God chose in which to manifest His power and glory. If ever the Church receives a blow to its pride, it is when God breaks forth in revival.
 
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Revival, Times of Refreshing, pages 63-64 Selwyn Hughes, CWR Publishing, 2004
