Essay On Pentecostalism

Early believers refer to The Azusa Street Revival as the spark of the worshipful movement known as Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within protestant Christianity. This has a basis of a direct personal relationship or experience with God. Pentecostals believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or “speaking in tongues’.” Pentecostalism hit a developmental spark in 1906 with the help of Bishop William J. Seymour.
It all began with a meeting that took place on April 9, 1906 held by William J. Seymour, an African American Preacher who grew up exposed to many different Christian traditions. Seymour attended a Bible School which was run by Charles F. Parham. Parham’s’ followers received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and this led Seymour to learn his teachings. William J. Seymour and Charles F. Parham a white preacher were known to hold meetings in order to preach to whites and blacks during this time of segregation. Considering that Seymour had not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit yet had still been teaching it, his church turned him away. A janitor at a bank known as Edward Lee allowed Seymour to move in with him and his family; this played a major role in how Pentecostalism would begin to spread. Lee was soon baptized in the Holy Spirit at a prayer group meeting. Once this was shared, a
powerful outpouring occurred. As stated by Edith Blumhofer “the next two years, waves of religious enthusiasm waxed and waned at Azusa Street, attracting visitors from across the nation and missionaries from around the globe”(web). Pentecostal denominations have sparked in the United States ever since.
Pentecostalism as stated before is known as a movement within protestant Christianity that consists of having a personal relationship with God. Pentecostalism has grown tremendously not only here in the United States but in every state and nation. According to Wikipedia there are over 279 million Pentecostals throughout the world! Pentecostalism has a certain beliefs that set them apart from other Christians. They believe in one God who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They also believe in having to make personal commitments with God. Their form of worship is very dynamic; it contains shouting, crying, and of course speaking in tongues’. Although thousands of Pentecostals today still speak in tongues’, there are people who oppose this. People who oppose speaking in tongues’ today believe that either it was just meant for that day of time in which it is spoken about in the book of Acts or that the language is just dead today. Many religions believe that once you have become saved, you remain saved. This statement is not true in Pentecostalism. In Pentecostalism you are believed to have to continually ask for forgiveness from God. Smith Wigglesworth a British evangelist played a very important role in the early time of Pentecostalism. He is known for bringing healings through his prayers over the sick. Wigglesworth is even known for raising people from the dead with his powerful prayers!
There are thousands of revivals known around the world however; I believe that the Azusa Street Revival was the most spectacular of them.
William J. Seymour was once only known for his many preaching’s of the Gospel but is now known as a major key for the revival that changed thousands of people today. The Azusa Street Revival which took place in 1906 was responsible of the development of Pentecostalism. This revival led to the healings of millions of people in today’s time and even the dead being raised in the past. The Azusa Street Revival played an enormous part in the development of Pentecostalism which has grew and continues to grow tremendously
today.