It was the summer of 1906 and something extraordinary was taking place in a tumble - down shack in the industrial outskirts of Los Angeles . Crowds gathered daytime and night at the Apostolic Faith Mission to be part of the Azusa Street revival , a charismaticChristianrenewal movement led by a black minister of religion from Louisiana name William Seymour .
The Los Angeles Timestook noticeof the unusual spiritual awakening on Azusa Street , describing ecstatic attendant " breathe unusual utterances and mouthing a church doctrine which it would seem no sane mortal could understand , " add that " buff of the weird philosophical system practice the most fanatical rites , preach the wild theories , and work themselves into a state of delirious excitement . "
The Times may have scoffed , but for the grand of believers who traveled hybridisation - land to join Seymour ’s grassroots spiritual movement , there was real power and scriptural truth in all of that " madness . " Their unwritten and euphoric expressions , known as " speaking in tongues , " were a clear sign that they had been baptize in the Holy Spirit , just as Jesus ’s disciple were " fulfill with the Holy Ghost " and " began to utter with other tongue " during the Jewish feast known as the Pentecost .
Word of the spiritual storm on Azusa Street quickly spread across the country and eventually around the world , set in motion the wildly popular Christian motion now know as Pentecostalism . Pentecostal worship is famous for its spontaneous spring of the Holy Spirit through singing , speak in tongues anddivine healing . Today , just 113 eld after the Azusa Street revival , Pentecostals numeral about300 million believersworldwide , ranking second only to Catholics as the world ’s most practice Christian denomination .
In the United States , two of the prominent Pentecostal denominations areThe Church of God in Christwhose 6.5 million members are mostly African - American , and theAssemblies of Godwith 3.2 million penis acrossmore than 13,000 congregations . There is also the United Pentecostal Church International which has5.3 million membersworldwide
Pentecostalism and related charismatic Christian movements are among the fastest - grow religious denomination in the world . In 1980 , 6 percent of all global Christians were Pentecostal . By 2015,25 per centum of global Christians were Pentecostalwith the greatest concentrations in what ’s advert to as the " Global South " — mostly indigent regions in Africa , Latin America and Southeast Asia .
Pentecostal Beliefs
Martin Mittelstadtis a New Testament professor at Evangel University in Missouri , and Chief Executive of the Society for Pentecostal Studies . He trace Pentecostalism as a " renewal " or " restoration " movement within Christianity . Such movements have leap up now and again when Christians feel like something of import about Christ ’s original teachings and church service has been fall back and needs to be recovered .
In the case of Pentecostals , what was lost were the telling spiritual world power and prophetic callings bestow upon Christ ’s 11 remaining Apostle in the New Testament record book of Acts , says Mittelstadt . After Jesus was crucified and resurrect , he appear to his disciples and enjoin them to hold off in Jerusalem " until ye be endued with power from on in high spirits " ( Luke 24:49 ) . That power go far during the Jewish festival of Shavuot , know in Greek as Pentecost ( " fiftieth " ) because it carry place 50 days afterPassover .
While the Apostle and more than 100 other early Christians were gathered together for the Pentecost feast , " there come a sound from heaven as of a rush mighty wind , and it filled all the house where they were sitting,“reports Acts of the Apostles 2 . " And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire , and it sat upon each of them . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost , and began to utter with other glossa , as the Spirit give way them vocalization . "
Pentecostal groundbreaker William Seymour and others came to translate this original scriptural Pentecost experience as an example of " baptism in the Holy Spirit , " or " Spirit baptism . " Such a Spirit baptism occurs after someone has already converted to Christianity in their hearts by accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior ( also known as being " saved " ) , and is separate from a water baptism . To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be baptize " with the Holy Ghost and with fire , " as promised by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11 .
Pentecostals believe that the same transformative spiritual baptism experienced by the original 11 apostle is uncommitted to all and is necessary to coordinate your life and personal mission with that of Jesus Christ .
" The finish is to act out first - century Christianity , " says Mittelstadt . " They desire to relive the book of Acts . And the outcome on the Day of Pentecost are central to the character of the Pentecostal worldview . "
At the heart of this worldview is the opinion that Jesus Christ ’s return is impending . In Acts 2 , the apostle Peter excuse the disciples ' unknown demeanor on the Pentecost as a augury that the Second Coming is near . He cites the Old Testament prophet Joel , who prophesied that " in the last days … [ God ] will pour out of [ His ] Spirit upon all shape . "
The early Pentecostals saw what was take place on Azusa Street and elsewhere as the long - awaited arrival of the " latter pelting , " fulfilling the prophecy that the Holy Spirit would pour down on this last generation before the exulting return of Christ .
What’s Up With Speaking in Tongues?
Speaking in tongues seems really outre to many non - Pentecostals . Even the onlookers who witnessed the first Pentecost thought the Apostelic Father were day drunk when they spontaneously began to blabber in extraneous languages . But verbalise in natural language fulfills a very important role for Pentecostal .
Pentecostalist innovator Charles Fox Parham was one of the earliest to preach what is now one ofthe fundamental Sojourner Truth of Pentecostalism , which is that speaking in knife is strong-arm evidence of having been baptized in the Holy Spirit . Spontaneous speech , either in an untaught foreign speech ( xenoglossia ) or through nonsensical divine utterances ( glossolalia ) , is see by Pentecostals as " proof " that someone has been filled with the Holy Spirit .
For early Pentecostal believer , meet the gift of tongues had a functional function , too . Once christen in the Holy Spirit , adherents would often to move around abroad to prophesy the word as Pentecostal missionaries .
But Mittelstadt want to accentuate that verbalize in tongues was never seen strictly in a useful light . " These experience were profoundly ghostly for these family line , " he says . " They were also symbolic or metaphoric of a deep and internal skirmish with God . "
Speaking in tongues remains controversial , and is a projecting point between Pentecostals and members of other Protestant churches who do n’t commit this . ( They point out thatother Bible versessay speaking in clapper should only be done in public if someone is there to interpret the substance for the rest of the audience . )
Pentecostals and Charismatic Worship
In the other Pentecostal movement , Mittelstadt says that church services used to run for four or five hours straight and admit a lot of tattle and quad for ad-lib expressions of extolment through saltation , clapping , shout and speaking in tongue . leader may also enquire mass to number to the front of the church for healing , where they might anoint them with oil and pray over them .
" One of the not bad contributions of Pentecostals was this new emphasis on kudos , on adoration , spontaneousness and freedom , " says Mittelstadt . " The serving is not remove place in front of you , but you are full participants within it . "
Many Pentecostal practices have bump their direction into other Christian appellative , in what is referred to as the charismatic bm . There are charismatic Catholic , Methodist and evangelical church .
Modern Pentecostal worship services in great congregations are n’t quite as spontaneous and ecstatic as their predecessors , says Mittelstadt , who deplore the " performance constituent " that has taken over .
All the World is Pentecostal
The Pulitzer Center’sAtlas of Pentecostalismestimates that 35,000 people convert to Pentecostalism every day , and some of the largest church in the world are Pentecostal . The Redeemed Christian Church of Godin Lagos , Nigeria claims to have5 million membersin Nigeria alone . And the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul , South Korea , claim 800,000 members .
Mittlelstadt cites several reasons for Pentecostalism ’s explosive emergence in the Global South . For starters , even non - Christians are habitual to extremely experiential forms of religious adoration and practice .
" You ’re talking about people that are already living in a spiritual dynamic that believes in the supernatural , " says Mittelstadt . " The estimation of ' God versus the powers ' is an everyday reality for these folks . "
A 2d reason for Pentecostalism ’s rapid counterpane in the Global South is relate to what ’s often derogatorily call " the successfulness Gospels , " the belief that living a certain kind of Christian life will not only take spiritual blessings , but monetary payoff . Mittelstadt does n’t correspond that all Pentecostals in the Global South want to grease one’s palms a new BMW , but he recognize that Holy Spirit baptism often bring with it a noticeable " face lift . "
" You have this profound spiritual experience and all of a sudden faithfulness to your mate becomes important , education becomes significant , you give up inebriant , you hold down a occupation , your family winds up being transform and your community are transformed , " say Mittelstadt . " There ’s a societal lift that occur with the Pentecostal experience . "
