Place it in church history
- Era
- Pentecostal Movement
- Key dates
- 1901 through the mid-twentieth century
- Location
- United States and international Pentecostal networks
Find Pentecostal Movement on the interactive timeline.
Published by Vince Baker Ministries ·
What happened before Azusa Street?
Nineteenth-century Holiness and healing meetings created networks through which people discussed prayer, consecration, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Maria Woodworth-Etter preached in public campaigns before Azusa. In Topeka, Kansas, in 1901, Agnes Ozman spoke in tongues during prayer at Charles Parham’s Bible school. The incident helped shape an early Pentecostal teaching about speaking in tongues and Spirit baptism.
Why is William J. Seymour remembered?
Seymour, a Black Holiness preacher, led the Azusa Street meetings in Los Angeles beginning in 1906. Visitors came from different racial, social, and denominational backgrounds. Prayer and testimony spread the story, and The Apostolic Faith newspaper carried reports well beyond the mission. Women such as Lucy Farrow participated in prayer and ministry. The gathering’s interracial fellowship stood out in an era of segregation, and racism continued to affect Pentecostal institutions afterward.
How did the movement grow beyond one meeting?
New networks developed in the United States and overseas. The Assemblies of God organized in 1914. In Britain, Smith Wigglesworth became known through itinerant preaching about faith and healing. Aimee Semple McPherson opened Angelus Temple in Los Angeles in 1923 and used radio to reach people beyond it. Pentecostal movements also developed through local leadership and distinct paths in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Azusa was an important point of contact within a wider story.
How does Acts help frame the history?
Acts connects the Holy Spirit with witness and community. First Corinthians 12 connects diverse gifts with service to the whole body. Read those passages together and ask how testimony, prayer, and spiritual gifts can serve the people who gather as well as the people who hear about a meeting later.
Scripture to read alongside the history
- Acts 1:8 · KJV
- Acts 2:1-21 · KJV
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 · KJV
