Azusa Street Riots

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If you were to look at a newspaper in the early 1900’s, you might have seen a great deal of attention spent on one old building on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that a new religious sect had started with bizarre things happening, like people “breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand.” Furthermore, “Devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories, and work themselves into a state of mad excitement.” Nonetheless, for the spiritually hungry who came from far and wide to receive their Pentecost, the very atmosphere of heaven had descended. A visiting Baptist pastor said, “The Holy…show more content…
They came, were filled, and then went, taking the fire of Pen¬tecost with them, first across the United States, and then, all corners of the globe. Gaston B. Cash came from North Carolina to see the revival for himself. It was here that he encountered God like never before. He took this fire with him back home, where in January 1907, a revival occurred that became the “Azusa of the South.” Through the ministry of Azusa Street, several existing holiness bodies became Pentecostal, including the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church and the Pentecostal Free-Will Baptist Church. From there, this new movement multiplied exponentially. From these humble beginnings the Pentecostal movement would spread around the world. In the days when prejudice and tensions between blacks and whites were so high, God decided to use this tattered building and a humble black preacher to help spread the power of the Holy Spirit across the world. Though the building is no longer standing, you can still find its spiritual footprint in virtually every corner of the…show more content…
While only a small number of missionaries traveled from Azusa Street to minister overseas, it impacted many more who started other Pentecostal revival centers that surfaced as a result of hearing the news of the outpouring of the Spirit in Los Angeles. Seymour started a publication called the Apostolic Faith, which contained letters, sermons, and testimonies of what was going on at Azusa Street. This publication was read by many people all over the world and made it’s impact globally, as Christians in the far corners of the globe were reading the testimony of the Holy Spirit Baptism in Los Angeles, and then were themselves baptized and began speaking in tongues. With this combination of both missionaries and media, the ministry of Azusa street was able to reach across the ocean and impact the whole world. Without this, Pentecostalism would not have spread so rapidly and caught on as quickly as it did in the early 20th

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