The Azusa Street Revival (1905-1906)
by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D. author of Ignite Azusa: Positioning for a New Jesus Revolution
One of the greatest movements in history that contributed to the rapid spread of Christianity began when God crashed in on a handful of African Americans who met in a home with their only purpose to encounter more of God. Global Pentecostalism spread throughout the world was the fruit released from this little tribe who gathered together in a home on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angles on April 9, 1906.
William J. Seymour, son of slaves, blind in one eye, humbly paved the way and was used by God to ignite a revival fire that has since spread around the globe introducing millions of people to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. During a time of heavy racial segregation, Seymour, the leader of the Azusa Street Revival, created a place where everyone would be welcome regardless of their skin color or nationality. One of the biggest breakthroughs at the Azusa Street Revival was that the walls of race and gender were broken down. Eyewitness and historian Frank Bartleman observed that “the ‘color line’ was washed away in the blood.” This was in relation to racial divides being abolished by the blood of Jesus.
To have people from different races worshipping alongside one another and praying for each other during a time when lynchings were common and many years before Martin Luther King, Jr. came onto the scene is truly remarkable. In fact, it was when Seymour was praying alongside a white man until the early hours of the morning that he first spoke in tongues. Seymour’s early leadership team was racially mixed and included women. Regular participants of the Mission in the early years included people from various ethnicities and backgrounds including African-Americans, European Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and more. Visitors would come to Azusa and experience such love and humility present in the people. One person said, “From the first time I entered I was struck by the blessed spirit that prevailed in the meeting, such a feeling of unity and humility among the children of God.”
The early days of the Azusa Street Revival were marked by unity, humility, and love regardless of ethnicity, race, or gender. Seymour emphasized the need to develop the fruit of the Spirit, especially love. In 1908, the leadership at Azusa said, “The Pentecostal power, when you sum it all up, is just more of God’s love.” Love was what was needed for this baptism of the Holy Spirit experience to be sustainable.
These early Pentecostal pioneers paved the way for us in such a remarkable way. They wanted God in those days, they “did not have a thousand other things” they wanted before Him. And nothing was going to stop them from encountering more of Him. They were all in it together. Now it’s our turn build on their breakthrough. What will happen in our day when love supersedes differences, when we recognize that every person is created in the image of God no matter what the color of their skin is, and we run toward Jesus with total abandonment?
We have received such a powerful and rich heritage from these pentecostal pioneers. We are greatly indebted to these people. I believe there are keys within the Azusa story that will prophesy into our future in how to navigate through our present storm and unlock a greater destiny. We must build on the momentum of William J. Seymour and those at Azusa Street, Martin Luther King Jr., and others who have gone before us. We must now go even further in our day. Will you say yes to radical love?
This very real, raw, uncut, unedited, clip of The Comforter Has Come (1890) released during a field trip I took my Vanguard University History of Pentecostalism class to at the Bonnie Brae Street House on March 7, 2020. This song was a prominent song during the Azusa Street Revival. One of my students, Evan DeCock, blessed us all by learning the song of the revival and releasing it that day in the Bonnie Brae Street House (the birthplace of the Azusa Street Revival). That worship time together has to be one of the most memorable of my life. Little did we all know that after worshiping our hearts out to Jesus that day, less than a week later we would no longer be able to meet in person for class. The timing of this field trip and what God poured out that day was unforgettable. Hope you are blessed by tapping into these deep wells with us. (Sorry about the poor sound quality and the creaking chairs, I felt the anointing from that moment was worth it) Learn more about the Azusa Street Revival in my book Ignite Azusa, join our next School of Revival or register for our Ignite Azusa Challenge or our upcoming Ecourse on the Azusa Street Revival coming soon.
Further Resources
Free PDF of Frank Bartlemans’ 1925 How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles book available HERE
The Apostolic Faith Papers