The Pentecostal Movement exploded onto the ecclesiastical scene in 1906, and the growth of this movement has been remarkable. The origins of Pentecostalism can be traced to Topeka, Kansas, and the ministry of Charles Parham, but it was not until a student of Parham moved to Los Angeles and preached what he had learned from his mentor that it became a global phenomenon. The Church’s approach to the gift of tongues as initial evidence of Spirit Baptism has played a significant role in the movement’s success.
Origins
Charles Parham established the Bethel Bible School in an incomplete mansion called Stone’s Folly in Topeka, the capital of Kansas in 1900. He tasked his students to investigate what the sign of having been baptized with the Holy Spirit was and left Topeka to minister elsewhere for a short while. On his return, Agnes Ozman, a young student of his, said she was convinced that it was the gift of speaking in tongues as described in the Bible, Acts 2.
She asked Parham to lay hands on her and pray that she would receive the Holy Spirit and manifest the gift of tongues, and he obliged. Those in attendance were surprised when Ozman suddenly began speaking in what seemed to be Chinese. Parham claimed that she was unable to speak English for a couple of days afterward. Other students desired this gift as well and supposedly received it soon after.
Parham also received this gift. He proclaimed in sermons and to newspapers that the gift of tongues was the gift of speaking foreign languages the speaker had not learned through natural processes; he claimed that it was a gift of the Holy Spirit. He believed the language the individual received indicated where in the world the person was to minister through missionary work.
Parham had to close the school in Topeka, but later opened a similar one in Houston, Texas, in 1906 where a black student, William Seymour, attended and was exposed to Parham’s teaching on Spirit Baptism. A visitor to Houston noticed Seymour and asked if he would come to Los Angeles and minister there. He did, and his message on Spirit Baptism soon drew mixed reviews, though a significant number of people accepted it. The rapid growth of believers soon saw Seymour securing a larger facility on Azusa Street and he called it the Azusa Street Mission.
Many people were believed to have received the gift of tongues there but Seymour wrote to Parham about his concerns over other manifestations that occurred alongside tongues.
Parham eventually visited the mission in late 1906 and was appalled at what he saw. He believed that the manifestations of tongues and what accompanied them were not from God and spoke out against it. He said that the biblical manifestation of the gift of tongues was the attainment of foreign languages. What happened at the Azusa Street Mission was no more than babbling in Parham’s opinion.
Parham was soon ousted by the leadership of the mission and things between Parham and Seymour went sour very quickly. Parham made public presentations in Los Angeles in which he spoke out against the Azusa Street Mission and the manifestations that occurred there, but he did not get much traction.
People from all over the world visited the mission and took its message with them. Pentecostalism became a global phenomenon with exponential growth wherever the message of Spirit Baptism was spread. Significant leaders in the movement included John G. Lake, who established the Apostolic Faith Mission in South Africa, Charles Harrison Mason, Founder of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), William H. Durham, whose work influenced the Assemblies of God, and many others.
General Beliefs
Pentecostals believe in the Trinity, one God in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They also share the ordinance of Baptism with many other churches though they do not baptize infants. They believe baptism must be a conscious decision by the believer. Some Pentecostal churches immerse baptismal candidates three times, following the Matthew 28 formula of baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Others believe in immersing the person after claiming the Trinity is the authority in which the person is baptized.
They also share the Lord’s Supper with many other traditions but differ on the significance of the bread and wine. Their belief is in essence that of the reformer Zwingli: that the bread and wine are only symbolic representations of the body and blood of Christ that believers take part in as a memorial to what Jesus did on the cross.
Pentecostals are staunch believers in Sola Scriptura, the belief that the Bible is the only guide for faith and practice and that it is inspired and authoritative. They also have a passion for evangelism and focus on the Second Coming in their teaching, generally believing in a secret rapture that would see believers raised from the dead and joining living believers in the air when Jesus returns. They believe in the Protestant principle of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Distinct Beliefs
Pentecostals believe in a distinct experience called the “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” which is separate from, and after, salvation. This baptism is seen as empowering believers for Christian service and holy living and is the initial evidence of having received the Holy Spirit. Other spiritual gifts (charismata) also manifest and are encouraged. These gifts, which include the gift of tongues, are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Pentecostals generally believe Acts 2 describes a “xenolalic manifestation,” meaning the ability to speak foreign languages not learned through natural processes; later references to tongues in Acts and 1 Corinthians refer to glossolalia, an unintelligible language meant for devotional prayer. Some believe these glossolalic languages are the tongues of angels referred to in 1 Corinthians 13:1.
Because Pentecostals believe in the continued manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit, they also practice prophecy and faith healing. They believe the records of miracles performed by the apostles as recorded in Acts serve as evidence that contemporary believers can and should perform the same works. Notable Pentecostals known for these kinds of manifestations in their ministries include Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and Reinhardt Bonnke.
In general, Pentecostals hold to a premillennial eschatology, meaning they are awaiting the imminent return of Christ in an event they refer to as the secret rapture. They believe that Jesus meets all believers, those who will be alive at his coming and those who he will raise as he comes, remaining with him for seven years. After seven years of tribulation on Earth, Christ returns with the believers who went with him and reigns on Earth for a millennium.
Pentecostals tend to practice very expressive and spontaneous worship, involving clapping, dancing, shouting, and the lifting of hands. People being “slain in the Spirit” and falling to the ground is not uncommon in many Pentecostal congregations.
Structure
A vast number of churches identify as Pentecostal, resulting in a variety of structures used in their governance. Some Pentecostal congregations are “standalone” churches with loose affiliation to others that share similar beliefs.
The manifestation of the gift of tongues is not the defining characteristic of a Pentecostal Church. In the 1960s and 70s, some mainline churches reported that the manifestation of speaking in tongues was present among them. These include churches such as the Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian Churches, African Independent Churches, and even some Anabaptist and Mennonite Groups. These churches all have different governance structures though they embrace the Charismatic Movement.
Pentecostals grew from the movement started by Charles Parham at the beginning of the 20th century and believe “baptism in the Holy Spirit” as a distinct and subsequent experience to salvation. Charismatics remained true to their original denominations while incorporating the gift of tongues into their worship. They are generally more flexible regarding how and when this experience occurs.
Today, some of the largest Pentecostal Churches are in South Korea, Nigeria, and Brazil. Among them are the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, centered in Lagos, Nigeria, and the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea which is part of the Assemblies of God.
Some of the most notable church groups within Pentecostalism are the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, the Foursquare Church, and the Church of God. For the most part, these denominations share the same views on the Bible but their leadership structure and some minor views may differ from one another. All of them, however, trace their history to the Azusa Street Mission in 1906 and inevitably to Parham’s school in Topeka in 1901.
