Azusa Street Revival
The Azusa Street Revival (1906-1909) took place in Los Angeles, California, and was led by William Seymour (1870-1922), an African-American preacher.Seymour preached that glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues," was evidence of Holy Spirit baptism; his first Los Angeles parish therefore expelled him. Seymour continued preaching until he and a small group experienced glossolalia. Crowds began to gather and a mission space was found on Azusa Street, in a run-down building in downtown Los Angeles. Worship there was frequent, spontaneous, and ecstatic, drawing people from around the world to a revival that lasted about three years. The Azusa revival was multi-racial, welcomed poor people, and encouraged the leadership of women.
Azusa's "five-fold doctrine" was:
- salvation;
- sanctification or holiness;
- tongues as evidence of Spirit baptism;
- divine healing;
- the "very soon" return of Christ.
