Azusa Street. It’s located in Los Angeles, California. Depending on whether or not you’ve heard of this place, it tends to evoke a reaction and a response if you do.
The revivals that took place in 1906 in a dilapidated two-story building in downtown LA have produced a wild range of critiques over the years.
William Seymour was an African-American preacher raised in Louisiana under some rough circumstances. Later, he was called to Los Angeles to start a church. He and several other people had been praying, calling out to God and asking for God to impart a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit. He believed that along with seeking a fresh infilling, that speaking in tongues and other signs from the Lord would follow. So, they prayed.
It’s been reported that eight men, including William were deep in prayer one evening on April 9, 1906, when suddenly all 8 men felt as if they had been struck by some power and everyone except for William began to speak in tongues. Two weeks later, he had another visitation from the Holy Spirit and this time, he received the gift.
Word of this spread and crowds would gather. People needed a place to go to so, as things continued to grow, a building on Azusa Street was rented to accommodate everyone. People continued to come to this building for meetings for a full three years. Newspaper stories would range from the overly critical, to racist, or to complimentary overtones. Thousands came to Christ and many, many people reported being healed of various diseases and/or received other gifts of power from the Holy Spirit. The crowds would praise and worship for hours on end, and were often mocked in print later as a result.
The impact of these three short years later went around the world as missionaries were sent out within the first two years of the revival starting. Eventually, this contributed to the Welsh Revivals as well. To this day, the circumstances surrounding this revival are studied. This revival dramatically impacted millions, as people came to believe that God’s power remained relevant for today, and that we should expect, when God shows up, that He will come just as He is, and He brings good gifts to His children!
Original writing by REVIVALin2020©