The Outpouring Holy Ghost

  I AM NOT YOUR PROBLEM 

Chapter 9: The Outpouring Holy Ghost at Azusa Street Mission 

The Impact of Holiness Preaching as Taught by John Wesley and the Outpouring of the Holy Ghost on Racism 

by Dr. Reve' M. Pete 

The outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California was a revival that occurred in the early twentieth century. It began April 9, 1906 and lasted until 1909. This revival is considered to be the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement. From it, many Pentecostal denominations were formed and the Holiness-Pentecostal movement spread to the far reaches of the world. This revival was also characterized by an absence of racial prejudice. 

The revival began in prayer services conducted by William J. Seymour in the home of Richard Asberry. This revival occurred after Seymour was expelled from the Church of the Nazarene mission pastored by Julia Hutchins. On April 9, 1906, while conducting prayer service, Seymour and seven other attendees fell to the floor and began speaking in tongues. This occurrence frightened Asberry's daughter, who fled through the kitchen door. 

After news of this event spread throughout the neighborhood, Seymour and the other prayer service attendees moved the service to the front porch of Asberry's home. Because of the demonstration of tongues in the service, huge crowds began to gather in the streets to see what was happening. As the crowds gathered, Caucasian-Americans began to mingle in the crowds. 

As crowds pressed into the house and porch, the floor caved in. No one was hurt. However, Seymour decided to find a larger facility in which to hold services. He found an old abandoned Methodist church building that had been used as a tenement house and delivery stable. It was a wo story wooden structure located at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. 

After the building was acquired, it was cleaned out. Makeshift benches were made and used for seating. An old dry goods box was used as a pulpit. Seymour used the upstairs Sunday School rooms as living quarters. The downstairs area was set up as the assembly room. Another upstairs room was designated as the "tarrying room". It was the place where persons went who desired to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. The"tarrying room" contained a sign that read, "No talking above a whisper". 

When attendees first arrived, they bowed in prayer. As little social greeting as possible was given. Service would start spontaneously through testimonies, praise and worship. There were no hymnbooks. Old well-known hymns were sung from memory. The most popular hymn sung was, "The Comforter Has Come". Another popular song was "Under the Blood". There was no piano.

Services were not prearranged. No subjects were announced in advance. The Holy Ghost ordered the service in meekness and humility. Most of the time, Seymour sat with his head in the makeshift box pulpit - praying. The message of the meeting was love.

After Seymour began preaching at the "Azusa Stable","a monumental revival began". People fell under the power of God and rose speaking in tongues. Worshippers, both men and women, shouted, wept, danced, fell into trances, spoke and sang in tongues and interpreted [what had been said in tonguesl into English. The Holy Ghost was so powerful at "Azusa Stable", men would come under conviction within two or three blocks of the mission. Persons were baptized in the Holy Ghost on their seats in the assembly room as well as in the "tarrying room" upstairs. When the Holy Ghost would make an altar call, men all over the building would be slain in the Spirit.  

Service attendance grew from approximately a dozen persons -African-American and Caucasian-American - to hundreds and thousands from the Los Angeles area. People of every race and nationality were found in the crowds that converged on the mission. No respect of persons was found among the worshippers. The rich and educated were the same as the poor and uneducated. Pride, self-assertion and self-importance could not survive there. Races were completely integrated. There was no racial prejudice in the service. African-Americans, Caucasian-Americans, Chinese and Jews attended the services. Because of this, Frank Bartleman believed and exclaimed, "The color line is washed away in the blood!" 

Eventually, the services ran day and night. The building was never closed or locked. Each night service was packed out. Holiness meetings, tents and missions closed for lack of attendance. Special prayer meetings broke out everywhere. People would meet early in the morning and start singing. S. Henry McGowan, son of Seymour's friend, W. H. McGowan, recalled of the singing,"...oh what singing!" 

People were excited about what God was doing in their midst. Those who had been filled with the Holy Ghost testified about it. They said how wonderful it was. After the testimonies, someone would preach and tell what God had promised. 

The meetings would go on almost all night. If people were hungry, they would leave and get something to eat and return as soon as possible. W. H. McGowan hauled bricks as an occupation. Often he would stop and listen to the service while working. Sometimes, he would get so caught up in what was going on, he would forget to go back to work! MCGowan characterized the meetings as the "love of God.  

News of the revival at Azusa Street Mission spread primarily through Seymour and Bartleman. Seymour wrote of the revival in The Apostolic Faith, a four page free newspaper that he started. It contained articles about people speaking in tongues, news of hymns being sung and prophesies being given in foreign languages, supernatural healing of diseases, visions of tongues of fire and spectacular religious ecstasy. The paper's reports attracted those who read them.22 It was also reported a woman, Anna Hall, had attended a Russian church in Los Angeles and preached to the congregation in their own language. Anna did not know the Russian language. In December 1906, the paper reported, "the Lord God is in Los Angeles in different missions and churches in mighty power, in spite of opposition" 

Frank Bartleman wrote about the revival in Way of Faith, a Holiness periodical published in Columbia, South Carolina. In August 1906, he wrote, "Pentecost has come to Los Angeles, the American Jerusalem". He also wrote, "strong men lie for hours under the mighty powers of God, cut down like grass". 

Bartleman first heard of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on April 15, 1906, shortly after the initial outpouring at 214 Bahie Brae Street. During the Sunday morning worship service at New Testament Church in Los Angeles, an African-American woan spoke in tongues. Joseph Smale was the church's pastor. Bartleman was a member of the church. After the service, worshippers gathered on the sidewalk and inquired of the meaning of the manifestation of tongues. It was learned the Holy Ghost had fallen a few nights before at the cottage on Bonnie Brae Street and a number of persons had spoken in tongues. 

Bartleman visited the service at Bonnie Brae Street that evening. The spirit of the meeting was one of humility. After visiting the