This Week in Christian History: Pentecostal Revival, Black Church Founding, NRB

Azusa Street Revival Begins - April 14, 1906

This week marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Azusa Street Revival, a major event in the early history of the Pentecostal movement.

Taking place in Los Angeles and led by the Reverend William J. Seymour, the revival featured constant worship services, speaking in tongues, and interracial crowds at a time in America when Jim Crow was widely instituted.

"These days, the Azusa Street meeting is widely credited as the central event in the birth of Pentecostalism," explained the New York Times in a 1994 article.