who were the main people when the church "pentecostals" were found, and wut did they do?

Answer 1

Name: Pentecostals


Founder: The Reverend Charles F. Parham; William J. Seymour (also credited as a founding father of the modern Pentecostal movement and with bringing the Pentecostal experience to world-wide attention).


Date of Birth: Charles F. Parham (1873-1929), William J. Seymour (1870-1922)


Where born?: Parkham: Muscatine, Iowa; Seymour: Centerville, Louisiana


Where founded?: According to tradition and generally noted as the most celebrated places of origin: Topeka, Kansas (1901); also Azusa Street, Los Angeles, California (1906)


Sacred or Revered Texts: The Holy Bible; significant Scripture includes chapters 1 and 2 of the biblical book, the Acts of the Apostles (specifically Acts=2: 1-4.)


Cult or Sect:
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.


Size of group: Pentecostalism has become the largest and fastest growing segment of Christianity in the world. Due to the indistinct nature of many Pentecostal groups and the vast number of names and organizations, it is difficult to recognize all Pentecostals (Eliade, 1987). However, according to The World Christian Encyclopedia, edited by David B. Barret (New York, 1982), the world-wide total of Pentecostals is estimated at claiming close to one hundred million adherents.

Answer 2

The Pentecostal movement was prominent in the Holiness movement, which was the first to begin making numerous references to the term "Pentecostal", such as in 1867 when the movement established The National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Christian Holiness with a notice that said: [We are summoning,] irrespective of denominational tie...those who feel themselves comparatively isolated in their profession of holiness…that all would realize together a Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost....

Although the 1896 Shearer Schoolhouse Revival in Cherokee County, North Carolina may rightfully be regarded as the literal beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement, the remoteness of this region very likely played a role in this event remaining localized for so long. Around 1901, however, Pentecostalism was to stand on a larger stage, as that was when Agnes Ozman received the gift of tongues (glossolalia) during a prayer meeting at Charles Fox Parham's Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas in 1901. Parham, a minister of Methodist background, formulated the doctrine that tongues was the "Bible evidence" of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. Further, Pentecostals point to the "upper room" experience of the gathered disciples of Jesus as described in Acts 2:1 and Peter's instructions in Acts 2:38 as justification for their practices.

Parham left Topeka and began a revival meeting ministry. The most significant and controversial is his link to the Azusa Street Revival conducted by his student, the African-American, William J. Seymour. Parham taught W.J. Seymour in his school in Houston, Texas. Since W.J. Seymour was African-American, he was only allowed to sit outside the room to listen to Parham.

This racial separation was deeply influenced by the social, national and political structures of the time. The Supreme Court, in the landmark decision, Plessy vs Ferguson in 1896, legalized racial segregation throughout the United States and ended Reconstruction. This national political influence resulted in an "achilles heel" for the early Pentecostal movement in the U.S. and long-term impact concerning racial unity, equality and doctrinal nuances. For example, many African-American Pentecostal leaders maintained affinities, close ties, cordial relationships and even fellowship with their African-American Holiness leaders. In fact, the Trinitarian-Oneness division within the Assemblies of God had little or no impact to many African-American trinitarian Pentecostal churches who maintained cordial relationships with newly organized African-American Oneness organizations.

Although many instances of glossolalia occurred prior to 1906, The Azusa Street Revival led by William J. Seymour is the watershed of the Pentecostal movement in the U.S. and worldwide. It began on April 9, 1906, in Los Angeles, California, at the home of Edward Lee, who claimed the infilling of the Holy Spirit. William J. Seymour claimed that he was overcome with the Holy Ghost on April 12, 1906. On April 18, 1906, the Los Angeles Times ran a front page story on the revival, "Weird Babel of Tongues, New Sect of fanatics is breaking loose, Wild scene last night on Azusa Street, gurgle of wordless talk by a sister". By the third week in April, 1906, the small but growing congregation rented an abandoned African Methodist Episcopal Church at 312 Azusa Street and subsequently became organized as the Apostolic Faith Mission. Almost all mainline Pentecostal denominations today trace their historical roots to the Azusa Street Revival.