The Pentecostal religion swept throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world during the 20th century. Converts left traditional Protestant churches to join a new spiritual movement and also formed new denominations within the faith.
Here are six events that shaped Pentecostalism since its beginnings:
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1. Pastor Charles Fox Parham taught that speaking in tongues was evidence of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in his Bible College class in Topeka, Kansas.
According to Christians Assemblies International, Agnes Ozman became the first student in his class to speak in an unfamiliar tongue on January 1, 1901. Other students had similar experiences.
2. Faith healing became a central part of Pentecostalism when Parham began practicing it in 1903. His teachings that atonement helps in the healing of sickness and disease spread through churches in the American South and Southwest. Twentieth century Evangelists such as Oral Roberts and Kathryn Kuhlman embraced it.
3. The Azusa Street "Apostolic Faith Mission" in Los Angeles sparked incredible enthusiasm for Pentecostalism in 1906. William Joseph Seymour, an African-American preacher, led services everyday, attracting thousands of blacks and whites who received the Holy Spirit in ceremonies. The gatherings lasted for more than three years, spreading to churches, missions and meetings throughout the country.
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4. Former Methodist preacher
John Graham Lake became a Pentecostal minister after the experience of speaking in tongues in Illinois. He led other missionaries to spread the word to South Africa in 1908, founding two large Pentecostal churches there. His mission spread Pentecostalism throughout Africa and the movement also reached Slavic countries. Mahatma Gandhi praised Lake's teachings saying that it "will eventually be accepted by the entire world."
5. Russian-born Baptist pastor Ivan Voronaev, who underwent a the Pentecostal experience while in New York, helped to minister the idea in the Slavic world and also established the first Pentecostal Church in the Soviet Union in 1922. He was later imprisoned and martyred in 1943, but his congregation persevered to make Pentecostalism a major religion after the fall of communism.
6. More than 100
Pentecostal denominations formed throughout the 20th century, but charismatic practices based on the Pentecostal faith entered into traditional Protestant and Catholic churches in the 1970s. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal can be traced back to 1967 by students and teachers at DuQuesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Non-traditional Protestants and Catholics formed their own charismatic groups within their churches or created new denominations. There are more than 70 million Catholics in the charismatic movement worldwide.
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