William J. Seymour ~ Azuza Street Revival

A recent report from CBN on William J. Seymour, of Azusa Street Revival fame. Features pentecostal historian Vinson Synan and Charles Fox.

Eyewitness Reports from the Azusa Street Revival

Fire on the Earth: Eyewitness Reports from the Azusa Street Revival
by Eddie Hyatt

Eddie Hyatt's book on the Azusa Street Revival compiles a number personal testimonies of people who witnessed it firsthand. Here is the publisher's description:

Dozens of books have been written about the Azusa Street Revival as authors have attempted to understand and recapture this profound, supernatural event. However, the effort to glean meaning from what happened 100 years ago often leads to frustration and despair as authors seek to distill true history from myth and legend.

Eddie Hyatt went straight to the source for answers. Not satisfied with what others have gleaned, Hyatt mined The Apostolic Faith, the official publication of the Azusa Street Revival. Thirteen issues of The Apostolic Faith were printed and sent around the world as the Pentecostal Fire spread abroad. Fire on the Earth contains selected excerpts from these papers, shedding light on the events surrounding this major outpouring of God.

Hyatt writes, “Anyone reading these papers cannot help but sense the fervency and intensity of these saints who believed that the outpouring of the Spirit they were experiencing was God’s final call before the end of the age.”

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a church historian, teacher, Bible school director, professor of theology, and ordained minister with more than twenty-five years of ministerial experience in the United States, Canada, India, and Eastern Europe. He holds a doctorate of ministry from Regent University as well as a master of divinity and a master of arts from Oral Roberts University, where he also taught in the School of Theology. He is the author of the acclaimed book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. His articles on revival have been published in periodicals in both the United States and Canada.

For other resources on the Azusa Street Revival, see Azusa Street Project and Shekinah Glory, Holy Fire and Miraculous Healing.

Azusa Street Project

Azusa Street Project (DVD)

In 1906, William J. Seymour, a one-eyed black pastor from Louisiana, son of a slave, journeyed by train from Houston to Los Angeles, only to be locked out of the church that sent for him.

He turned to prayer and God's answer was The Azusa Street Revival. It shook the foundations of the church, spawned numerous denominations and changed the lives of six million people forever.

The Azusa Street Project investigates the mystery and controversy behind:

• Salvation
• Sanctification
• Baptism with the Holy Spirit
• Speaking in Tongues

Including interviews with:

• Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr.
• Dr. Jack W. Hayford
• Dr. Marilyn Hickey
• Dr. Stanley Horton
• Bishop Noel Jones
• Dr. Larry Martin
• Joyce Meyer
• Dr. Betty R. Price
• Dr. Frederick K. C. Price
• Dr. Jim Reeve
• Dr. Cecil M. Robeck, Jr.
• Dr. Vinson Synan
• Rev. Thomas Trask
• Rev. William M. Wilson

In color and B&W.

DVD Special Features:

• Optional English subtitles
• Scene selection
• Director's comments
• Tour of Bonnie Brae house
• Soundtrack
• Art Gallery
• Missionaries

See also They Told Me Their Stories: The Youth and Children of Azusa Street Tell Their Stories.

Shekinah Glory, Holy Fire and Miraculous Healing

The Azusa Street Revival (1906-1910) is pretty well known in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles for the revival of the gift of tongues. But reading through They Told Me Their Stories: The Youth and Children of Azusa Street Tell Their Stories, I am learning that there were other marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit, including numerous healings, the unusual appearance of flame above the meetinghouse, and the experience of what those in attendance called the "Shekinah Glory."

This book is composed of testimonies often repeated to Tommy Welchel back in the 1960s by men and women who were children and teenagers during the Azusa revival. Now they were residents of Old Pisgah Home, in Los Angeles, and Welchel, being a new believer, would literally sit at their feet, eager to hear their stories over and over.

They gave account of many of the miraculous healings they had personally witnessed, and often even participated in, though they were only children and teenagers at the time. Some were themselves healed. Blind eyes were made to see, deaf ears heard, tumors vanished, cleft palates joined together, new teeth appeared, broken bones were made whole, amputated limbs were restored, and those bound in wheelchairs received strength to walk, run and dance for joy.

Many of these witnesses also told about the unusual flame that would often appear above the meetinghouse. It was described as a fire coming down from heaven to meet a fire that was going up from the building.

There were also many who experienced the "Shekinah Glory," an unusual cloud of mist that regularly settled in the meetinghouse. It was believed to be a visible manifestation of the glory of the Lord. At times it was thick enough that children could play "hide and seek" in it. Sometimes it settled love to the ground and people would lay down in to breathe in the glory. A few tried to capture it in a jar, only to find that it would soon evaporate. Many simply breathed it in, some describing it as an experience of heaven or as breathing pure oxygen.

A hundred years ago, the revival at Azusa Street signaled a fresh and powerful move of God. About a hundred years ago, Charles Parham, who had witnessed a stirring of the gift of tongues in Topeka, KS, just a few years prior, prophesied that in a hundred years, another revival would come that would be even greater. William Seymour, who led the Azusa revival, similarly prophesied about a greater revival that would come in another hundred years.

The Glory Cloud at Azusa Street

Here is a book of eyewitness accounts of the revival at Azusa street. Many people understand it as the birthplace of the modern pentecostal movement and a significant renewal of the gift of tongues in the Church. I was surprised to discover that there were also powerful manifestations of God's glory in what was known as the “glory cloud.” There were also many creative miracles. These stories are told in They Told Me Their Stories.

This is the book Billye Brim recently talked about on Believer’s Voice of Victory, with Gloria Copeland.

“Discover a chapter in the life of Azusa as it comes alive through the stories passed on to Tommy Welchel. Retired Azusa saints recall the roles they played as teenagers and young people in the Azusa Street Revival. Historical insights, miracles, and healings abound.

• Learn about the Shekinah glory from the eyes of Spirit-filled youth.
  
• Discover the rich heritage and roots of Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ through stories never before captured in print.
  
• A must read for young people wanting to be used of God, but feel they are too young. You will want to meet the teens and young adults used by God during the Azusa Revival.
  
• A must read for anyone who wants a fresh glimpse of the awesome power of God unleashed by common people and teenagers during the outpouring of His Spirit in 1906.
  

This book will change your life, renew your hope, and inspire you to seek God’s face in preparation for His outpouring as we being this new century. This book introduces you to many great Christians from the glorious Azusa Street meetings who went on to proclaim the message of God, and be used of Him in a mighty way. Some even founded great religious movements such as the Assemblies of God. But, first they were touched and used by God when they were as young as twelve and thirteen years old.”