Pentecostalism is a family of Christian movements that emphasize the active work of the Holy Spirit, including gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophecy. Its name points to the account of Pentecost in Acts. The early twentieth-century revival at Azusa Street in Los Angeles shows how one group of Christians read that story in relation to their own experience. Later statements by Pentecostal churches show how they have explained those practices and their place in worship. Acts 2:1–11 · Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, Azusa Street collection
Pentecost in Acts
Acts 2 describes the disciples together at Pentecost. They hear a sound like wind, see what the account compares to tongues of fire, and speak in other tongues as the Spirit enables them. The crowd includes people from different places who hear the speech in their own languages. This is the scriptural episode to which the Azusa Street newspaper referred when it described its meetings. The story gives Pentecostal readers a way to connect the Spirit’s presence with speech and witness. Acts 2:1–11 · The Apostolic Faith, September 1906, transcription
What the Azusa Street newspaper reports
In 1906, the Apostolic Faith Mission met at 312 Azusa Street under the ministry of William J. Seymour, a Black Holiness preacher. Its newspaper, The Apostolic Faith, began appearing in September. The first issue reports on gatherings that began in a home and moved to Azusa Street. It describes prayer, singing and speaking in tongues and presents the experiences as a renewal of Pentecost. The reports preserve what participants understood to be happening. The newspaper also circulated their account beyond the meetings and printed letters from farther afield. The Apostolic Faith, September 1906, transcription · Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, newspaper collection
Spirit baptism and tongues in an Assemblies of God account
The US Assemblies of God describes baptism in the Holy Spirit as a distinct empowerment for Christian life and witness. Its position paper calls speaking in tongues the initial physical evidence of that experience. It distinguishes this teaching from the use of tongues as a gift within a gathered congregation. First Corinthians 14 addresses that public setting and tells people to speak in turn and to have an interpreter. It also allows speech to God apart from a public address when no interpreter is present. This is why a doctrine about the beginning of Spirit baptism and instructions about speaking in a service are separate questions. Assemblies of God, “Baptism in the Holy Spirit” · 1 Corinthians 14:26–28, 39–40
A Pentecostal church takes shape in Ghana
The Church of Pentecost’s own history traces its beginnings to a group of believers in the Gold Coast led by Peter Newman and the arrival of Irish missionary James McKeown in 1937. It describes a division over divine healing in 1939 and later changes in organization and name. The name The Church of Pentecost was adopted in 1962. This example shows how an emphasis shared across Pentecostal movements could become the subject of local disagreement and shape the history of a particular church. The Church of Pentecost, “Brief History”
Conclusion
The Book of Acts gives Pentecostal Christians a central account of the Spirit’s work. Azusa Street shows how a revival community used that account to describe its meetings, and the Assemblies of God example shows how a denomination distinguishes a sign of Spirit baptism from the use of a gift in worship. The Ghanaian history adds a view of how Pentecostal teaching developed within a particular church and place.
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