Launching a Global Movement: The Role of Azusa Street in Pentecostalism’s Growth and Expansion

Abstract

While the origins of the Pentecostal movement have generally been attributed to the 1906 Azusa Street Revivals and subsequent mission in Los Angeles, there is considerable debate over the origins of the Pentecostal movement currently taking place in the field of Pentecostal studies. Scholars have argued that the Azusa Street origins are at worst a myth, and at best greatly exaggerated. This chapter details the significant contributions of the Azusa Street Mission to the global reach of Pentecostalism, such as the rapid, and global spread of Pentecostal missionaries that, as early as 1910, had been established across the U.S., and into Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, India, China, the Middle East, and elsewhere. All of these missions can be traced directly to the Azusa Street Mission. Robeck argues that the Azusa Street Mission was the central and unsurpassed source of global Pentecostalism and mission from that time period.