Pentecostalism has its roots in the Holiness movement of the 19th century, which itself was an offshoot of Methodism. The Holiness movement emphasized the Wesleyan doctrine of “sanctification” or “second work of grace” – the idea that after conversion, there was a separate experience of spiritual deepening and cleansing from sin.
The first person generally considered a Pentecostal was Charles Fox Parham, a Holiness preacher who led a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, in the early 20th century. Parham and his students studied the Book of Acts in the New Testament, especially the account of the Day of Pentecost, which describes the Holy Spirit descending on the followers of Jesus and enabling them to speak in other languages. Parham and his students concluded that speaking in tongues was the Bible’s “initial physical evidence” of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In 1901, one of Parham’s students, Agnes Ozman, spoke in tongues, marking what many consider the beginning of the Pentecostal movement.
The movement gained significant attention with the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, which lasted from 1906 to 1915. Led by African American preacher William J. Seymour, this revival saw thousands of attendees from around the world and is often considered the launching point for global Pentecostalism. The revival was noted for its interracial worship, an anomaly at a time when American society was deeply segregated, and for its emphasis on spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and divine healing.
After Azusa Street, the Pentecostal movement began to grow and diversify, with new churches and denominations being formed and splitting over various doctrinal issues. Pentecostalism continued to spread through revival meetings, missionary work, and later through the use of radio and television broadcasts. By the mid-20th century, it had become a significant force in American Christianity and had begun to influence mainstream Protestant and Catholic churches through what became known as the Charismatic Movement.