The Azusa Street Mission and Revival

by Cecil M. Robeck Jr.

first

freedom it granted all people, regardless of race, gender, or station in life, to be treated as equals. Anyone could play an active role in worship; no one was ruled out by virtue of gender, color, class, or previous condition of servitude.

mission allowed enormous leeway in its judgment of legitimate emotional expressions in worship, although that was not altogether new,

nor was it without limits.

While the mission was led by an African American pastor, dominated by an African American membership, and heavily influenced by African American worship patterns, it quickly developed into a multiethnic and multiracial congregation.

non–African-Americans did bring their own gifts and experiences.

Worship at the Azusa Street Mission differed in this: when expressions from this variety of cultures were brought together in one place, something new transpired that traditional Christians in Los Angeles—indeed, the city as a whole—was ill prepared to embrace. This was a revival unlike any other the city of Los Angeles had

ever seen.

ANYONE who reads the accounts of worship at the Azusa Street Mission will conclude that prayer was probably the centerpiece of the revival. It is the medium through which all other activities at the mission must be viewed—from singing to personal testimony to preaching to time spent at the altar before and after any service. Pastor William J. Seymour provided the norm for the whole revival when he reportedly sat with his head tucked into the makeshift pulpit, praying, while other things went on about him. William J. Seymour was a man of prayer. He dedicated himself to pray for hours each day prior to the coming of the revival, and while he attended many of the meetings held under his

leadership, he attempted to continue this discipline

of prayer. Prayer and meditation on the Scriptures gave him the thoughts he desired to share in his sermons. Prayer—especially spontaneous and boisterous prayer—s...

We see just how important prayer was to the revival in the special rooms its leaders set apart for certain types of prayer. The altar at the center of the sanctuary on the ground floor shows us that the mission considered prayer necessary in matters related to salvation, sanctification, and baptism in the Spirit. The “upper room” was provided for those who wished to pursue their baptism in the Spirit in what can only be described as “tarrying meetings,” that is, extended sessions of prayer that might last anywhere from several hours to several days. The room set aside for prayer on behalf of the sick and infirm also illustrates the mission’s commitment to prayer, as does the presence of “altar workers” at mission worship services.

Men and women of all “colors” gathered together there, beseeching God for their baptism in the Holy Spirit. Worshippers exchanged “holy kisses” and hugs across both gender and racial lines.

On the first anniversary of the outpouring of the Spirit on the faithful at the Asberry home, Seymour set apart three days of “fasting and prayer” at the mission with the hope that it would provide “more power in the meetings.”

The Lord answered, The Apostolic Faith claimed, as souls were slain all about the altar the second night. We have felt an increase of power every night. At this writing in the office, the power in the meeting is felt. The heavenly anthem is heard and the shouts and praises of the saints. All the afternoon there has been an altar service and souls coming through.

The great need is prayer.

Lum wrote. “The power comes down so upon the workers that we can scarcely eat. We sing, speak in tongues, and praise God at the table.”

Prayer for healing also became a staple of the mission. People were healed “every day”

Prayer for healing was not always done through the laying on of hands; sometimes it came through the instrument of anointed handkerchiefs.

instruments inspired the mission’s regular worship life. The Apostolic Faith recorded that testimonies to these healings often led to periods of praise.

though few of their prayers were recorded. And as one reporter wrote, “No one in particular led in prayer. They all prayed.

Glenn Cook concurred, “We were saturated with the spirit of love and prayer and the days passed all too swiftly.” Frank Bartleman concluded, “There was a presence of God with us, through prayer, we could depend on.”

WHEN the mission opened its doors to the public in April 1906, it had no hymnals, and for several months it included no musical instruments.

The Apostolic Faith proudly reported that no instruments were needed!

The people were content to sing with nothing more than the rhythmic accompaniment of hands clapping or slapping against thighs, or feet stomping, and the rich harmonies...

Individuals, most often African American women, simply led out in song, drawing from the repertoire of hymns and songs they had learned in their various home churches. They did so spontaneously, when they ...

Not only did they use the same basic style of singing, they sang many of the same songs.

The mission, which emphasized the Second Coming,

Newer music that emerges in any generation is often difficult to integrate with the hymnody that has preceded it.

It is always difficult to maintain the balance between carrying the tradition of the church forward through music and reshaping that tradition for

a new generation.

they often either cannot embrace the forward-looking vision necessary to communicate the tradition to the next generation or will not make the necessary transition to accommodate the needs and interests of the young.

On the other hand, those who sacrifice the essence of the tradition on the altar of relevance jeopardize the very source of their own spiritual life—and risk breaking continuity with the past, producing yet another gospel!

The mission’s faithful sang traditional hymnody, learned new hymns and choruses, and even embraced the new form that became known as “singing in the Spirit” (harmonious singing in tongues).

He vehemently condemned any worship singing ordered by the intervention of some leader who would direct the “song service,” because he believed such intervention resulted in worship that was forced or contrived.

From his perspective, it was like invoking a law that all people must attend church under sanction, and then expecting

them to worship God freely of thei...

Bartleman was convinced that some of the leaders of the revival were actually quenching the Spirit because they moved from hymns in the corporate memory or “singing in tongues,” to singing from published hymna...

From his perspective, these practices were nothing more than human attempts to control people who would prefer to embrace the spontaneity of the Spirit—indeed, they looked to ...

“SINGING IN THE SPIRIT” received the nearly unanimous praise of all who heard it.

It went by various

names—”singing in the Spirit,” “singing in tongues,” the “heavenly anthem,” the “heavenly chorus” or the “heavenly choi...

The faithful believed that this music was inspired completely by the Holy Spirit; they found a scriptural basis for it in the apostle Paul’s words of 1 Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing w...

Whatever it was, however, this Spirit-inspired singing often emerged without words, or else in languages that the congregation did not understand—that is, in tongues. It was as spontaneous an intervention as anyone might imagine. At times it was sung to familiar tunes; on other occasions new tunes seemed to be spontaneously generated.

Ordinary people also contributed much to the worship life of the mission through their interaction with one another—especially during those times they shared their personal testimonies.

These times when people stood spontaneously at the mission to give testimonies of what God had done in their lives became a remarkable feature of Azusa Street worship. The testimonies of the faithful were not time-worn, tired retreads of something that had happened twenty

or

thirty years ago. They were new, vital vignettes— glimpses into the lives of people who came to the mission. Many visitors found themselves impressed enough with what they heard in these times of testimony that they called them the highlight of the meetings. People stood at the windows outside the mission just to hear the latest tale of God’s working. People stood in line for an hour or more, eagerly waiting their turn. Many jumped to their feet, one right after the other, for the privilege of telling the crowd what God had just done in their liv...

It was a place where preaching often took place. But preaching was not always the centerpiece of any particular meeting there.

In many cases the centerpiece might be an extended period of prayer, of praise through singing, or of testimonies, followed by an altar call that made the mission a center for seeking the fullness of God.