Azusa Street Revival Symposium

On April 9, 1906, from a home on Bonnie Brae Street, William Seymour preached a sermon on Acts 2:4 that would change the course of spiritual history. People from diverse races, backgrounds, and economic classes congregated to hear his sermons and, in return, experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit which included speaking in tongues, singing, shouting, miraculous healings, and ultimately praising God. Later known as the Azusa Street Revival, this little-known Los Angeles history sparked the beginning of the global Pentecostal church.

This afternoon symposium will look at the significance and impact of the Azusa Street Revival on the Pentecostal movement and on culture in general. Speakers and presentations include:

Fire from Heaven: Los Angeles and the 1906 Azusa Street Revival
Dr. Clifton Clarke, author of Pentecostalism: Insight from Africa and the African Diaspora

Charismatic: The Women of Azusa St. and Some of their 20th Century Daughters
Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, Executive Director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies

The Azusa Street Revival and the Politics of Pentecostal Historiography
Rev. Eugene F. Rivers III, Founder and Director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies

Race And Azusa Street then and now
Dr. Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Graduate Chair in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

Stops on the Azusa Street Tour
Dr. Cecil M. Robek, Senior Professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary