Mel Robeck: The Azusa Street Mission and Revival
The book also demonstrates that the Azusa Street Mission was not just a “bless me club.” While people came from near and far to receive their baptism in the Holy Spirit at the Azusa Street mission the experience was not seen as an end in itself. The purpose of the baptism was to be a witness. Many people went out from Azusa Street as missionaries, some went to the other parts of the United States and some to other countries. While the missionary emphasis was good and God used many who went out, the book demonstrates that there were some problems as well. Some who went out to the field were ill equipped doctrinally, and in other ways, and as a result, some who went to the field did not stay very long. One factor that had some bearing on this was a misunderstanding about speaking in tongues. Many at that time believed that when God gave them the ability to speak in tongues that He had given them a new tongue so that they could preach the gospel in another land without having to study the language. Some were troubled when they got to the field and this did not prove to be true.
The Azusa Street Mission And Revival chronicles both the rise and decline of the Azusa Street mission. What is amazing about Azusa Street is that this is the story of how God took a prayer meeting of fifteen people and grew it into something that would shake the world. There is much in the book to instruct, encourage, and challenge, as we move into the second century of the contemporary Pentecostal Movement.
Reviewed by John Lathrop
Category: Church History, Fall 2006
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