Page 231 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

The Church Returns to the Upper Room

threatened from within. For example, Pentecostals disagreed over the
issue of sanctification. In the beginning, many people came from the
Wesleyan Holiness movement—a movement that grew out of the
Wesleyan Holiness revival of the nineteenth century. They taught that
people must have a “second work of grace” to prepare them for the
coming of the Holy Spirit. People from the Baptist and Reformed Churches,
however, firmly believed that the
process of sanctification was for a
progressive work that occurred in
the life of the believer. For the For the purpose of
purpose of unity and to clarify their unity and to clarify
doctrinal position, Pentecostals
needed to formulate their fun- doctrinal position,
damental beliefs on the issue of Pentecostals needed
sanctification and other beliefs.
These problems were addressed a bit to formulate their
later when the Assemblies of God fundamental beliefs.
and other Pentecostal churches were
formally organized.

The Pentecostal Revival Spreads to the Nations

The impact of the Azusa Revival was worldwide. As McClung notes:
“By 1910, some 185 Pentecostal missionaries had been marshaled
over a four year period from the outset of the 1906–1909 Azusa Street
revival” (34). It became clear that the primary purpose of the revival was
evangelism and missions. The paradigm of a “harvest-oriented church”
was emerging for the twentieth century, as Miller observes:

The Azusa Revival contributed to missions in three distinct ways:
First, a number of individuals, after receiving the Spirit baptism
at Azusa, went directly as missionaries to home and foreign fields
where they enthusiastically spread the full gospel message. Secondly,
a number of veteran missionaries, upon hearing of the revival, went
to Los Angeles to receive their “personal Pentecost.” After receiving,
they returned to their fields of labor as emissaries of Pentecost.
Finally, the Azusa Revival indirectly sparked a number of missionary
movements when certain Christian leaders visited Azusa and were
baptized in the Holy Spirit. These newly empowered leaders in turn
influenced the churches and movements they led. (2005, 22)

::: 221 :::