Kelly Steiner Steiner 1
Mr. Franklin Harvey
REL 181 W1 Religion in America
October 16, 2021
The Azusa Street Revival
Excuse me, Pastor Seymour is that you? Yes, hello. Have we met? No, not personally, but I
know you. My name is Lawrence Catley. Nice to meet to you Mr. Catley, how do you know me?
My mother brought me to the Azusa Street Mission about 10 years ago, I was just a boy. Oh, the
Azusa Street Mission is still part of my life, my wife Jenny and I have been able to keep it going,
even after the Revival. I would love to attend it again, my time spent there as a boy inspired my
faith and I am a Reverend now. I could not be more pleased that the impact of our revival
inspired you in such a way Lawrence. I would love to hear about your story, do you have time
for a prayer and a short visit? Yes sir, of course I do.
I remember the first day my mother brought us to Azusa Street. My siblings and I were used to
going to church every week, but this was not like church. We had to wait outside for what felt
like an eternity because the crowd waiting to get in was so large. As we waited, I saw people at
peace, anxious, and those who wanted healing from their pain. I had never seen so many people
on crutches or of so many ethnic backgrounds. Where we usually attended church there were
only black people and never white folks. As I watched the crowd anxious myself to see what this
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place would be like inside; I noticed a peace coming over them and calmness that I had never
experienced amongst an entire group as this (Blake Sr.).
Lawrence, I remember well the days you are speaking of. The crowds were an amazing gift from
God. Those people as well as your family were spoken to by God and led to Azusa Street to
experience the wonderful gifts awaiting them. As you know I don’t mean material gifts; I am
speaking of the gifts of God. The gifts I refer to are salvation, sanctification (holiness), the ability
to speak in and understand those speaking in tongues, baptism, divine healing, and the return of
Christ at some time in the very near future (Jarnagin). Please, tell me more.
Once my mother, my siblings, and I entered the Mission, I recall a feeling of home come over
me. Not the same feeling as when I went to church and Sunday school, this felt like a place you
belonged and did not want to leave. The children were all silent and behaved, the babies were as
peaceful as I have ever seen still to this day, and the adults were praying aloud. The men were
crying but not weeping, and the women were crying through smiles, and they would often stand
and raise their hands to the Lord, as if to receive his love. The singing was joyous, and everyone
seemed to know the words, but I do not remember music playing, I think they heard it within
them and felt it. I saw men and women healed after being prayed for and even at that young age I
prayed and felt every word of my prayer.
Yes, this was emotional and spiritual. I felt that too. When I was praying for salvation and for
God to speak through me and through all of us, I felt so safe and at peace in knowing that God
was the light. After my good friends, Richard and Ruth Asberry took me into their home and
shared in prayer with me, this grew even stronger. I started preaching from their home and soon
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outside of the home so that everyone who came there could be part of it. Within a week or so
God spoke through me and that is what we refer to as tongues. I was blessed in an extraordinary
way to have been chosen to lead that revival. And do you know we had hundreds of crutches
hanging in the mission? People left them there after they were healed.
Pastor Seymour, those of us who were inside, and those outside of the mission will never forget
that glorious spiritual time of our existence here on earth. You truly inspired my life and my
faith. I saw things so differently in life ever since that day I first arrived at the Azusa Street
Revival in 1906. I never would have guessed that I would be standing here speaking with you
today. You and the entire Azusa Street Mission started the Pentecostal Movement. The world is
grateful for this.
I too think this was a miracle that the Pentecostal Movement was welcomed across the world and
is still practiced and protected to this day. We had our struggles of course, it wasn’t easy. We had
very little money and did not ask for offerings, as this was not the point of coming to the
mission. There was also a struggle finding a house to worship in. After the crowds grew at The
Asberry home, the weight of the people collapsed the front porch. We were blessed with finding
the building, it had been a church long ago, and then a stable for horses. Some of the building
needed repair and my good friend A.G. Austerberg helped us with that (Blake Sr.). God was
working and speaking through all of us at that time, and the world is better for it. I can not thank
you enough for introducing yourself and taking the time to speak with me.
Pastor Seymour, it is my pleasure to speak with you. Thank you for everything you helped do,
and for leading us to find our way of leading as well. Let’s pray.
Work Cited
The Azusa Street Project (2006) |Full Movie| Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. [Link]/watch?
v=1p-rjyDVrGU&t=3061s
[Link]
Interview of witnesses of the Azusa Street Revival
[Link]
Azusa Street Revival. By: Jarnagin, Elizabeth, Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2021
[Link]
fa9f02d79dda%40sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ
%3d%3d#AN=89313809&db=ers
The 1906 Azusa Street Revival and Miracle Stories! Oct. 22, 2014
[Link]
The Azusa Street Revival, Apostolic Archives International Inc.
[Link]
