Stirrings before the Revival
It makes for a fascinating study to survey the spiritual landscape of Los Angeles before the outbreak of the revival at Azusa Street took place. In 1916, Frank Bartleman, a Los Angeles native and participant in the revival left detailed accounts of the stirring that was taking place before the revival, and his experiences during the event itself. Bartleman has proven to be a great source for first hand accounts of revival events, and someone enjoyable to teach on all over the nation and even the world as we reflect on the mighty move of God, which birthed the Pentecostal movement.
Bartleman had this to say about the days preceding revival in Los Angeles, “it would be a great mistake to attempt to attribute the Pentecostal beginning in Los Angeles to any one man, either in prayer or in preaching…’Pentecost’ did not drop suddenly out of heaven. God was with us in large measure for a long time before the final outpouring. It was not a mushroom of a night by any means. As 1906 drew near, it seems that Los Angeles was ripe for a spiritual awakening. Several area churches had been in intercession for a revisiting of the outpouring of the Spirit like in the first century church. Bartleman, a Holiness evangelist was stirring the city with his call for revival. He said that “day and night the Spirit was heavy upon me…until it seemed I must die.” Bartleman was born in Carversville, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1871. He was the son of immigrants. After a difficult childhood he found Jesus on October 15, 1893. He later testified that “the Spirit entered powerfully into my soul.” Soon, Bartleman accepted the call to ministry. He soon found himself evangelizing in the South. While there he witnessed the ill treatment of African Americans. Concerning this he noted “there seemed little justice for the man whom God had made with the black skin.” He developed a love for African Americans and other people groups, who were struggling for equality and opportunity for a better lifestyle, feel that it was these people who “needed our help the most.”
Bartleman lived by “faith,” which often meant living on the verge of poverty and even starvation. His family endured tremendous hardships as they traveled across the country, finally arriving in Los Angeles on December 20, 1901. He said that “the Spirit had led us to Los Angeles for the ‘Latter rain’ outpouring.”
Joseph Smale was also making an important spiritual contribution in Los Angeles. Smale was actually born in England on July 7, 1867. He was educated in Spurgeon’s College in London. He started his public ministry as a street preacher in England’s capital city. Later he pastored a church in Great Britain for three years. Upon resigning the church he immigrated to the United States and assumed the pastorate of the Baptist Church of Prescott, Arizona , a city of particular importance to many who are from that part of the country as it was formerly Arizona’s capital city and still a hot spot for tourism even to this day.
Smale left Arizona and moved to southern California where he became the pastor of the prestigious First Baptist Church in Los Angeles on January 22, 1898. From the beginning, Smale had problems at the church with ten percent voting against his election. These comments from the new pastor were an indication that he was dealing with a more traditional type of church and people. “Reformation is not the first need of humanity, but regeneration. If you would have pure politics, clean government, a moral society with peace and contentment reigning, men must have new hearts, and they must let God work through them as they seek to do his will.”
Smale led the church through a successful building program, but he was always an evangelist at heart. Evening services at First Baptist were always directed toward the lost. Occasionally D.L. Moody would show up and serve as the guest evangelist at their church.
At another point later in the history of this work, a group of the laymen in the church got together, conspired against their pastor, and asked for his resignation sometime n 1902. During three business meetings, one of which lasted eleven hours, members of the church said a number of derogatory things about their pastor. The church minutes reported, “While our pastor was speaking the weight of complaints had been almost perceptibly vanishing and the turning of sympathy toward him could well nigh be felt.” He managed to weather these storms and the church continued to grow and push toward a spiritual awakening. In 1905 Pastor Smale preached a series on “Is There Eternal Punishment for those Who Die Christ-less?” After the series was preached, it seems he was worn out from the stresses he had faced without and within at his church and in the community. He took a sabbatical and visited the Holy Land, Egypt, Greece, and Wales. While in Wales he visited Evan Roberts, who led the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit there. When Pastor Smale returned to the United States, his first sermon preached back home in Los Angeles was “The Great Welsh Revival.” The service ran long and they elected to continue with the theme and focus, so on Monday and Tuesday he preached sermons on the subject. On Wednesday he intended to do the same but said that “the Spirit took over the meeting” and there was not chance to preach. It was reported that that the Holy Spirit had come upon some of the people in that service in a remarkable way. The next Sunday, revival broke out.
