Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.
The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915.
William Joseph Seymour was a Holiness Pentecostal preacher who initiated the Azusa Street Revival, an influential event in the rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, particularly Holiness Pentecostalism. He was the second of eight children born in an African-American family to emancipated slaves and raised Catholic in extreme poverty in Louisiana.
The Toronto Blessing, a term coined by British newspapers, refers to the Christian revival and associated phenomena that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church (TAV), which was renamed in 1996 to Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) and then later in 2010 renamed to Catch the Fire Toronto. It is categorized as a neo-charismatic Evangelical Christian church and is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The revival impacted charismatic Christian culture through an increase in popularity and international reach and intensified criticism and denominational disputes. Criticism primarily centered around disagreements about charismatic doctrine, the Latter Rain Movement, and whether or not the physical manifestations people experienced were in line with biblical doctrine or were actually heretical practices.
Rodney Morgan Howard-Browne is a South African-born American evangelist and conspiracy theorist. He has resided in Tampa, Florida since the mid-1990s and is pastor of The River Church in Tampa Bay. The River is considered both Pentecostal and Charismatic with revival meetings, led by Howard-Browne, known for those in the audience breaking into "holy laughter" and experiencing other phenomena similar to the Great Awakenings and Azusa Street Revival. Howard-Browne is the head of Revival Ministries International, a ministry he and his wife founded in 1997.
Louis Jay Pearlman was an American music manager and scam artist. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC.
Michael Bruce Curry is an American bishop who is the 27th and current Presiding Bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. Elected in 2015, he is the first African American elected to the role, having previously served as Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. His tenure as Presiding Bishop will end in October 2024 and he will be succeeded by Sean Rowe.
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest religious grouping in South Africa representing 7.6 percent of the population. Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were united. It is a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission International, a fellowship of 23 AFM national churches. It is also a member of the South African Council of Churches.
Jesus Camp is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers being taught that they have "prophetic gifts" and can "take back America for Christ". According to the distributor, it "doesn't come with any prepackaged point of view" and attempts to be "an honest and impartial depiction of one faction of the evangelical Christian community".
José Luis de Jesús Miranda was the leader of the Creciendo en Gracia cult, based in Miami, Florida. He claimed to be both the returned phase of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist; he was known for making statements that opposed the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church but that followed his interpretation of the Bible. He was previously known as el Jesucristo Hombre but shortly after his death, his followers granted him the title of Melchizedek because, as stated by his official site, he attained his new and final name which means king of justice and king of peace. Footage from one of his sermons as well as an interview with comedian Bill Maher are included in the 2008 documentary film Religulous.
John Gerard Noonan is an Irish-born American prelate in the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Orlando in Florida since 2010. Noonan previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 2005 to 2010.
Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance music festival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest electronic dance music festival in North America as of 2024.
Lou Engle is an American Charismatic Christian who led TheCall, which held prayer rallies. He is the president of Lou Engle Ministries. Engle was a senior leader of the International House of Prayer and has assisted in the establishment of Justice House of Prayer and several other smaller "houses" of prayer.
Howard Aaron Engle was an American pediatrician and lifelong smoker who was one of the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed against the tobacco industry, in which Engle claimed that he smoked multiple packs of cigarettes daily since he was in college and was unable to quit despite multiple attempts even after contracting emphysema, continuing to smoke until his death.
A revivalist' or evangelist is a person who holds or presides over religious revivals. Revival services are an integral part of the Conservative Anabaptist, Free Will Baptist and Methodist traditions, among other branches of Christianity. Revivals are defined as "a period of heightened spiritual activity in a section of the church, brought about by a renewing and empowering work of the Holy Spirit, bringing a new sense of the presence of God, especially in his holiness, resulting in a deeper awareness of sin in the lives of believers, followed by new joy as sin is confessed and forgiven." Common jargon for these meetings or series of meetings can include "having a revival meeting" or "to hold a revival." The meetings and gatherings can last for days, several weeks, or for many years on rare occasions.
Orlando City Soccer Club, known as Orlando City SC or simply Orlando City, is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top division in the United States soccer league system. Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL Pro team of the same name. In doing so they became the first MLS team in Florida since Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny both folded following the 2001 season. The team plays in Downtown Orlando at Inter&Co Stadium, which it owns and operates.
The New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement is an association of conservative, King James Only, independent Baptist churches. The New IFB began with Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in response to perceived liberalism in other independent Baptist churches. The New IFB does not consider itself to be a denomination. As of 2019, the New IFB listed 32 affiliated congregations on its website, most in the U.S. with some in Australia, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa.
Daniel Kolenda is an American missionary, evangelist, author, and pastor, currently serving as the president and CEO of Christ for all Nations (CfaN) and the lead pastor at Nations Church in Orlando, Florida. He succeeded Reinhard Bonnke as head of CfAN in 2009 and worked side by side with Bonnke until his death in 2019.
Brian Brennt was an American preacher, author and teacher. He cofounded Circuit Riders and The Send.
Teófilo Hayashi, best known as Teo Hayashi, is a Brazilian pastor and missionary, son and grandson of pastors. Teo Hayashi founded the Dunamis Movement in 2008, after returning from the United States, where he lived. In 2016, he participated in the event "The Call: Azusa Now" in Los Angeles, which would give rise to the movement "The Send" in 2019, of which Hayashi was one of the co-founders.
