W.F. Bryant family ca. 1905. Back row from left: Agnes,
Winnie, Luther, Frank Roberson [Robinson], Julius. Front
row from left: Lowell, W.F. Bryant, Nora, Nettie holding
Ernest, Ella Bryant Robinson holding Olen Robinson
(Wade H. Phillips Collection)
A REVIVAL OF HOLINESS
“At this time I was a member of the Baptist church and none of us believed in sanctification although I attended this revival. I noticed how those who claimed sanctification would go to their fellowmen and fix everything right, making their confession to one another…. In 1896 I began seeking God definitely for an experience I had never attained to. The spirit within me would cry out, ‘Give me the blessing like those other few have received.’ …When I got all on the altar, one Thursday morning about 9:00 o’clock, I was sanctified while sitting in my saddle on my horse.”
— W. F. “Will” Bryant
The Faithful Standard
The Faithful Standard
As the nineteenth century neared its sunset, a revival of holiness came to southeastern Tennessee and southwestern North Carolina. The sparce population on both sides of the state line supported few schools and little law enforcement, but it was kept somewhat in order by the scattered churches throughout the rural communities. One commentator described the region as “a moonshine country; most of the men toted guns, most of the women used snuff.” The majority of churches were Missionary Baptist with a scattering of Methodists. Although many of the people were “churched,” they typically had services only once or twice a month; and a lifestyle of holiness was virtually unknown among congregations where the preacher might “spit amber during his sermon.”
A renewed emphasis on holiness began around Coker Creek, Tennessee, by May 1895. Hungry for a deeper experience with God, William Martin, Joseph Tipton, and others began to pray, fast, and hold home meetings. The Spirit of God moved so powerfully that critics suggested they were going mad. Church committees tried to dissuade them, but they would not deny their newfound experience. After studying the Scriptures, they testified “boldly that they were sanctified and living a life above sin. They claimed to have the Holy Ghost, but they had not yet spoken in tongues.”
The observation that they “claimed to have the Holy Ghost, but they had not yet spoken in tongues” likely reflected the theological link between the Holy Spirit and sanctification that was a dominate feature of the American Holiness Movement. Looking for a biblical pattern, many in the Holiness Movement identified their sanctification experience with the Acts 2 Baptism with the Holy Ghost. They sang hymns such as “The Comforter Has Come,” published songbooks such as Pentecostal Hymns, and even used the word “Pentecostal” in church names such as the Pentecostal Holiness Church of North Carolina.
These holiness believers considered speaking with other tongues in Acts 2 as Spirit-empowered proclamation of the gospel rather than glossolalia. Although there were occasional testimonies of what we now believe was speaking in tongues, they were not teaching the later Pentecostal theology of tongues as initial evidence of Spirit baptism. They likely saw the experience of speaking in tongues as one of numerous manifestations of the Spirit, such as shouting, dancing, and shaking.
Yet, this renewed emphasis on sanctification encouraged seeking God for an outpouring of the Spirit. As an illustration, in 1895, songwriter Charles D. Tillman penned the words to “Old Time Power.” What later became a Pentecostal anthem was written as a prayer for sanctification.
A renewed emphasis on holiness began around Coker Creek, Tennessee, by May 1895. Hungry for a deeper experience with God, William Martin, Joseph Tipton, and others began to pray, fast, and hold home meetings. The Spirit of God moved so powerfully that critics suggested they were going mad. Church committees tried to dissuade them, but they would not deny their newfound experience. After studying the Scriptures, they testified “boldly that they were sanctified and living a life above sin. They claimed to have the Holy Ghost, but they had not yet spoken in tongues.”
The observation that they “claimed to have the Holy Ghost, but they had not yet spoken in tongues” likely reflected the theological link between the Holy Spirit and sanctification that was a dominate feature of the American Holiness Movement. Looking for a biblical pattern, many in the Holiness Movement identified their sanctification experience with the Acts 2 Baptism with the Holy Ghost. They sang hymns such as “The Comforter Has Come,” published songbooks such as Pentecostal Hymns, and even used the word “Pentecostal” in church names such as the Pentecostal Holiness Church of North Carolina.
These holiness believers considered speaking with other tongues in Acts 2 as Spirit-empowered proclamation of the gospel rather than glossolalia. Although there were occasional testimonies of what we now believe was speaking in tongues, they were not teaching the later Pentecostal theology of tongues as initial evidence of Spirit baptism. They likely saw the experience of speaking in tongues as one of numerous manifestations of the Spirit, such as shouting, dancing, and shaking.
Yet, this renewed emphasis on sanctification encouraged seeking God for an outpouring of the Spirit. As an illustration, in 1895, songwriter Charles D. Tillman penned the words to “Old Time Power.” What later became a Pentecostal anthem was written as a prayer for sanctification.
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They were in an upper chamber,
They were all with one accord, When the Holy Ghost descended, As was promised by the Lord. Chorus O Lord, send the pow'r just now, O Lord, send the pow'r just now, O Lord, send the pow'r just now, And baptize ev'ry one. |
Yes, this pow'r from heav’n descended,
With the sound of rushing wind; Tongues of fire came down upon them, As the Lord said He would send. Yes, this "old-time" pow'r was given To our fathers who were true; This is promised to believers, And we all may have it too. [Public Domain] |
Looking back, we rejoice that when seekers prayed “O Lord send the power,” God answered their prayers and poured out the Holy Spirit in new and fresh ways. Yet, their use of Acts 2 to describe their sanctification experiences challenges historians to know with certainty whether various testimonies were referring to sanctification or to our later Pentecostal understanding of Spirt baptism.
Methodist minister William “Billy” Martin
experienced sanctification in Coker Creek,
Tennessee, in 1895. He led the Holiness
revival at Shearer Schoolhouse in 1896
and later introduced the Fire-Baptized
Movement to the Camp Creek community.
(Wade H. Phillips Collection)
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A More Complete Timeline
Precise dating of revival events remains challenging. Eyewitness reports are inconsistent because they are reported much later and dependent on imperfect memories. The sparse records from the time often differ from these later eyewitness testimonies. In recent years, newly discovered documents, such as Baptist church records, provide some clarity to the likely sequence of events. A more comprehensive timeline is found in Wade H. Phillips, The Quest to Restore God’s House (page 116):
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The Shearer Schoolhouse in the community of Camp Creek, North Carolina, was the site of a ten-day holiness revival in the spring of 1896. Following the revival, Will Bryant led meetings in the schoolhouse until they were banned by community leaders. |
Revival at Shearer Schoolhouse
Emboldened by their sanctification experience, William Martin and Joseph Tipton, joined by William Hamby and Milton McNabb, began to minister beyond Coker Creek. In the spring of 1896, they preached a ten-day revival at the Shearer Schoolhouse in the North Carolina community of Camp Creek. William Hamby was the brother-in-law of R.G. Spurling, and Milton McNabb was the cousin of nearby farmer, Will Bryant. The evangelists proclaimed the necessity of holiness and called for their hearers to seek sanctification. They were “given to much prayer and fasting,” preached earnestly, and throngs of people responded. Church of God Historian Charles W. Conn wrote, “Almost from the start of the meeting, the altars were filled with repentant sinners and seekers for the experience of sanctification. Many skeptics of holiness were convinced, and many more rough-living sinners were converted.” William Franklin Bryant Jr. (1863–1949) attended the revival. Known as “Will” by his family and friends, Bryant was a bootlegger, farmer, and faithful member of the Liberty Baptist Church. He married Brunetty (Nettie) Anderson (1863–1960), and they had nine children. Having testified of salvation at the age of fourteen, Bryant struggled with his sinful nature and found little solace from his pastor. This is not surprising as Baptists typically |
believed a person was simultaneously a saint and a sinner, so that one can only live a godly life through personal discipline. Failure was tolerated as long as one did not sin too publicly.
Observing the revival at the schoolhouse, Bryant was amazed when those claiming sanctification went to people they had wronged and made their relationships right. He began to seek God for the same experience in his own life. When the revival concluded, Bryant began leading Sunday school and worship services in homes and at the Shearer Schoolhouse. Over the next three years, this Baptist layman became shepherd to a flock of about fifty holiness believers. They did not consider themselves an organized church as most remained members of nearby Baptist congregations.
The ten-day revival at the Shearer Schoolhouse in the spring of 1896 inaugurated a spirit of revival that lasted for several years among those who testified of sanctification. This protracted revival intensified about 1898 with the spread of the Fire-Baptized Movement among the holiness believers.
Observing the revival at the schoolhouse, Bryant was amazed when those claiming sanctification went to people they had wronged and made their relationships right. He began to seek God for the same experience in his own life. When the revival concluded, Bryant began leading Sunday school and worship services in homes and at the Shearer Schoolhouse. Over the next three years, this Baptist layman became shepherd to a flock of about fifty holiness believers. They did not consider themselves an organized church as most remained members of nearby Baptist congregations.
The ten-day revival at the Shearer Schoolhouse in the spring of 1896 inaugurated a spirit of revival that lasted for several years among those who testified of sanctification. This protracted revival intensified about 1898 with the spread of the Fire-Baptized Movement among the holiness believers.
B.H. Irwin, with son Vidalin, taught a “third blessing” called “the fire.” He established the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association in Anderson, South Carolina, in 1898. This movement influenced many holiness believers, including those in Camp Creek.
Fire-Baptized Movement
Established by Benjamin Hardin Irwin (1854–ca.1926), the Fire-Baptized Holiness Movement quickly grew among holiness believers. Highlighting John the Baptist’s prophecy that One was coming who would “baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Matthew 3:11), Irwin experienced what he called a “baptism of fire” in 1895. He then began teaching a “third blessing” following justification and sanctification called “the Holy Ghost and fire.” “The fire” was often accompanied by shouting, dancing, an inward bodily feeling of fire, and even reports of seeing balls of fire. Some also testified of speaking in tongues. After organizing in several states, leaders of the movement met in Anderson, South Carolina, in August 1898, and formed the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association.
The Fire-Baptized Movement emphasized divine healing, taught a strict holiness lifestyle, including no neckties for men, and restoration of various Old Testament dietary laws such as abstaining from unclean meat. Critics referred to them as the “no-hog-meat, no neck-tie people.” Convinced they were living in the last days, they continually sought for more of God’s power, especially to enable evangelization, and they prayed for subsequent deeper, spiritual experiences. When they received experiences not named in Scripture, they turned to scientific and pseudo-scientific language. Intensifying “the fire,” they testified of baptisms of dynamite, lyddite, oxidite, and selenite.
William Martin, Joseph Tipton, Milton McNabb and others who had led the early holiness meetings at Camp Creek became part of the Fire-Baptized Movement. Bryant later reported that “William Martin . . . came back teaching the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, I received that blessing also.” Martin’s ministry about 1898 or 1899 likely initiated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit chronicled by A.J. Tomlinson in The Last Great Conflict. Tomlinson wrote, “The people earnestly sought God, and the interest increased until unexpectedly, like a cloud from a clear sky, the Holy Ghost began to fall on the honest, humble, sincere seekers after God. . . . [O]ne after another fell under the power of God, and soon quite a number were speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Tomlinson continued, “The power of healing was soon realized, and a number of miraculous cases of healings were wrought by the power of God.”
The Lord had done an extraordinary work in the lives of the Camp Creek holiness believers. Despite the remoteness of their mountain community, God poured out His Spirit and Will Bryant and the Church of God were forever changed. Yet, according to Historian Conn, it would be some time later before they “would understand the doctrine, person, and nature of the Holy Spirit.”
Established by Benjamin Hardin Irwin (1854–ca.1926), the Fire-Baptized Holiness Movement quickly grew among holiness believers. Highlighting John the Baptist’s prophecy that One was coming who would “baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Matthew 3:11), Irwin experienced what he called a “baptism of fire” in 1895. He then began teaching a “third blessing” following justification and sanctification called “the Holy Ghost and fire.” “The fire” was often accompanied by shouting, dancing, an inward bodily feeling of fire, and even reports of seeing balls of fire. Some also testified of speaking in tongues. After organizing in several states, leaders of the movement met in Anderson, South Carolina, in August 1898, and formed the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association.
The Fire-Baptized Movement emphasized divine healing, taught a strict holiness lifestyle, including no neckties for men, and restoration of various Old Testament dietary laws such as abstaining from unclean meat. Critics referred to them as the “no-hog-meat, no neck-tie people.” Convinced they were living in the last days, they continually sought for more of God’s power, especially to enable evangelization, and they prayed for subsequent deeper, spiritual experiences. When they received experiences not named in Scripture, they turned to scientific and pseudo-scientific language. Intensifying “the fire,” they testified of baptisms of dynamite, lyddite, oxidite, and selenite.
William Martin, Joseph Tipton, Milton McNabb and others who had led the early holiness meetings at Camp Creek became part of the Fire-Baptized Movement. Bryant later reported that “William Martin . . . came back teaching the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, I received that blessing also.” Martin’s ministry about 1898 or 1899 likely initiated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit chronicled by A.J. Tomlinson in The Last Great Conflict. Tomlinson wrote, “The people earnestly sought God, and the interest increased until unexpectedly, like a cloud from a clear sky, the Holy Ghost began to fall on the honest, humble, sincere seekers after God. . . . [O]ne after another fell under the power of God, and soon quite a number were speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Tomlinson continued, “The power of healing was soon realized, and a number of miraculous cases of healings were wrought by the power of God.”
The Lord had done an extraordinary work in the lives of the Camp Creek holiness believers. Despite the remoteness of their mountain community, God poured out His Spirit and Will Bryant and the Church of God were forever changed. Yet, according to Historian Conn, it would be some time later before they “would understand the doctrine, person, and nature of the Holy Spirit.”
Decline of the Fire-baptized Movement
Most holiness proponents rejected Irwin’s additional spiritual baptisms, but the concept of a post-sanctification experience that provided spiritual power influenced many who later adopted Pentecostal theology. Irwin was especially successful in east Tennessee, including at Beniah, a small community located along the railroad between Cleveland and Charleston. Friends of Irwin donated property in Beniah to establish a School of the Prophets, which might have made Bradley County the headquarters of the movement. But in 1900, Irwin was found to have sinned egregiously, and the Fire-Baptized Movement rapidly collapsed. Those remaining became part of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1911. Spiritual descendants of Irwin include the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, the Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, the Fire Baptized Holiness Church, and Fire Baptized Holiness Church (Wesleyan).
Persecution
The Missionary Baptist churches in and around Camp Creek already opposed the teaching of sanctification, and the introduction of Fire-Baptized theology and experience along with their religious excesses exacerbated the harassment and persecution inflicted on the Holiness flock. Bryant recalled, “A church committee waited on my wife, my daughter, and myself for claiming to live a life above sin and being baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire.” The holiness believers were banned from using the schoolhouse; their wells were polluted, along with other acts of vandalism; and they were shot at and beaten. According to Baptist church records, forty were turned out of the Liberty and Pleasant Hill Churches for teaching erroneous doctrines, including sanctification.
The Holiness band worshipped in homes, as well as a small building Bryant constructed on his property. One evening about twenty-five armed and masked “Night Caps” appeared at the home of Ross and Emeline Allen where holiness believers were worshipping. The mob demanded that the worship stop, or people would be beaten, and their homes burned. This was not an idle threat. Enemies already had burned some of their homes.
The Missionary Baptist churches in and around Camp Creek already opposed the teaching of sanctification, and the introduction of Fire-Baptized theology and experience along with their religious excesses exacerbated the harassment and persecution inflicted on the Holiness flock. Bryant recalled, “A church committee waited on my wife, my daughter, and myself for claiming to live a life above sin and being baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire.” The holiness believers were banned from using the schoolhouse; their wells were polluted, along with other acts of vandalism; and they were shot at and beaten. According to Baptist church records, forty were turned out of the Liberty and Pleasant Hill Churches for teaching erroneous doctrines, including sanctification.
The Holiness band worshipped in homes, as well as a small building Bryant constructed on his property. One evening about twenty-five armed and masked “Night Caps” appeared at the home of Ross and Emeline Allen where holiness believers were worshipping. The mob demanded that the worship stop, or people would be beaten, and their homes burned. This was not an idle threat. Enemies already had burned some of their homes.
Ross and Emeline Allen Family ca. 1902. Emeline is seated left, and Ross is seated center.
(Wade H. Phillips Collection)
The petite Emeline Allen went out to greet the mob and invited them to come inside. Becoming angrier and more boisterous, they refused. Emeline replied with kindness that the worshippers would not stop the meetings until God was finished with them. She countered their threats, “Why don’t you take off that garb and let me fix a meal for you. There’s no cause to hide behind masks when I know every one of you. You are our neighbors. . . . If you take off your garb, I’ll fix you a good meal.” Whether due to Emeline’s boldness or her kindness, the mob slowly disbursed into the darkness.
A sympathetic landowner, Dickson Kilpatrick, gave the Holiness band property near the school to build a house of worship. When enemies tried to burn the meetinghouse, rain put out the fire. When they attempted to destroy it with dynamite, that too failed. In 1900, 106 leading members of the community dismantled the meetinghouse and burned the logs. This blatant vandalism might have led to
their being jailed, except that Will Bryant asked the court to forgive them.
On another occasion, Nettie Bryant and her children were stopped at a creek by an angry man brandishing a shotgun. “Yo’all go back! Old Sankey ain’t never gonna cross this crick,” he shouted. “Old Sankey” was a derisive term for those testifying of sanctification. With little else a mother and young children could do, they prayed and returned home. Decades later, one of the children who was there that day, Julius Bryant, asked Charles Conn about the expansion of the Church of God. Did the Church of God now reach around the world? When Conn affirmed “yes,” Julius Bryant responded with teary eyes, “I guess we crossed the creek after all.”
A sympathetic landowner, Dickson Kilpatrick, gave the Holiness band property near the school to build a house of worship. When enemies tried to burn the meetinghouse, rain put out the fire. When they attempted to destroy it with dynamite, that too failed. In 1900, 106 leading members of the community dismantled the meetinghouse and burned the logs. This blatant vandalism might have led to
their being jailed, except that Will Bryant asked the court to forgive them.
On another occasion, Nettie Bryant and her children were stopped at a creek by an angry man brandishing a shotgun. “Yo’all go back! Old Sankey ain’t never gonna cross this crick,” he shouted. “Old Sankey” was a derisive term for those testifying of sanctification. With little else a mother and young children could do, they prayed and returned home. Decades later, one of the children who was there that day, Julius Bryant, asked Charles Conn about the expansion of the Church of God. Did the Church of God now reach around the world? When Conn affirmed “yes,” Julius Bryant responded with teary eyes, “I guess we crossed the creek after all.”
Responding to Violence
As leader of the Holiness band, Will Bryant considered it vital to respond to violence with love. He recalled, “We lay on our faces and cried to God to keep us sweet and let us do nothing to grieve the Holy Ghost . . . [and] we asked for the signs to follow us more and more.”
A short time later, the Spirit woke Bryant at 2:00 a.m. He agonized in prayer the remainder of the night and was unable to eat the next morning. While he sat at the breakfast table, a man knocked at the door. The caller’s brother lay sick with typhoid fever and desperately needed prayer. Bryant hurried to the man’s home and later testified, “The Holy Ghost fell upon me. We rebuked the fever in the name of Jesus Christ, laid our hands upon him, and anointed him with oil. This poor man sprang up in the bed, screaming at the top of his voice, saying, ‘Oh, mother, mother, God has healed me and saved my soul.’”
For Bryant, this miracle of salvation and healing was a God-given sign to their persecutors. Instead of malice, the sanctified and Spirit-filled believers offered hope and the power of God to the world around them.
As leader of the Holiness band, Will Bryant considered it vital to respond to violence with love. He recalled, “We lay on our faces and cried to God to keep us sweet and let us do nothing to grieve the Holy Ghost . . . [and] we asked for the signs to follow us more and more.”
A short time later, the Spirit woke Bryant at 2:00 a.m. He agonized in prayer the remainder of the night and was unable to eat the next morning. While he sat at the breakfast table, a man knocked at the door. The caller’s brother lay sick with typhoid fever and desperately needed prayer. Bryant hurried to the man’s home and later testified, “The Holy Ghost fell upon me. We rebuked the fever in the name of Jesus Christ, laid our hands upon him, and anointed him with oil. This poor man sprang up in the bed, screaming at the top of his voice, saying, ‘Oh, mother, mother, God has healed me and saved my soul.’”
For Bryant, this miracle of salvation and healing was a God-given sign to their persecutors. Instead of malice, the sanctified and Spirit-filled believers offered hope and the power of God to the world around them.
This mountain cabin is believed to be W.F. Bryant’s home where the Holiness Church at Camp Creek was set in order on May 15, 1902.
The Holiness Church
Living four miles away near Turtletown, Tennessee, R.G. Spurling regularly visited the Holiness band at Camp Creek. He observed how the religious excesses of the Fire-Baptized Movement, continuing persecution, and a lack of pastoral leadership had scattered many. As the number of faithful dwindled, Spurling encouraged Bryant to set in order a church. Yet, having experienced the pain of being excluded from their churches, the holiness believers were reluctant to join another church.
Bryant later remembered, “Brother Spurling kept coming to me and saying, ‘Let’s set a church in order.’ I didn’t much want to. I said, ‘Look at the Baptists and Methodists. All they have had is confusion.’” Bryant continued, “We kept going on for a while, but he came back and said, ‘Let’s set a church in order. We need it.’ I decided we could get along better if we had a church set in order. People kept
coming and causing trouble, and we decided we could do better if we set the church in order.”
Under the leadership of Spurling and R. Frank Porter, who had been appointed Tennessee’s Ruling Elder for the Fire-Baptized Movement in 1899, sixteen people covenanted together as a church in Bryant’s home on May 15, 1902. They had experienced revival, the power of the Holy Spirit, the confusion of religious excesses, and the ravages of persecution. Absolutely convinced of the necessity of sanctification, they named themselves the Holiness Church. Recognizing his spiritual authority, they chose R.G. Spurling as their pastor. According to Tomlinson’s account of these events, they considered themselves to be a continuation of the movement Spurling had begun as the Christian Union in 1886.
Living four miles away near Turtletown, Tennessee, R.G. Spurling regularly visited the Holiness band at Camp Creek. He observed how the religious excesses of the Fire-Baptized Movement, continuing persecution, and a lack of pastoral leadership had scattered many. As the number of faithful dwindled, Spurling encouraged Bryant to set in order a church. Yet, having experienced the pain of being excluded from their churches, the holiness believers were reluctant to join another church.
Bryant later remembered, “Brother Spurling kept coming to me and saying, ‘Let’s set a church in order.’ I didn’t much want to. I said, ‘Look at the Baptists and Methodists. All they have had is confusion.’” Bryant continued, “We kept going on for a while, but he came back and said, ‘Let’s set a church in order. We need it.’ I decided we could get along better if we had a church set in order. People kept
coming and causing trouble, and we decided we could do better if we set the church in order.”
Under the leadership of Spurling and R. Frank Porter, who had been appointed Tennessee’s Ruling Elder for the Fire-Baptized Movement in 1899, sixteen people covenanted together as a church in Bryant’s home on May 15, 1902. They had experienced revival, the power of the Holy Spirit, the confusion of religious excesses, and the ravages of persecution. Absolutely convinced of the necessity of sanctification, they named themselves the Holiness Church. Recognizing his spiritual authority, they chose R.G. Spurling as their pastor. According to Tomlinson’s account of these events, they considered themselves to be a continuation of the movement Spurling had begun as the Christian Union in 1886.
Un avivamiento de santidad en Camp Creek, Carolina del Norte
Un avivamiento de santidad comenzó al este de Tennessee y al oeste de Carolina del Norte a finales del siglo XIX. Una de sus características fue equiparar la santificación con el bautismo del Espíritu según Hechos 2. Este avivamiento llegó a Camp Creek en 1896 cuando cuatro evangelistas predicaron en la escuela Shearer. Will Bryant y otros experimentaron la santificación,
y Bryant se convirtió en pastor de un rebaño de unos cincuenta creyentes en la santidad.
El movimiento de los Bautizados por el Fuego fundado por B.H. Irwin enfatizaba las palabras de Juan el Bautista de que vendría uno que “os bautizaría con el Espíritu Santo y con fuego” (Mateo 3:11). Irwin enseñó una tercera bendición llamada “el fuego”. Algunos también hablaban en lenguas, incluyendo a William Martin quien trajo el movimiento de los Bautizados en Fuego a Camp Creek alrededor de 1898. A.J. Tomlinson escribió: “[U]no tras otro cayó bajo el poder de Dios, y en seguida un gran número hablaban en otras lenguas según el Espíritu les daba que hablasen”.
Las iglesias Bautistas Misioneras persiguieron a los creyentes de la santidad. R.G. Spurling animó al rebaño de santidad a organizar una iglesia, lo que hicieron el 15 de mayo de 1902, con Spurling como pastor. Se llamaron a sí mismos la Iglesia de la Santidad en Camp Creek.
y Bryant se convirtió en pastor de un rebaño de unos cincuenta creyentes en la santidad.
El movimiento de los Bautizados por el Fuego fundado por B.H. Irwin enfatizaba las palabras de Juan el Bautista de que vendría uno que “os bautizaría con el Espíritu Santo y con fuego” (Mateo 3:11). Irwin enseñó una tercera bendición llamada “el fuego”. Algunos también hablaban en lenguas, incluyendo a William Martin quien trajo el movimiento de los Bautizados en Fuego a Camp Creek alrededor de 1898. A.J. Tomlinson escribió: “[U]no tras otro cayó bajo el poder de Dios, y en seguida un gran número hablaban en otras lenguas según el Espíritu les daba que hablasen”.
Las iglesias Bautistas Misioneras persiguieron a los creyentes de la santidad. R.G. Spurling animó al rebaño de santidad a organizar una iglesia, lo que hicieron el 15 de mayo de 1902, con Spurling como pastor. Se llamaron a sí mismos la Iglesia de la Santidad en Camp Creek.
Heritage Resources
- “History of Pentecost.” The Faithful Standard, September 1922, 5-6, 20.
- Synan, Vinson and Daniel Woods. Fire Baptized: The Many Lives and Works of Benjamin Harding Irwin. Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2017.
David G. Roebuck, Ph.D. is director at the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center, assistant professor of the history of Christianity at Lee University, and church historian for the Church of God (Cleveland, TN).