In the summer of 1907 Gaston Barnabas Cashwell journeyed to Birmingham, Alabama to share the Pentecostal experience that he had recently received at the Storied Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. Cashwell, who now is seen as “the Apostle of Pentecost to the South,” was a member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church of North Carolina. In January 1907 he brought Pentecost to the South in Dunn, North Carolina in what is now known as “Azusa Street East.”
After this he made a six-month whirlwind tour of the South attracting large crowds to his Pentecostal message. One of these trips was to Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1907 where many people came to learn about the new tongues attested baptism in the Holy Spirit. Coming to hear him were important future leaders of the Pentecostal movement. Among these were: A.J. Tomlinson, General Overseer of the Church of God, and M.M. Pinson and H. G. Rogers who later became two of the founding fathers of the Assemblies of God in 1914. Another was O.N. Todd, Sr., who was pastor of the Birmingham Fire-Baptized Holiness Church, which after 1911 was known as the First Pentecostal Holiness Church of Birmingham.
In January 1908, Cashwell preached at the General Assembly of the Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee where Tomlinson received the Pentecostal experience. After this the Church of God became a fully Pentecostal denomination. The Birmingham visit of Cashwell in 1907 was a historic turning point in bringing Pentecost to the Southern states.
After this he made a six-month whirlwind tour of the South attracting large crowds to his Pentecostal message. One of these trips was to Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1907 where many people came to learn about the new tongues attested baptism in the Holy Spirit. Coming to hear him were important future leaders of the Pentecostal movement. Among these were: A.J. Tomlinson, General Overseer of the Church of God, and M.M. Pinson and H. G. Rogers who later became two of the founding fathers of the Assemblies of God in 1914. Another was O.N. Todd, Sr., who was pastor of the Birmingham Fire-Baptized Holiness Church, which after 1911 was known as the First Pentecostal Holiness Church of Birmingham.
In January 1908, Cashwell preached at the General Assembly of the Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee where Tomlinson received the Pentecostal experience. After this the Church of God became a fully Pentecostal denomination. The Birmingham visit of Cashwell in 1907 was a historic turning point in bringing Pentecost to the Southern states.
[Editor's Comment: Birmingham, Alabama is the place of my birth, December 15, 1932. I was born in the Hilman Hospital which is now a small part of the University of Alabama Medical Center.
Joseph "Pappy" Campbell is also from Birmingham. His mother, Mary Campbell, was a close friend of my mother, Julia Payne Morgan.
I truly believe that God still has His eye on Birmingham for a great awakening and a Pentecostal Revival unlike anything we've ever seen. God has strategically placed Jonathan Potter and his wife, Lisa, there. Jon is the pastor of Canvas Pentecostal Holiness Church. Jon is a son of the late Wesley Potter, and his mother is Peggie Flowers Potter who resides in Houston, TX. They need our prayers as they go through a transition time in their ministry. It is my belief that God is working behind the scenes to bring this whole matter of a Pentecostal Holiness Church in Birmingham and or Hoover which is south of Birmingham to a positive outcome, and a victory that only God can achieve.
Let us pray that God will grant wisdom, strength, guidance, and grace to Jon and Lisa. I am reminded of a Scripture that says,
Isaiah 54:17
17 "No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,"
Says the Lord.
NKJV
So, now is the time for Jon and Lisa Potter to take courage and not be afraid. Stand fast on what God has promised you and your congregation. God is not limited in financial resources to provide for you what you need to close the deal that belongs to you and your congregation.
We are now in Holy Week. Look for special events and meetings to occur this week that will bring balance and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit for Canvass Church. God is fighting your battles for you.
No good thing will God withhold from you and your congregation that is standing with you in commitment and loyalty.]
Joseph "Pappy" Campbell is also from Birmingham. His mother, Mary Campbell, was a close friend of my mother, Julia Payne Morgan.
I truly believe that God still has His eye on Birmingham for a great awakening and a Pentecostal Revival unlike anything we've ever seen. God has strategically placed Jonathan Potter and his wife, Lisa, there. Jon is the pastor of Canvas Pentecostal Holiness Church. Jon is a son of the late Wesley Potter, and his mother is Peggie Flowers Potter who resides in Houston, TX. They need our prayers as they go through a transition time in their ministry. It is my belief that God is working behind the scenes to bring this whole matter of a Pentecostal Holiness Church in Birmingham and or Hoover which is south of Birmingham to a positive outcome, and a victory that only God can achieve.
Let us pray that God will grant wisdom, strength, guidance, and grace to Jon and Lisa. I am reminded of a Scripture that says,
Isaiah 54:17
17 "No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,"
Says the Lord.
NKJV
So, now is the time for Jon and Lisa Potter to take courage and not be afraid. Stand fast on what God has promised you and your congregation. God is not limited in financial resources to provide for you what you need to close the deal that belongs to you and your congregation.
We are now in Holy Week. Look for special events and meetings to occur this week that will bring balance and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit for Canvass Church. God is fighting your battles for you.
No good thing will God withhold from you and your congregation that is standing with you in commitment and loyalty.]