The Methodists, in their turn, became targets for change. A Methodist minister, William Booth (1865-1912), focused on more and greater benevolence. He viewed Christianity as so spiritual that it needed neither baptism nor the Lord’s Supper. His workers were organized by military ranks, with Booth as the top general. Thus began the Salvation Army (1865).
Another Methodist offshoot, the Wesleyan Holiness movement took a different direction. William Seymour, a student of faith healer Charles Parham, began (1906) the Azusa Street Revival. Perhaps encouraged by Wesley’s warm feeling, they emphasized emotional experiences, as well as holiness and faith for miracles. They especially found in “speaking in tongues” (verbal sounds) proof of Spirit baptism. From Azusa Street, varied forms of Pentecostalism spread worldwide, especially to the poor who welcomed guarantees of health and wealth. Today there are at least 700 Pentecostal denominations, each distinguished by its peculiar doctrines and practices.
Pentecostal claims to special visions have been widely imitated. For example, South Africa’s largest African-initiated church is the Zion Christian Church. Its founder, Engenas Lekganyane, having been influenced by a Pentecostal missionary, began his own church based on divine revelation (1910). Today, many millions of Africans belong to a wide range of other “Zionist” and “prophet-healing” churches. Similar movements flourish across the world, often mixing traditional magic with miracles they attribute to the Holy Spirit.