The Brownsville Revival (also known as the Pensacola Outpouring) was a widely reported Christian revival within the Pentecostal movement that began on Father's Day June 18, 1995, at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Characteristics of the Brownsville Revival movement, as with other Christian religious revivals, included acts of repentance by parishioners and a call to holiness, inspired by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Some of the occurrences in this revival fit the description of moments of religious ecstasy. More than four million people are reported to have attended the revival meetings from its beginnings in 1995 to around 2000.

Description

One writer offered this description of the revival in 1998:

History

In 1993, two years before the revival began, Brownsville's pastor, John Kilpatrick, began directing his congregation to pray for revival. Over the next two years, he talked constantly about bringing revival to the church, even going as far as to threaten to leave the church if it didn't accept the revival. However, the church told local news reporters that it did not keep records of the healings. In 1997, the leaders of the revival—Hill, Kilpatrick, and Lindell Cooley (Brownsville's worship director)—went to several cities (Anaheim, Dallas, St. Louis, Lake Charles (Louisiana), Toledo, and Birmingham) and held like meetings. They named this ministry "Awake America".

The primary part of the revival ended in 2000 when Hill moved on to pursue other works. After a long bout with cancer, Hill died in March 2014. Cooley left in October 2003. Until 2006, the church continued to hold special Friday-night services that were a continuation of the revival, but amidst falling congregations, the church fell heavily into debt.

Aftermath

During the revival, nearly 200,000 accepted Christianity, and by the Fall of 2000 more than 1,000 people who experienced the revival were enrolled at the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry.

One follow-on revival, often called the Smithton Outpouring, occurred in the small town of Smithton, Missouri, at Smithton Community Church. It was significant because it was not connected with the Assemblies of God. The pastor, Steve Gray, visited the Brownsville Revival in 1996 while in the midst of personal turmoil, returned to his church of 150 members and hosted a 3-year revival which saw about 250,000 visitors. The revival is also significant because the ministry of Steve Gray and a significant number of his followers remain active in Kansas City, where 85% of the congregation moved in 2000. The ministry he pastors, World Revival Church, emphasizes the attitude and mission of revival.

In 2001 there was a mini-split which occurred between the leadership of the Brownville Revival Church and the leadership of the Brownville Revival School of Ministry. This split for many marked the end of the Revival. This led to the creation of The F.I.R.E. School of Ministry (Fellowship for International Revival and Evangelism) under the former leader of B.R.S.M., Dr. Michael Brown. B.R.S.M. continued to offer classes for several years before being merged into a Ministry of Tommy Tenney. As of Sep 2025 the Fire School of Ministry was still operating in Concord, North Carolina.

Criticism

The meetings were criticized by some Christians and by the local news media. The Pensacola News Journal ran a series of investigative articles which focused on the donations raised during the meetings and where those funds went, as well as the claims of miraculous healings at the services and the spontaneity of the revival's beginnings. The newspaper revealed that a videotape of the Father's Day service that sparked the revival showed it was far less dramatic than later claimed. Brownsville Assembly of God responded to the paper's allegations by publishing a paid advertisement (thus shielding them from a response from the paper) in the News Journal entitled, "The Facts of The Brownsville Revival".

Hank Hanegraaff, a well known cessationist and author of the book Counterfeit Revival, criticized the revival for "serious distortions of biblical Christianity" in the meetings, comparing the physical manifestations to pagan practices.

J Lee Grady, editor for Charisma Magazine, was critical of the division that had grown within the leadership at the last stage of the revival. He also reported that numerous former attendees now attend local Baptist churches.

See also

  • 2023 Asbury revival
  • Toronto Blessing

References

  • Pensacola Pursued Brownsville Revival in Two Steps , by J. Lowe Davis, Pensacola News Journal,
  • In Florida, a Revival That Came but Didn't Go, by Rick Bragg, New York Times, May 27, 1997