Charles Fox Parham

Charles was a man who preached. He shared his ideas with many people. He helped start a new way to pray. This way is called Pentecostalism.

Charles believed people could speak in tongues. This means speaking in a way that sounds like a new language. He thought this was a sign from God.

He started a Bible school in Kansas. He did not charge money for it. He wanted people to study the Bible.

Charles also taught that prayer could help sick people. He believed God could heal them. This idea helped his group grow.

Some people did not agree with him. They said mean things about his work. This made it hard for him to lead later on.

Charles Fox Parham was an American preacher. He helped start a new faith called Pentecostalism. He worked with a man named William J. Seymour to spread these ideas. Parham taught that speaking in tongues was a sign from God. Speaking in tongues means speaking in a way that sounds like a new language. He called this a sign of the Holy Spirit.

Parham started a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas. He did not charge any money for the school. He wanted people to study the Bible to learn about God. He also believed that prayer could heal sick people. After his own son got sick, Parham stopped using doctors. He chose to trust only in prayer for healing.

His ideas spread to many places like Texas and Oklahoma. He even sent people to Los Angeles to share his message. One of these people was William J. Seymour. Seymour's work in Los Angeles became very important to the movement.

However, Parham had many problems. Some people did not like his style. He also faced legal trouble in Texas. People made serious claims about his private life. These claims hurt his reputation. Because of this, his influence grew much smaller over time.

Charles Fox Parham was an American preacher and evangelist. He was a central figure in starting the Pentecostal movement. This movement is often called Holiness Pentecostalism. Parham is known for a very specific idea. He taught that speaking in tongues was a sign of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. This idea is called the doctrine of evidential tongues. It helped make Pentecostalism a unique and separate movement.

Parham's life changed after his son, Claude, became ill in 1897. Parham believed that prayer helped them get well. Because of this, he decided to stop using doctors. He began to preach about divine healing instead. In 1898, he moved to Topeka, Kansas. There, he started a mission and a magazine called Apostolic Faith. He also opened the Bethel Healing Home. Parham did not ask for money during his services. He believed God would provide what he needed to work.

In 1900, Parham took a break to study other religious groups. He spent a lot of time with Frank Sandford in Maine. When he returned, he started Bethel Bible College in Topeka. This school was very different from others. He did not charge any money for students to attend. He even asked people to sell what they owned to join him. The only textbook used was the Bible. Students spent their time in deep prayer and study.

On January 1, 1901, a student named Agnes Ozman had a big experience. She felt she received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Right after being prayed for, she began to speak in tongues. This event helped shape the movement. Parham's ideas soon spread to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In 1906, he worked in Houston, Texas. There, he met William J. Seymour. Parham sent Seymour and another woman, Lucy Farrow, to Los Angeles. Seymour's work there became the Azusa Street Revival.

Parham's life was not always easy. He faced many hard times and arguments. Some people criticized his style or his views on race. He believed in keeping people of different races separate. However, he also reached out to African Americans and Mexican Americans. In 1907, he faced legal trouble in San Antonio, Texas. People made serious claims about his private life. The District Attorney eventually dropped the case. Parham said the charges were false. Still, these events hurt his reputation. His influence grew much smaller in his later years.

Charles Fox Parham was a prominent American preacher and evangelist. He was a central figure in the development of early Pentecostalism. This specific movement is often called Holiness Pentecostalism. Parham is most famous for connecting glossolalia with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Glossolalia is the technical term for speaking in tongues. He was the first to articulate the doctrine of evidential tongues. This doctrine states that speaking in tongues is the physical evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. This theological connection helped Pentecostalism emerge as a distinct religious movement.

Parham was born on June 4, 1873, in Muscatine, Iowa. He was one of five sons born to William and Ann Parham. His family moved to Cheney, Kansas, by covered wagon in 1878. His father was a landowner who raised cattle and ran a business. After his mother died in 1885, his father married Harriet Miller. Harriet was a devout Christian and a daughter of a Methodist circuit rider. The Parham home became a place for various religious activities. Charles later married Sarah Thistlewaite, who was the daughter of a Quaker.

His religious career began quite early in his life. Parham started conducting his first religious services at age 15. He began as a lay preacher in the Congregational Church. Later, he joined the Methodist denomination. He enrolled at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, in 1890. He attended the Methodist-affiliated school until 1893. Parham eventually left college because he believed formal education would hinder his ministry. He worked as a supply pastor in the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he left that church in 1895 due to disagreements with its hierarchy. He felt preachers should be led by direct inspiration rather than church rules.

A major turning point occurred in September 1897. Parham's son, Claude, fell ill along with his father. Parham attributed their recovery to divine intervention. Because of this experience, he renounced all medical help. He committed himself to preaching divine healing and prayer for the sick. In 1898, he moved his headquarters to Topeka, Kansas. He operated a mission and an office there. He also established the Bethel Healing Home. Parham published the Apostolic Faith magazine during this time. He operated on a "faith" basis, meaning he did not collect offerings during services. He believed God would provide for his ministry directly.

In 1900, Parham took a sabbatical to study other religious movements. He spent much of this time at the ministry of Frank Sandford in Maine. He also visited religious campaigns in Ontario, Canada. Parham incorporated some of Sandford's ideas into his own teachings. He also adopted Sandford's model for Bible schools. Upon his return, Parham started Bethel Bible College in Topeka. This school was modeled after Sandford's "Holy Ghost and Us Bible School." Parham charged no tuition for the students. He invited people to sell everything they owned to join him for study and prayer. About 40 people and their dependents responded to this call. The only textbook used was the Bible.

The movement reached a critical moment at the college. By the end of 1900, Parham's students were studying the Bible for signs of the Holy Spirit. On January 1, 1901, a student named Agnes Ozman asked to be prayed for. Immediately after prayer, she began to speak in tongues. This was believed to be a known language. This event helped define the Pentecostal experience. Parham's influence grew in the mining towns of Missouri and Kansas. In 1903, he preached in El Dorado Springs, Missouri. A report in the Joplin News Herald stated that 1,000 people had been healed. It also claimed that 800 people had experienced conversion.

Parham's movement eventually spread to Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond. In 1906, he worked in Houston, Texas. His ministry there influenced several African Americans. One notable person was William J. Seymour. Parham sent Lucy Farrow, a black woman and cook at his school, to Los Angeles. He also sent Seymour to join her. Seymour's work in Los Angeles became the Azusa Street Revival. This revival is often called the birthplace of Pentecostalism. However, Seymour and Parham eventually disagreed. Seymour broke with Parham over his views on racial segregation. Parham was a supporter of racial separation and the Ku Klux Klan. Yet, he was also the first to reach out to African American and Mexican American communities.

Parham's influence declined due to several scandals and legal issues. In 1906, allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. In 1907, he was arrested in San Antonio, Texas. He was charged with an "unnatural offense" alongside a co-defendant. Parham denied these charges, and the District Attorney eventually dropped the case. Parham believed he was being framed by an opponent named Wilbur Voliva. Despite the case being dropped, the stigma remained. Opponents distributed posters containing a supposed confession. These events made it difficult for Parham to recover his reputation. His influence in the religious world waned significantly in his later years.