Some cities seem to be places of destiny. Topeka Kansas is one of those cities.
Founded in 1854, the year that the Kansas – Nebraska act brought armed conflict between free and slavery forces, it became the capital of Kansas in 1861 when the state joined the union. With the population of just over 100,000 it never grew like Kansas City to the East, nor did it become legendary like Abilene and Dodge City to the West. Yet it was in this backwater city that God chose to pour out His Spirit for a new Pentecost.
The Pentecostal breakout began with Charles Parham, a young Methodist minister who had held interdenominational revival and healing meetings beginning in 1896. In 1900 he established a Bible school at a building known as Stone’s Folly in Topeka. There the Holy Spirit fell on a group of students who were seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. The Pentecostal movement was born in Topeka on January 1, 1901.
From Topeka the Pentecostal revival spread all over the world. The movement broke down denominational barriers and even broke down racial barriers. In 1906 the famous Azuza Street revival was led by a black man, William J. Seymour. But in Topeka, unfortunately, Parahm’s school was closed down and Stone’s Folly became a brothel before it burned to the ground.
But God was not finished with Topeka. In 1954 Topeka became a flash point for racial reconciliation as the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in Brown vs Topeka Board of Education. Christian leaders like Billy Graham had been calling out the evil of segregation, but the spirit breakthrough to end segregation came in Topeka. Like the Pentecostal movement before, the Brown case moved far beyond Topeka, finally bringing an end to segregation.
God was also not finished with Stone’s Folly in Topeka. A farmer built his home on the foundation of Stone’s Folly and in 1946, the Catholic Diocese of Lawrence brought the property as an orphanage. Then came the Catholic Charismatic renewal of 1968, and a growing awareness of significance of Stone’s Folly to the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. In the last few years Stone’s Folly has become a meeting place to receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit and foster unity of Christians.
This week Christians are preparing for Pentecost (See www.Pentecost .cmax.tv) and celebrating the 67th anniversary of the Brown case in Topeka.
We ask that you join us in prayer for another Holy Spirit breakthrough from Topeka, combining both the Pentecostal outpouring and the racial reconciliation breakthroughs of the past.
Dr. David Cole from the King’s University in Dallas summarizes this work of the Spirit.
“The Holy Spirit’s Outpouring is for everyone… Breaking down barriers of race, class, and gender”
Amen