Revival in Brownsville: Pensacola, Pentecostalism, and the Power of American Revivalism

The Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, could never be described as a typical house of worship. After all, what kind of church draws more than 2 million people to its services in only three years? What is it about this church that makes drunks go dry, prostitutes go celibate, gays and lesbians go straight, and more than 20,000 sinners of all kinds rush down to the altar to get right with God. In spite of its tremendous success, Brownsville, like other contemporary and historic revivals, has its critics. They ask, is the Brownsville experience the moving of the Holy Spirit, or is it an enormous Holy Hoax?