Brownsville Revival

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The Brownsville Revival (also known as The Pensacola Outpouring) was a widely-reported religious phenomenon that began within the Pentecostal movement in 1995. The revival began unexpectedly at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida on Father's Day. Pastor John Kilpatrick had invited evangelist Steve Hill to be the guest speaker for the day, and while Hill was ministering, the Holy Spirit began to manifest His power and that hundreds of people came to faith in Christ. Characteristics of the movement included repentance, a call to holiness and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Some of the occurrences in this revival fit the description of moments of religious ecstasy.

Though the primary part of the revival ended in 2000 when Hill relocated his ministry to Dallas, Texas to resume evangelistic crusades, the church continues to hold special Friday-night services that are a continuation of the event. More than three million people are reported to have attended the meetings since their inception.

In 2003, Hill founded a church in the Dallas area where he now serves as senior pastor. Kilpatrick resigned as Brownsville Assembly of God's senior pastor in 2003 to form an evangelistic association of his own.

The meetings came under criticism 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 News Journal had initially written glowing reports about the revival from the time it began, but began a four-month investigation after former members told reporters that all was not as it appeared at the church. The series won George Polk awards from such groups as National Headliner, Scripps-Howard Foundation and Society of Professional Journalists, but was roundly criticized by evangelicals throughout the country as a "hit piece" against the church and the meetings. Brownsville Assembly of God answered the Pensacola News-Journal's allegations by publishing a two-page spread in the News-Journal entitled, "The Facts of The Brownsville Revival."

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