 Dr. Wilfredo Estrada Adorno will present the Eleventh Annual Azusa Lecture, “Pentecost’s Island Journey: Azusa to Hawaii to Puerto Rico” on Tuesday, October 25, at 7:00 p.m. in the North Cleveland Church of God Dixon Chapel. Following Estrada’s presentation, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center will honor Dr. Víctor Pagán with the Spirit of Azusa Award and a reception for his life-long leadership of the Pentecostal Movement. The lecture and reception honoring Pagán are free and open to the public.
Those unable to attend the event may view it live at the North Cleveland Church of God website nccog.com. Click on the “Watch Online” tab at the top of the webpage. Estrada is the founder and director of the Center for Latino Studies at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, where he is also Professor of Practical Theology and Latino Studies. His early ministry as pastor and regional director of Church of God Sunday School and Youth were in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. After studying at Lee University, the University of Puerto Rico, and Emory University, he returned to Puerto Rico where he was educational director and president of the Pentecostal Bible College as well as Professor of Religion at the Inter-American University. He also served as Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies at Lee College. While in Puerto Rico, Dr. Estrada worked as Vice President for Evangelism Explosion for Latin America and as General Secretary of the Puerto Rican Bible Society. A respected community leader, he was called on to serve on several commissions related to the government of the island. Estrada is the author of several books including two recent titles on the occasion of the centennial of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico: The Route of Puerto Rican Pentecostalism and The Fire is Lit. Following the lecture, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center will honor Dr. Víctor Pagán with the Spirit of Azusa Award and a reception. Pagán is the founder and director of VIDA Foundation, which provides scholarships for students around the world and pastoral care retreats for ministerial couples. He has served the Church of God as Administrative Bishop of Puerto Rico and four Spanish-language regions in the United States, Field Director of South America, and Assistant Director of World Missions. Church of God bishops elected him to serve 16 years on the International Executive Council, and the International Executive Committee has appointed him to several ministry boards including Hispanic Ministries, Editorial and Publications, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, the Hispanic Institute of Ministry, and World Missions. According to Church of God Historian Dr. David Roebuck, “Dr. Pagán is an exemplary model of a Christian servant. His confident sense of call and vision undergirded with a gentle spirit bring to my mind the leadership of William J. Seymour. Seymour was pastor of the extraordinary Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles and is seen by many as the spiritual father of the modern Pentecostal movement. Like Seymour, Dr. Pagán has led with grace, courage, determination, and effectiveness in whatever setting or culture he was asked to serve.” The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is sponsoring the Eleventh Annual Azusa Lecture in partnership with other Church of God ministries. The purpose of the Azusa Lecture is to celebrate the rich heritage of the Pentecostal Movement. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center launched the annual lecture in 2006 on the occasion of the centennial of the revival at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. Church of God Historian Charles W. Conn noted that the Los Angeles revival, which lasted from 1906 to 1909, “is universally regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal Movement.” The Los Angeles revival began when African-American Pastor William J. Seymour preached a message of Spirit baptism following salvation and sanctification. What started as a home prayer meeting attracted throngs of seekers and was moved to an abandoned church building at 312 Azusa Street. Hundreds traveled to the Azusa Street Mission, received a personal baptism of the Holy Spirit, and took that message to their homes, churches, and communities. The Pentecostal Movement quickly became a great missionary movement, and the twentieth century came to be called the “Century of the Holy Spirit.” Founded by Dr. Charles W. Conn on the campus of Lee University, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is one of the world’s significant collections of Pentecostal materials as well as the archives of the Church of God. In addition to students at Lee University and the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, numerous scholars use the Center’s holdings related to the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement. Dr. David G. Roebuck is director. For more information about the Azusa Lecture contact the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center at 423-614-8576 or dixon_research@leeuniversity.edu.
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