In this text, William Kostlevy uncovers the forgotten roots of American Pentecostalism by telling the story of one of the most important of these radical communal societies, the Metropolitan Church Association.

In this groundbreaking book, William Kostlevy presents a fascinating study of the Metropolitan Church Association (MCA), a religious community founded in Chicago in the early 1890s. The MCA was one of the most controversial societies of the era. Its members were called "jumpers" because of their acrobatic worship style, and "Burning Bushers" after their caustic periodical, the Burning Bush. They objected to the concept of private property, rejected "elite" denominations, and professed an alternative, radical vision of Christianity, using modern music and folk art to spread their message. A product of the holiness revival of the late nineteenth century and a catalyst for Pentecostalism, the MCA played a vital role in the twentieth century growth of evangelical Christianity, yet it has long been ignored in studies of American radicalism, of communal societies, and even of holiness and Pentecostal Christianity. Kostlevy rectifies this omission, providing a valuable new context for understanding the origins of Pentecostalism. He investigates the internal struggles of the Holiness Movement, showing how radically divergent theological currents came to dominate a major segment of the American evangelical community. He also shows how deeply the MCA impacted the lives of twentieth century evangelists Bud Robinson and Seth C. Rees, self-designated first woman bishop Alma White, and Pentecostal evangelists A. G. Garr and Glenn Cook. As Holy Jumpers demonstrates, Holiness Christians, and the MCA in particular, played a profoundly formative role in the development of modern evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity.

The 1906 earthquake of Pentecostalism at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California, sent a jolt to Washington, DC, during 1906–1907. This Washington, DC, shock wave began when a group of women read and acted upon reports in the Azusa Street Mission’s Apostolic Faith newspaper. This event resulted in the creation and development of an influential church in the District of Columbia, Full Gospel Assembly. In a well-researched examination of a little-recognized and nearly forgotten religious community in Washington, DC, retired United States Army chaplain Don Kammer explores the church’s beginnings as part of the early twentieth-century Pentecostal and Charismatic revival. Full Gospel Assembly was an example of an early Pentecostal-evangelistic fusion, a common element in today’s American evangelical religion. Kammer identifies the challenges, successes, and the impact on the surrounding DC community. As he leads others through FGA’s fascinating history, Kammer explains why the story of FGA is important, reflects upon the conflicted definitions of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity, describes popular malign portraits of holy rollers and tongue talkers, tells the tales of meetings on the Electric Street Railway Line, in theaters, in Parlor Houses, identifies denominational influence, and much more. The Full Gospel Assembly (FGA) of Washington, DC, 1907–1934 is a fascinating and comprehensive examination of the neglected history of an early twentieth-century revival with ties to the 1906 Azusa Street Mission and revival.