Smith Honored with Spirit of Azusa Award
Cleveland, TN–The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center recently honored Evangelist Jacqueline E. Smith, DD, with their Spirit of Azusa Award. The award presentation and a reception in Smith’s honor was part of the Twentieth Annual Azusa Lecture held in the Lee University Chapel on November 11.
In presenting the award, Dixon Pentecostal Research Center Director Dr. David Roebuck stated that the purpose of the award is to honor those who represent the ongoing work that God did at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. He observed, “There are many characteristics of that revival that we could highlight including an emphasis on Pentecost, a sense of global mission, and the ministry of evangelism.”
Roebuck related several aspects of Smith’s life and ministry including that she was a trained classical singer with the potential to spend her life in the performing arts. Following her conversion, however, God called her into ministry. An ordained minister in the Church of God, Smith has been in full-time ministry for more than 45 years. She has preached in 39 countries and 48 states in camp meetings, conferences, retreats, youth camps, and revivals.
Left to Right: Dixon Pentecostal Research Center Director Dr. David G. Roebuck; Spirit of Azusa Award Honoree Evangelist Jacqueline E. Smith, DD; and Azusa Lecturer Dr. Cecil M. Robeck (click photo to enlarge)
Evangelist Smith has received numerous opportunities and honors. In 2001, she was the first woman to be appointed as a National Evangelist in the Church of God; in 2006, she was selected to preach during a Church of God General Assembly evening service; and in 2018, she was the first single African American woman to be inducted into the Hall of Prophets at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. This year, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary honored her with the Doctor of Divinity degree during their 50th Anniversary Commencement in May. Roebuck added that as a content single woman, Smith has developed a distinctive ministry to singles and one of her greatest joys is preaching during Ministry to the Military events.
Smith’s own description of her call is that of a prophetess as described in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave to some, apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers.” In identifying herself as a prophetess, Smith sees her ministry as calling God’s people back to Him through repentance and obedience. She desires to lead the church into a stronger Word-centered faith and a deeper communion with the Lord.
Concluding his description of Smith’s ministry, Roebuck quoted the author of a Church of God Evangel article describing her as a “woman on fire.” The article continued, “She quakes with strength as the Holy Spirit moves upon her. She steps out from her pew. With tremor and love; she lays hands on the broken, the wounded, and the dejected. Her beautiful apparel speaks of her royal calling, and her engagement with our community exemplifies her humility.”
In accepting the Spirit of Azusa Award, Smith responded that “Thank you is not enough!” She related that when God called her to preach, she had questions about whether she would have opportunities in a denomination with international offices in the southern United States. Yet, invitations came, and she learned that the best place for anyone to be is in God’s will. She recalled that God promised her many spiritual sons and daughters, several of whom were present in the Lee Chapel to honor Smith.
Prior to the award presentation, Dr. Cecil M. Robeck offered the Azusa Lecture entitled “Fields White unto Harvest: Lessons from the Azusa Street Revival.” Robeck is an Assemblies of God minister and Senior Professor of Church History at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he has taught since 1974. At Fuller, he has served in numerous administrative positions including director of the David J. du Plessis Center for Christian Spirituality and associate dean for Academic Programs in the School of Theology. His long-term historical research centers on the Azusa Street Mission and Revival and its African American pastor, William Seymour. He authored The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement, which received the Society for Pentecostal Studies’ Pneuma Award.
Other participants in the Azusa Lecture program included Lee University’s Evangelistic Singers under the direction of Ms. Glorida Scott-Richmond and Mr. James Vassell; Dr. Dale Coulter; and Dr. Sean O’Neal, who represented the Church of God Ministry of Evangelism. Roebuck also acknowledged the generosity of contributors who made the lecture and award presentation possible.
The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center launched the annual Azusa Lecture and Spirit of Azusa Award in 2006 on the centennial of the renowned Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. What started as a home prayer meeting attracted throngs of seekers as hundreds traveled to the Azusa Street Mission, received a personal baptism with the Holy Spirit, and took that message to their homes, churches, and communities.
Founded by Charles W. Conn as a research library on the campus of Lee University, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is one of the world’s premiere collections of Pentecostal resources as well as the archives of the Church of God. Scholars, students, and church leaders utilize the center’s holdings related to the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement. Dr. Roebuck serves as director, and the Reverend David “Gene” Mills, Jr. is archivist.
The Twentieth Annual Azusa Lecture and Spirit of Azusa Award presentation can be viewed online by clicking here.
