Bethel Bible College or Bethel Gospel School was a Bible college

Bible college

Bible colleges are institutions of higher education that specialize in biblical studies. Curriculum is Bible-based and differs from that of liberal arts colleges or research universities. Bible colleges generally exclude the study of philosophy, unlike seminaries and theological colleges...

 founded in 1900 by Charles Parham at Topeka, Kansas

Topeka, Kansas

Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

. The school is credited with starting the Pentecostal movement due to a series of fasting days that ended in what was interpreted as speaking in tongues on January 1, 1901. Although the school would close later in 1901 after less than two years of operation, the movement itself grew substantially to tens of millions of people around the world.

Pentecostalism begins

Forty students including Agnes Ozman

Agnes Ozman

Agnes Ozman was a female student at Charles Fox Parham's Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas. Ozman was considered by many as “the first to speak in tongues”. Her experiences sparked the modern Pentecostal-Holiness movement, which began in the early 20th century...

 and William J. Seymour

William J. Seymour

William Joseph Seymour was an African American minister, and an initiator of the Pentecostal religious movement.-Biography:...

 had gathered to learn the major tenets of the Holiness Movement

Holiness movement

The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...

 from Parham. Parham wondered about the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 evidence for baptism in the Holy Spirit. He went on a three-day trip and asked his students to ponder this question while he was gone. They concluded that glossolalia

Glossolalia

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...

 or speaking in tongues was proof that the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

 had fallen on an individual. Ozman was the first student to speak in tongues and Seymour would take this teaching Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 where he would start the Azusa Street Revival

Azusa Street Revival

The Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915...

. Today many Pentecostal denominations trace their beginnings to Bethel and Azusa Street.