I wonder what it would have been like to be in the upper room when the Holy Ghost was poured out in Acts 2:2. The previous chapter records that approximately 120 people were in that room and had been having a prayer meeting for several days. I can imagine that the intensity of that prayer meeting fluctuated throughout that time. The people had to have become tired and hungry, thus taking the time to sleep and eat. However, I am sure that the passion of the prayer meeting was building on that Day of Pentecost and climaxed as the Holy Ghost swept in in dramatic fashion.

            Acts 1:14 records that women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, were in that upper room: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” How exciting it must have been to be included among the first group of believers to experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit! And women were a part of it.

            In the Book of Acts, Luke records many of the experiences of the new church. We read of the change in the apostle Peter as the Holy Spirit gave him boldness to stand before the crowd in Jerusalem to proclaim that what had happened in the upper room was simply the fulfillment of a prophecy of old. Persecution scattered the apostles soon after, but it did not stop them from spreading the gospel. Samaritans received the Holy Ghost in chapter 8. Cornelius—a Gentile—and his household were baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in chapter 10.

            After the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Paul), he began his journeys, preaching the gospel in various cities across the land. He quickly became a leader, and we read of his dealings with and exhortations to groups of new Christians. The final verse of Acts records that Paul continued to share the gospel to all that came to him, “preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31).

            Luke did not record many details of the activities of the women. However, they were obviously part of the growing church: “Believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (Acts 5:14, NKJV). “When they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12, NKJV). “Many of them believed … prominent women as well as men” (Acts 17:12, NKJV). Women were not exempt from the persecution of the church: “Saul … made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3, NKJV).

            Luke does make reference to three women by name: Dorcas, Lydia, and Damaris. Dorcas was a believer known for her works of charity, making coats and garments for people in need. She became sick and died but was raised from the dead when the apostle Peter prayed for her. Lydia was a businesswoman who loved God and was converted and baptized after hearing Paul preach the gospel. Damaris was an Athenian who believed after hearing Paul’s ministry.

            The gospel fires were eventually dampened, and the truths taught by the apostles were smothered for several centuries. However, in the early years of the twentieth century, the gospel once again burst into flame as people began experiencing the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. A group of Bible school students in Topeka, Kansas, were among the first to receive the Spirit. The news quickly spread, and men and women carried the exciting reports across the United States and beyond. One such place was on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California.

            I wonder what it would have been like to experience the mighty Holy Ghost revival of Azusa Street in 1906. People, whose souls were hungry for God, met in a barn-like building and began to pray and seek Him. I can imagine the conditions of the place—dirty with straw spread on the floor and rugged planks on which to sit or at which to kneel and pray. Obviously their hunger for God outweighed their concerns of their surroundings. God blessed their intense desire and poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost upon men, women, and children.

The gospel flames of Azusa sparked worldwide revival. Evangelists and workers opened missions in various cities in the U.S. and Canada. Missionaries took the gospel to their mission fields to spread the revival abroad.

In 1942-1945, Mother Nelson (Rieka Nelson) ministered during wartime by making bandages and helping the Red Cross as she witnessed to other mothers about the Lord. In 1956, Carrie Eastridge arrived in South Africa at the age of sixty-two to begin missionary work.

Ladies Ministries (formerly Ladies Auxiliary) has been led throughout the years since 1953 by women of vision such as Mary Cole, Ila Ashcraft, Vera Kinzie, and Gwyn Oakes. Many other women have been instrumental in ministering and spreading the gospel in the past few decades—women too numerous to name—as they have traveled as evangelists, spent time on foreign soil as missionaries, and working alongside their husbands in pastorates across the world.

            I was not in the upper room when the Holy Ghost was initially poured out, nor was I a part of the early twentieth century Holy Ghost outpouring in Los Angeles, California, but I am compelled to do my part in sharing the gospel in this present day.

There are many opportunities available to me. I can teach home Bible studies to friends, neighbors, or colleagues. I can befriend people at the grocery store, drycleaners, and restaurants that I frequent and represent our Lord. Or I can simply be a friend, lending a listening ear, to someone going through life’s struggles. The door may open to where I can share with them their need to allow our loving Father into their life to ease their pain.