Why Do Some Churches Speak in Tongues?

You walk into a church, and during the worship or prayer, someone begins speaking a language you don’t understand—perhaps a stream of syllables, a heavenly chant, or a sudden utterance interpreted by another person in the room. It’s unfamiliar. Maybe even unsettling. This practice is called speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, and it’s one of the most distinctive—and divisive—features in certain Christian traditions.

Why do some Christians believe this is a vital spiritual gift while others see it as unnecessary or even unbiblical? To answer that, we must dig deep into both biblical teaching and church history, tracing how this spiritual practice emerged, was forgotten, and then revived in waves of fervent revival.

Is this a sign of Spirit-filled faith—or a misunderstood remnant of the early church? The answer is both historical and spiritual—and surprisingly relevant to the modern believer.

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📜 The Story of Speaking in Tongues

Pentecost: The Original Outpouring

The phenomenon of speaking in tongues begins at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2. After Jesus’ ascension, His followers gathered in Jerusalem. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit descended with the sound of rushing wind and “tongues of fire” resting on each person.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
— Acts 2:4

Crucially, the tongues here were real languages understood by the multicultural crowd present in Jerusalem. This was not just ecstatic speech; it was a supernatural proclamation of the gospel to the nations.

This pattern—Spirit filling and tongues-speaking—would appear several more times in Acts (Acts 10:44–46; Acts 19:6), especially when Gentiles were being brought into the church. Tongues seemed to confirm that the Holy Spirit was being poured out without ethnic or ceremonial boundaries.

Paul’s Teaching in Corinth

As the church spread, speaking in tongues began to appear in corporate gatherings, particularly in Corinth. Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 12–14, where he lists tongues among other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, healing, and wisdom.

Paul neither dismisses nor elevates tongues above other gifts. Instead, he urges order and interpretation:

“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind… than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:18–19

From this, we gather that tongues had a private and public use:

• Privately, it was a form of prayer (1 Cor 14:2).
• Publicly, it required interpretation for the edification of the body (1 Cor 14:5).

Paul’s emphasis is that love, understanding, and order must govern all spiritual expression.

The Decline After the Apostolic Age

After the first few centuries, records of speaking in tongues become rare. Church fathers like Chrysostom and Augustine noted that these miraculous gifts had ceased or were exceedingly rare.

This aligns with a shift in focus:

• The early church was establishing orthodoxy and structure.
• As Christianity became more institutionalized—especially after Constantine—there was less room for charismatic expression.

By the Middle Ages, speaking in tongues had all but disappeared from mainstream Christianity, though mystical experiences continued among some monastic and fringe groups.

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🔥 The Modern Revival: Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

19th Century Forerunners

The modern resurgence of tongues began in the 19th century with Holiness and Methodist movements, especially those influenced by John Wesley’s emphasis on personal sanctification and the Holy Spirit. Some believers began to long for the power and purity of the early church.

Azusa Street and the Birth of Pentecostalism

The spark came in 1901, when Agnes Ozman, a student at Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, reportedly spoke in tongues after prayer and laying on of hands.

This experience exploded into full revival at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles (1906) under William J. Seymour, a black holiness preacher. The meetings were marked by interracial worship, spontaneous tongues, and passionate preaching.

Thus began the Pentecostal movement, which:

• Emphasized Spirit baptism as a second work of grace after salvation
• Saw speaking in tongues as initial evidence of that baptism
• Launched global missions with fresh urgency

From Azusa Street, Pentecostalism spread across denominations, countries, and continents. Today, it represents over 600 million believers worldwide.

The Charismatic Movement and Beyond

In the 1960s–70s, a similar phenomenon erupted in mainline Protestant, Anglican, and even Roman Catholic circles. These believers:

• Embraced tongues and other charismatic gifts
• Often stayed in their denominations
• Emphasized renewal within tradition

This movement became known as the Charismatic Renewal, distinct from classical Pentecostalism but sharing similar spiritual experiences.

Later, the Third Wave movement (1980s–90s) associated with figures like John Wimber emphasized power evangelism and healing, sometimes without insisting on tongues as initial evidence.

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📖 Spiritual & Doctrinal Discernment: What Does the Bible Really Say?

Is Tongues for Today?

This is the heart of the controversy. Some hold to cessationism—the belief that miraculous gifts like tongues ceased after the apostolic age. Others affirm continuationism—that these gifts remain operative today.

Cessationists point to:

• The closing of the biblical canon
• The foundational role of apostles
• Lack of widespread tongues in early post-apostolic history

Continuationists argue:

• Scripture never teaches these gifts would cease before Christ returns (cf. 1 Cor 13:8–12)
• The Spirit distributes gifts “as He wills” (1 Cor 12:11)
• Modern testimonies and missions continue to bear fruit

Biblical Safeguards

Whatever one believes, Scripture is clear on the following:

• Tongues must be interpreted in public worship (1 Cor 14:27–28)
• Not every believer will speak in tongues (1 Cor 12:30)
• Love and clarity matter more than dramatic displays (1 Cor 13, 14)

Any practice that breeds confusion, pride, or division is not the fruit of the Spirit. But where tongues are expressed with humility, order, and interpretation, they can edify.

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🔄 Lasting Impact: How Tongues Have Shaped the Church Today

The rise of tongues-speaking movements has had massive implications:

• Global Growth: Pentecostal and charismatic churches are among the fastest-growing in the world, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
• Worship Style: Contemporary worship, prayer ministries, and healing services are often influenced by charismatic spirituality.
• Doctrinal Tensions: The insistence that tongues are necessary evidence of Spirit baptism has created division—even within Spirit-filled churches.
• Ecumenical Complexity: The Charismatic Renewal brought spiritual vitality into traditional denominations but also doctrinal confusion in some areas.

Love it or reject it, the modern church cannot ignore the impact of tongues-speaking movements.

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🪞 What Should We Learn or Repent Of?

Tongues force the church to wrestle with key questions:

• Are we open to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit?
• Do we value spiritual gifts, or do we fear what we can’t control?
• Are we exalting gifts over the Giver?

On one hand, churches that suppress spiritual gifts may be grieving the Spirit. On the other, those that idolize emotional experiences may be building on sand.

Let us return to Paul’s call:

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” — 1 Corinthians 14:40

This includes doing all things in love, for the building up of the church.

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📣 Why This Still Matters

The debate over tongues is not just about doctrine—it’s about how we understand the Holy Spirit’s role in the church today.

As Jesus said:

“The wind blows where it wishes… so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” — John 3:8

May we not quench the Spirit—but also not confuse the Spirit. Let us seek truth and power, order and fire, Scripture and the supernatural. Whether we speak in tongues or not, may our churches be known for a deeper hunger for God’s presence, God’s truth, and God’s glory.