Pentecostal historian Cecil M. “Mel” Robeck Jr. recently became the first recipient of the Assemblies of God Lifetime Scholar Award.

The 80-year-old Robeck is senior professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he has worked 48 years.

With Pentecostal roots dating back a century to his AG minister grandfather, Robeck developed an early interest in the Azusa Street Revival. Growing up, he heard firsthand accounts from people who had attended the 1906–09 Los Angeles meetings.

Through his research, Robeck identified the site of the Azusa mission. He has since led Pentecostal history tours there for more than 15,000 people.

Robeck is completing a detailed multi-volume history of the revival. This series will tell the story of the mission, the revival’s spread across the country, and its missionary impact.

An ordained AG minister for 52 years, Robeck has uncovered previously overlooked details from more than 1,000 original sources.

“There is no one in the world who is a better historian on the Azusa Street Revival than Mel Robeck,” says Allen Tennison, theological counsel for the AG. “He has made unique contributions in helping the Assemblies of God understand our own history from Azusa Street on.”

In 2006, Robeck authored The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement. While popular books on the subject tend to emphasize manifestations, many of them unverifiable, Robeck highlights the people of Azusa.

Leading the revival was Black pastor William Seymour. During a time of racial segregation in the U.S., Azusa brought together diverse crowds of worshippers.

That reality inspired Robeck’s own efforts to heal divisions within the Church. In 1994, Robeck played a role in the formation of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America, which initiated racial reconciliation in what became known as the Memphis Miracle.

“We should acknowledge failures in our past,” Robeck says. “Otherwise, we just keep making the same errors.”

A unifying figure globally, Robeck has represented Pentecostalism at the Vatican, World Council of Churches (WCC), Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions, Communion of Reformed Churches, and Lutheran World Federation.

“Mel understands the history and doctrines of the greater Church world,” says AG General Superintendent Doug Clay. “He has successfully shown those who will listen that Pentecostalism belongs to the worldwide Church and how Pentecostals benefit the worldwide Church.”

Robeck cites Christ’s prayer in John 17:20–21 that believers would become one, as Jesus and the Father are one.

“When God looks
at us, He sees only
one Church, with
Jesus Christ at its head.”
— Cecil M. “Mel” Robeck Jr.

“When God looks at us, He sees only one Church, with Jesus Christ at its head,” Robeck says.

Clay says Robeck has represented Pentecostalism well to the entire Christian community.

“The Assemblies of God has always been about the gospel, and we are open to cooperating with any Christian tradition to further the message of the gospel to the world,” Clay says. “At the same time, we want to bear witness to the power of the Holy Spirit available today to every believer, regardless of their tradition.”

Robeck notes that cooperation is a necessary first step toward influencing others. World evangelization depends in large part on the ability of diverse Christians to work together.

In his 35 years as Pentecostal representative on the WCC Faith and Order Commission, Robeck — who has known the past three popes personally — never shied from his Pentecostal identity. His steady leadership helped guide the direction of WCC theological discussions.

“At the World Council of Churches, Mel raised concerns about the abandonment of evangelism, the liberal views of some of its member churches, and widespread antagonism toward Pentecostal communities,” says Josiah Baker, author of a biography on Robeck, A Visible Unity. “There is now a stronger collaboration on joint evangelism programs that would never have happened without Mel Robeck.”

The WCC asked Robeck to serve as a primary co-editor of the two-volume work Towards a Global Vision of the Church. Robeck recruited 15 Pentecostal scholars to contribute to the first volume. He authored seven chapters of the second volume.

“Mel has built a bridge to other Christian communities while representing Pentecostalism,” Tennison says. “He bears a witness to the baptism in the Holy Spirit that many of them don’t have. He also has paved the way for Pentecostals to better understand themselves and the greater Church world to which they belong.”

Starting with Thomas F. Zimmerman in 1984 and continuing with every AG general superintendent since, Robeck has kept the Fellowship’s leaders in the loop regarding his work.

“Mel has always remained accountable throughout his career — to his pastor, his district superintendent, and to the general superintendent,” Clay says. “In all his journeys and writings, he has worked to ensure that no one is surprised and nothing is said that does not well represent his church. He is a model of how scholars can remain in submission to the greater Christian community.”

Robeck and his wife, Patsy, have been members of Bethany Church (AG) in Alhambra, California, for 44 years.

“The Assemblies of God brought me to faith, nurtured my faith, affirmed my gifts, and recognized my call,” Robeck says. “I’ve always wanted to serve the Assemblies of God in some way, and the Fellowship has allowed me to follow my call.”

Robeck earned Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Fuller. His dissertation on prophetic gifts in the third-century North African Church opened Robeck’s eyes to developments within ancient Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

When it comes to building relationships across racial and denominational lines today, Robeck says much work remains.

“The only way the Church will heal on these issues is to tell the truth,” he says.

Discovering and sharing church history is an important part of that truth telling.

Robeck was honored during the inaugural two-day AG Scholars Forum at Vanguard University in June. (Early in his career, Robeck taught briefly at Vanguard, from 1973–74.)

Tennison, who benefited from Robeck’s mentorship while a student at Fuller, lauds him as a deserving recipient of the Lifetime Scholar Award.

“He has shown us what it’s like to faithfully represent Pentecostalism as a scholar, while working on the cutting edge of his field,” Tennison says.

This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of Influence magazine.