Steve Hill
Encyclopedia
Steve Hill is an American
Christian
clergyman and evangelist
. He is best known as the evangelist who preached in what became known as the Brownsville Revival
. The Brownsville Revival was a series of meetings at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida
that began on Father's Day
, 1995 and continued for five years. In 2000, Hill moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas
to resume traveling evangelism. In 2003, he founded Heartland World Ministries Church in the Las Colinas
section of Irving, Texas
, a suburb of Dallas.
and illicit drugs
. At the age of twenty-one due to the effects of drug abuse, his body began to shutdown one Saturday morning. For three days he suffered through extreme convulsion
s. On October 28, 1975 Hill's mother invited Hugh Mozingo, a Lutheran
minister, to come see him. Monzingo said to him, "Steve, I can't help you, but I know someone who can. His name is Jesus." In desperation, Hill reports that he began to say the name, "Jesus", and instantly the convulsions stopped. He also says that at that moment every addiction he had to drugs and alcohol was immediately gone. Hill reports that as the day he gave his life to Christ and never looked back until he was falling to his death.
A few weeks after his conversion experience, Hill was arrested at his parents' home in Huntsville, Alabama
and was facing 25 years in prison
for drug trafficking
. In a testimony at Garywood Assembly of God
in Hueytown, Alabama
in 2005, Hill told the congregation that he would have gone to prison if it were not for the mercy of the presiding judge
who agreed to remand
Hill to the Teen Challenge
drug rehabilitation program instead of sending him to prison. Hill graduated from Teen Challenge and eventually became a staff worker for the program.
. From there, he served on the staff with Outreach Ministries of Alabama, then as a youth pastor at several churches in Florida. In the mid-1980s, he and his wife became missionaries
, holding crusades and planting churches in Argentina
, Spain
, and Belarus
. Early in 1995, Hill went to London, England where a revival was happening at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church. The pastor
, Sandy Miller, prayed for Hill. A few months later, Hill stopped at Brownsville Assembly on Father's Day to preach one service before heading off to minister in Russia.
A video of the Father's Day service shows that the Father's Day service went rather badly for Hill. However, he and Kilpatrick spread stories of "a mighty wind" that blew through the church. This account rapidly spread across the Pentecostal community, but gained little attention in the mainstream media until the Associated Press
wrote about it in March 1997. In truth, Kilpatrick had been talking "revival" for several months and had gotten word that Hill wanted to lead a big revival.
As word spread of what was happening at Brownsville, Hill canceled all plans to go to Russia, and preached several revival services each week for the next five years.
ran a series of articles in 1997 about the Brownsville Revival and its leaders. It had written glowing reports about the revival when it first began, but began a four-month investigation after receiving word that all was not as it appeared. The award-winning investigative report cited financial irregularities. For example, the four main ministers failed to provide to anyone upon request the amount of money received and income derived from the revival, related arena meeting, and the sale of revival merchandise. Brownsville Assembly of God answered the News Journals allegations by publishing a two-page spread entitled "The Facts of the Brownsville Revival."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
clergyman and evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
. He is best known as the evangelist who preached in what became known as the Brownsville Revival
Brownsville Revival
The Brownsville Revival was a widely-reported religious phenomenon that began within the Pentecostal movement on Father's Day June 18, 1995 at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida...
. The Brownsville Revival was a series of meetings at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
that began on Father's Day
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...
, 1995 and continued for five years. In 2000, Hill moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to resume traveling evangelism. In 2003, he founded Heartland World Ministries Church in the Las Colinas
Las Colinas
Las Colinas is an upscale, developed area in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.Due to its central location between Dallas and Fort Worth and its proximity to DFW Airport, Las Colinas has been a viable place in the Metroplex for corporate and business relocation.As a planned community, it has many...
section of Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
, a suburb of Dallas.
Drug use and conversion
As a teenager, Hill got heavily into alcoholAlcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and illicit drugs
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. At the age of twenty-one due to the effects of drug abuse, his body began to shutdown one Saturday morning. For three days he suffered through extreme convulsion
Convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...
s. On October 28, 1975 Hill's mother invited Hugh Mozingo, a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
minister, to come see him. Monzingo said to him, "Steve, I can't help you, but I know someone who can. His name is Jesus." In desperation, Hill reports that he began to say the name, "Jesus", and instantly the convulsions stopped. He also says that at that moment every addiction he had to drugs and alcohol was immediately gone. Hill reports that as the day he gave his life to Christ and never looked back until he was falling to his death.
A few weeks after his conversion experience, Hill was arrested at his parents' home in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
and was facing 25 years in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. In a testimony at Garywood Assembly of God
Garywood Assembly of God
Garywood Assembly of God is a large church in Hueytown, Alabama; a western suburb of Birmingham. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.- Founding :...
in Hueytown, Alabama
Hueytown, Alabama
Hueytown is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 16,105.It was the home of the legendary NASCAR Alabama Gang...
in 2005, Hill told the congregation that he would have gone to prison if it were not for the mercy of the presiding judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
who agreed to remand
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
Hill to the Teen Challenge
Teen Challenge
Teen Challenge is a Pentecostal Christian recovery program and a network of Christian social and evangelizing work centers. It is a 12-18 month program that serves drug addicts, alcoholics, gang members, prostitutes and people with other characteristics that the program considers to be...
drug rehabilitation program instead of sending him to prison. Hill graduated from Teen Challenge and eventually became a staff worker for the program.
Ministry and revival
Hill went on to graduate from a two-year ministry training school run by Teen Challenge founder David WilkersonDavid Wilkerson
David Ray Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade...
. From there, he served on the staff with Outreach Ministries of Alabama, then as a youth pastor at several churches in Florida. In the mid-1980s, he and his wife became missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, holding crusades and planting churches in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Early in 1995, Hill went to London, England where a revival was happening at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church. The pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, Sandy Miller, prayed for Hill. A few months later, Hill stopped at Brownsville Assembly on Father's Day to preach one service before heading off to minister in Russia.
A video of the Father's Day service shows that the Father's Day service went rather badly for Hill. However, he and Kilpatrick spread stories of "a mighty wind" that blew through the church. This account rapidly spread across the Pentecostal community, but gained little attention in the mainstream media until the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wrote about it in March 1997. In truth, Kilpatrick had been talking "revival" for several months and had gotten word that Hill wanted to lead a big revival.
As word spread of what was happening at Brownsville, Hill canceled all plans to go to Russia, and preached several revival services each week for the next five years.
Criticisms
The Pensacola News JournalPensacola News Journal
The Pensacola News Journal is a daily morning newspaper serving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida. It is Northwest Florida's most widely-read daily....
ran a series of articles in 1997 about the Brownsville Revival and its leaders. It had written glowing reports about the revival when it first began, but began a four-month investigation after receiving word that all was not as it appeared. The award-winning investigative report cited financial irregularities. For example, the four main ministers failed to provide to anyone upon request the amount of money received and income derived from the revival, related arena meeting, and the sale of revival merchandise. Brownsville Assembly of God answered the News Journals allegations by publishing a two-page spread entitled "The Facts of the Brownsville Revival."