The pentecostal movement had its origins in believers who were intensely desiring more of God in the late 19th century. People were getting interested in world evangelization and realized that they needed the original power of the Holy Spirit to do this. They sought God and prayed. Many Methodists and Salvation Army people were among those who were most hungry for God, and embraced the move of the Holy Spirit.
People had been thinking that God no longer spoke except through the Bible, and that speaking in tongues had ceased, but the early pentecostal pioneers challenged that. No doubt Satan tried to mess with the pentecostal movement as he does with all churches, but the testimony of the Spirit of God became too much for staunch conservatives and now the pentecostal/charismatic movement is established as mainstream evangelical Christianity in all places where the church is growing.
Vinson Synan on the origins of the pentecostal movement
If you can get hold of the book "Pioneers of Faith" by Lester Sumrall you can get an account from a man who personally met many of the early pentecostal leaders.
I would also recommend books by Gordon Lindsay on the life of Dr John G. Lake, and various books on the life of Smith Wigglesworth.
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