According to Wikipedia, spoken word poetry began in the early nineties in New York city. I first heard it in the early 2000s on CBC Radio 1. And now, in the early 2010s, it has made an impact on the old fashioned testimony service.
The following poem was recited yesterday by Sarah Campbell at the Cornerstone Seventh-day Adventist Church in Coquitlam, British Columbia. She, along with others involved in an urban café ministry in Vancouver, gave her testimony during the Sabbath worship service.