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William J Seymour - The Pentecostal Movement

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William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street 1

William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street

The Catalyst of the Pentecostal Movement worldwide
Evangelist Jason Worsley

Introduction

William J Seymour the founder of the Apostolic Faith Mission, with its headquarters
at 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles impacted the Pentecostal movement across the
world during a time of racial discrimination, this research will also prove a historical
error in the credibility in who started the Pentecostal movement and I will conclude
based on my research on how the 21st century church can benefit with the historical
knowledge of the Pentecostal movement.

Historical & Key Features of the Pentecostal Movement

In the year 1870 in Centerville, Louisiana was born a son to a former slave, who
would eventually be known as the “Catalyst” of the Pentecostal movement
worldwide, he was born on May 2 into a world of horrible racial violence and named
by his parents as William Joseph Seymour who turned a horse stable on Azusa Street
into an international revival center.

According to Hollenweger two Christian worldwide movements founded the

Pentecostal movement one by a story telling Rabbi and the second by a black
preacher, I don't agree with Hollenweger writing completely as he puts Seymour in
the same box as Jesus Christ but I do agree that the impact was worldwide. The
Pentecostal movement in Africa traces their roots back to Seymour. Rev. Alexander
A. Boddy (1854-1930) was one of the founders of the Pentecostal movement in the
UK and traces his roots back to Seymour, Cecil Polhill (1860-1938) was part of the
movement that impacted China and traces his roots back to Seymour, he even paid off
the mortgage on 312 Azusa Street with a cheque of £1500. (Hollenweger 2005,39)

When racial lines in Indianapolis hardened, Seymour moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and
continued to attend a Methodist Church, he was an avid follower of John Wesley
because Wesley believed in strong prayer, holiness, healing and no discrimination in
Jesus Christ but when the Methodist were moving away from their foundational
doctrine he left and moved to the Evening Light Saints who would later become the
Church of God Reformation movement. (Liardon 1996, 140)

When Seymour left Cincinnati he traveled to Houston and ran into John G Lake, a
minister who was working with Alexander Dowie of Zion, during the time of racial
hatred this is a remarkable meeting, Seymour and Lake would spend a lot of time
together talking about spiritual things. It is during this special relationship time that

Evangelist Jason Worsley

William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street 2

God spoke to Seymour to go and see Charles Price Jones the founder of Assemblies
of God (Robeck 2006, 35) and it is here in Houston that Seymour studied at Parham
school where the students and lectures spend all day and night together in prayer and
learning the word of God, then came the famous year of 1906 when Seymour received
a divine call to move to Los Angeles, California, now California was much more
tolerant when it came to racial discrimination, this is the first state in U.S where
blacks. Whites, Hispanic and Europeans worshiped together and for the very first time
crossed the impossible culture line.

A small group of African American led by Sister Julia Hutchinson use to preach on
sanctification and eventually was expelled from the church including her family and
everyone involved with her which were majority of the black families in that church,
after leaving they quickly formed a group to start fellowshipping and had heard about
Seymour and after they had prayed and fasted invited Seymour to preach and in his
first sermon he preached on divine healing and speaking in other tongues and kept
repeating “speaking in tongues is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit”
even though he had not received the gift of speaking in tongues yet but proclaimed the
word of God as the truth.

That sermon was new to everyone who heard it and it did not go well with the hearers
and when returning to the meeting a few days later Seymour had found the door
padlocked by sister Julia Hutchinson who was a black American who was recently
kicked out by her pastor of the holiness church for preaching something he did not
agree with she did to Seymour as it was done to her, this left Seymour homeless and
without money in Los Angeles. He was invited to teach and stay with Lee’s family
who were interested in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Seymour would stay with
the Lee’s and spend time in prayer for around 8-10 hours a day, this is the same thing
he learnt from Parham’s school and this was also the same doctrine preached by
Parham for which he was thrown out for.

In February 1906 Seymour moved to 214 North Bonnie Brae Street this is where the
foundation of Pentecostalism doctrine started here people stayed long hours spending
time in prayer, fasting, prophesying, healing the sick, speaking in tongues and
baptism of the Holy Spirit was a must for everyone who believed and confessed Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior. The Lee’s family were so excited they called for Seymour
to come and prayer for them to also receive the Holy Spirit and when Seymour went
and laid hands on the Lees they spoke in tongues, on his way back to 214 North
Bonnie Brae Street when Seymour was testifying of what happened at Lee’s home,
Mr. Lee himself stood up and started to speak in tongues and the whole congregation
immediately fell to their knees, some started to shout, some ran around prophesying
this was a new form of worship never experienced before and every room was full of
people it sitting overflow and news of what was happening at 214 Brae street in a
time of racial discrimination was spreading across America like wildfire and everyone
was talking about Seymour and the Pentecost Movement as it was in the beginning
with the early Apostles in the upper room. In Volume 1 No 1 of the newsletter of the
Apostolic Faith Mission header ran “Pentecost has come”.

Evangelist Jason Worsley

William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street 3

When the place becomes small and you run out of using multiple services it is time to
move to a new location and so was the case with Seymour and his congregation, they
had heard about an old Methodist church building which was converted from a stable
and was now available to be leased, Seymour jumped quickly at the deal for the
building and negotiated the lease, Seymour was very fond of John Wesley doctrine of
prayer, holiness and being born again so when the Methodist building came up he
quickly took it, unfortunately the building would not be known as the Methodist
building or old barn but it would be known worldwide as 312 Azusa Street and what
had started in North Bonnie Brae Street as early Pentecostal would become a
Worldwide Pentecostal movement at Azusa Street and the formation of Apostolic
Faith Mission (Robeck 2006, 70).

The First Baptist Church in Los Angeles were waiting for the head pastor Rev Joseph
Smale to return from Wales where the revival had already started and in a letter
exchange between Evan Roberts and Evangelist Bartleman who was a journalist at the
time stated that the Pentecostal revival that rocked the world through the hands of
Seymour was started by Evan Roberts in Wales. (Liardon 1996, 144 - 145)

Scholars do not agree with Evangelist Bartleman as they believe that he was writing
at a time when racial discrimination was the highest and as a journalist who needed to
sell newspapers saw and heard what God was doing through Seymour not just in Los
Angeles but the whole world, Evangelist Bartleman wanted to give credit to a white
person rather than a black person who was a son of a former slave as that would be a
better story to sell papers and because of his association to Evan Roberts wanted to
give the global revival credit to Roberts. I agree with Evangelist Bartleman that the
revival had already started in Wales and they are letter from Evan Roberts to people
in different parts of the world where he asks them about how the revival which they
witnessed in Wales doing in their countries, this confirms to me that Roberts
recognised that he was the reason for the worldwide revival, he might have been the
Father of the Pentecostal movement but the true Catalyst of the Pentecostal movement
has to be William Seymour.

According to Allen Anderson the true founder of the Pentecostal Movement in Africa,
Asia, and Europe is William Seymour and not Charles Parham, he believes the
struggle of the African American people from the time of slavery is the reason for the
worldwide revival. I agree with Allen Anderson to the extent that when you are being
persecuted or mistreated you search for God for answers and He answers with fire and
in Seymour’s case the Fire of Pentecost returned. (Anderson 2010,86)

Evangelist Jason Worsley

William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street 4

Conclusion

The greatest thing to happen to Christianity is the Pentecostal movement, great thing
happened in this movement that the 21st Century church can learn from and some
incorrect doctrines that have stayed with us for instance in today's Pentecostal
churches we will find you cannot preach the truth but preachers will dilute the word
of God so people are not offended, the same thing that was expected by Seymour but
he did not fall into that trap but preached the truth and the second major thing that has
continued with the Pentecostal churches are the racial discrimination this is still found
in some churches, today churches are known for either being a black church or white
church and some cases in the UK they don't have English services that is limiting God
from moving, we must trace our roots back to Azusa Street and learn from mistakes.

We must build on the foundation of the movement, which are Prayer, Fasting and
preaching only the truth when studying Seymour sermons were based on coming of
Christ, holiness and speaking in Tongues Pentecostal churches today run away from
these sermons as they pierce through your heart. Seymour connected with Great Men
of God who eventually impacted where God would send them and this was the Key to
the worldwide revival, God will not choose one person to impact the whole world he
will use multiple people as he does not want us to take Glory in His work but He will
bring us together to recognize each others anointing and call, so when He moves He
moves through all of us and this is the reason we don't see revival anymore especially
in the UK because each one of us who are called a Pentecostal are divided among
ourselves, we don't connect with other churches in fear they would steal members but
this note I finish on who God has given you to shepherd no one can take from you, we
must come together and break these shackles of un-unity and become united as one as
they eventually did at Azusa Street.

Bibliography

Books

Liardon, R. (2003). God’s Generals. 1st ed. New Kensington: Whitaker House.

Cecil, R. (2006). The Azusa Street Mission and Revival. Nashville: Nelson Reference
& Electronics

Land, S. (1993). Pentecostal Spirituality. Cleveland: CPT Press

Anderson, A. (2010). Studying Global Pentecostalism. California: University of

California

Kalu, O. (2008). African Pentecostalism an Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Press

Evangelist Jason Worsley

 William Seymour – 312 Azusa Street 5

Hollenweger, W. (2005). Pentecostalism: origins and development worldwide.

Massachusetts: Hendrickson

Anderson, A. (2014). An Introduction to Pentecostalism. 2nd ed, Cambridge:

Cambridge Press

Journals

Yeung, Timothy. “The Characteristics of Williams J Seymour Sermon” Pneuma 14.1

(2011)
pp 57-73

Espinosa, Gasto. “William J Seymour and the origin of Global Pentecostalism”

Pneuma 22 (2014) pp 436

Cecil, R. “Pentecostalism and mission” from Azusa street to the ends of the earth
Missiology, 35 no 1 Jan 2007, p 75-92

Websites

http://www.azusabooks.org/time.shtml Accessed: 7th May 2017

http://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/azuza-street-and-welsh-revival.html
Accessed: 7th May 2017

Evangelist Jason Worsley

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