312 AZUSA STREET
William Joseph Seymour 1870-1922
Few events have affected modern church history as greatly as the Azusa Street revival of 1906-1909, which exploded into a worldwide twentieth-century Pentecostal renewal. Central to this Holy Ghost-inspired event was William Joseph Seymour, a man whose role has only recently been acknowledged by historians and Pentecostal leaders.
On a short, two-block street in downtown Los Angeles, in a run-down warehouse at 312 Azusa Street, a revival began that, within seven decades, created a world-wide Pentecostal movement with more than 50 million followers. Millions of Charismatics, of every denomination, can trace part of their spiritual heritage to the Azusa Street meetings.
A Baptist throughout his youth and young adulthood, William Seymour joined the Holiness movement while he was a waiter in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the call to preach in 1902 and was ordained in the Evening Lights Saints denomination.
His call led him to Houston, Texas, where Seymour became a student of Charles Parham, a Pentecostal teacher. Seymour joined Parham's Bible school but, because of the Jim Crow laws that kept African-Americans separate from Caucasians, Seymour had to sit in the hallway while his classmates sat in the classroom. Despite the obstacles of culture and doorways, Seymour quickly grasped Parham's message, especially that of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in other tongues.
In 1906 Seymour received an invitation to preach in Los Angeles, but when he taught about speaking in tongues, he was locked out of the church. Stranded in a strange town, Seymour was invited to stay in the home of Richard Asberry, where he held prayer meetings. Hundreds of people stood in the street to hear his message, but when several thousand showed up, the meetings were moved to an abandoned warehouse on Azusa Street.
People came from across the country and the world to experience the move of the Holy Spirit at Seymour's mission, taking what they learned with them. Within months, the Pentecostal movement was spread across the world, with Seymour's written and oral teachings on speaking in tongues and divine healing as the basis for its doctrine.
Things changed completely for Seymour, however. His marriage to Jenny Moore on May 13, 1908, was opposed by two women in his congregation. (They felt Seymour shouldn’t make long-term commitments because of the soon-coming Rapture.) The women stole Seymour's newsletter mailing list, which completely cut off his lines of communication to his worldwide following. His leadership role in the Pentecostal movement also came to an end after a doctrinal dispute with William Durham. When Seymour locked Durham out of the Azusa Street Mission, Durham and his followers started their own church, which quickly grew into the Assemblies of God denomination.
Seymour continued his pastorate on Azusa Street until his death on September 28, 1922. His wife took over the church until her death in 1929. Shortly afterward the church building was destroyed.
On a short, two-block street in downtown Los Angeles, in a run-down warehouse at 312 Azusa Street, a revival began that, within seven decades, created a world-wide Pentecostal movement with more than 50 million followers. Millions of Charismatics, of every denomination, can trace part of their spiritual heritage to the Azusa Street meetings.
A Baptist throughout his youth and young adulthood, William Seymour joined the Holiness movement while he was a waiter in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the call to preach in 1902 and was ordained in the Evening Lights Saints denomination.
His call led him to Houston, Texas, where Seymour became a student of Charles Parham, a Pentecostal teacher. Seymour joined Parham's Bible school but, because of the Jim Crow laws that kept African-Americans separate from Caucasians, Seymour had to sit in the hallway while his classmates sat in the classroom. Despite the obstacles of culture and doorways, Seymour quickly grasped Parham's message, especially that of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in other tongues.
In 1906 Seymour received an invitation to preach in Los Angeles, but when he taught about speaking in tongues, he was locked out of the church. Stranded in a strange town, Seymour was invited to stay in the home of Richard Asberry, where he held prayer meetings. Hundreds of people stood in the street to hear his message, but when several thousand showed up, the meetings were moved to an abandoned warehouse on Azusa Street.
People came from across the country and the world to experience the move of the Holy Spirit at Seymour's mission, taking what they learned with them. Within months, the Pentecostal movement was spread across the world, with Seymour's written and oral teachings on speaking in tongues and divine healing as the basis for its doctrine.
Things changed completely for Seymour, however. His marriage to Jenny Moore on May 13, 1908, was opposed by two women in his congregation. (They felt Seymour shouldn’t make long-term commitments because of the soon-coming Rapture.) The women stole Seymour's newsletter mailing list, which completely cut off his lines of communication to his worldwide following. His leadership role in the Pentecostal movement also came to an end after a doctrinal dispute with William Durham. When Seymour locked Durham out of the Azusa Street Mission, Durham and his followers started their own church, which quickly grew into the Assemblies of God denomination.
Seymour continued his pastorate on Azusa Street until his death on September 28, 1922. His wife took over the church until her death in 1929. Shortly afterward the church building was destroyed.
posted by John @ 2:00 PM
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